Central Ref drivers, any advice?

Discussion in 'Central Refrigerated' started by cyn1123, Dec 7, 2012.

  1. cyn1123

    cyn1123 Light Load Member

    72
    19
    Oct 31, 2012
    Cartersville, GA
    0
    thank you for sharing all that information with me, i have started more research on the company. originally my first choice was CR England, but oh so many of the great drivers in this forum commented on my post and sent private messages sharing there experience and things they have seen. and then i went and did some research on them, i quickly chainged my mind. it seems like every company is having giant issues :( what would be the best company to start with that will train you to get a cdl would be my question. i plan to not lease, that is insane a grand a week almost, just as bad as swift when my husband was owner op. i will be home for chirstmas thankfully :) my training starts new years eve but i will take your suggestion MommieBoston, because someone would not write a large comment for nothing :)


     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. MommieBoston

    MommieBoston Bobtail Member

    13
    3
    Mar 23, 2012
    St Paul, MN
    0
    The recruiters tell you anything you want to hear just for the record. All I am saying is anyone should due some serious research before they get on that bus. Some companies have a lot more bad then they should. But hey to each their own. Don't complain though if all turns out horribly when you could of avoided it.
     
  4. MommieBoston

    MommieBoston Bobtail Member

    13
    3
    Mar 23, 2012
    St Paul, MN
    0
    As a company driver EVERY truck they put my husband in broke down. EVERY time he got put into a different company truck he had to sit around for days and days waiting for a truck to be available losing money since obviously you make no money sitting still. They NEVER gave him back the truck he had that just needed to be repaired because the repairs needed they always had to send the truck elsewhere. His first truck they had to fly him to another state to recover a truck a driver had abandoned, the truck was not where it was supposed to be he finally tracked it down to a tow yard where he had to wait to get the money to pay the tow fees to discover the truck had been destroyed by the driver and he had to drive it a few 100 miles to get it to a shop and sit for 2 days waiting for the minimal repairs to make it legal on the road and they paid him a whole whopping 100.00 for all his time and aggravation and then expected him to keep that truck with no bed all the cabinets had been ripped out of the truck the previous driver had urinated all over the inside of the truck but the company did not feel it was necessary to clean or repair the damage done inside. It was summer in the south and the driver who had abandoned it had destroyed the AC and the company said that was not a necessity to be fixed. It took him almost 2 weeks to finally find someone to get him out of that truck and that was 2 weeks of hell for him and me since I'm the one who deals with all the good and bad as his wife. I have known many a driver who put in their 2 weeks notice as is protocol with them who then immediately got routed to a yard and was terminated and left to find their own way home even though those drivers had done nothing wrong except give proper notice. Not to mention they then put bad marks on your DAC report making it hard for you to get employed elsewhere in the industry. I have heard CR England and CRST are horrible to CYN. Go to a truck stop and talk with the drivers they love to talk and they can be a fountain of knowledge.
     
  5. JaCk ThE TrIpPeR

    JaCk ThE TrIpPeR Light Load Member

    72
    22
    Jan 20, 2012
    Chicago & Tennessee
    0
    As long as you dont lease you can get your cdl and experience and move on.....Central is good for that but all training companies are basically the same....Dont expect more from one or the other. CR england is known as the worst because they are huge.....More rookies....More problems lol
     
  6. Aaron Stewart

    Aaron Stewart Light Load Member

    137
    35
    Nov 20, 2012
    Bakersfield, CA
    0
    I looked through all the companies that offer CDL training and ended up going with Central. I narrowed it down to three and Central was actually my second choice but my first choice was not doable without relocating. It is true that there is good and bad about every company, and like has been said, my plan is to NOT lease, get my experience and fulfill my contract and probably look at regional or local work to be home more.

    There are two good threads happening on the forum to get you an idea about Central Ref.

    The first is the Central school thread-- many drivers have done recounts of their experiences through the various schools in Central. I think someone had stuff from the Conley school, I know the Fontana school and SLC school have had many summaries posted. I am currently halfway through my training in Fontana and am also adding my summaries on there.
    http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...through-central-refrigerated-training-56.html
    The other is the Central Truck Stop-- there were about a thousand pages of drivers just talking about Central, and now there is a second one at about 250 pages as a continuation. Its everything from people talking good, bad, about leasing, or just to find out who else is in town that night... It gets you an idea whats on Central drivers minds as they go along.
    http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...8-central-refrigerated-truck-stop-ii-237.html

    So far my experience has been positive-- I dont like the fact I have to share a room with someone in the hotel, and I'm keeping my ears open for things to watch out for as I go along, especially starting in winter-- I can't tell you that you're experience will be the same as mine, as everyone experiences something different, not to mention the huge differences as it being in Conley and you being a woman in the industry.
     
  7. TheBlackMamba

    TheBlackMamba Bobtail Member

    1
    0
    Jan 16, 2013
    0
    What kind of truck can I expect to be in? What comes in the trucks GPS,satellite radio etc.
     
  8. Lady K

    Lady K Road Train Member

    You will most likely get a 'used' truck, but it will be less than three years old... You will need to supply your ownCB, GPS, satellite radio, etc... You might luck out and get a previous O/O truck that has a fridge, but don't hold your breath... It will most likely be basic/basic truck... But it will roll and earn... That is the main thing!!
     
  9. JaCk ThE TrIpPeR

    JaCk ThE TrIpPeR Light Load Member

    72
    22
    Jan 20, 2012
    Chicago & Tennessee
    0
    They did start putting the new qualcomms with GPS, but they go on leased trucks first. Most likely you will get a volvo with an old qualcom and you have to buy your own GPS. Co-pilot software , IMO, is the best. Rand and other trucker GPS take too many smaller roads instead of staying the course on major highways....... Volvos drive like cars so they arent that bad but they lack power. I enjoyed the peterbuilt my trainer leased....But at $750-1200 a week Id pass lol
     
  10. Puppage

    Puppage Road Train Member

    4,235
    7,302
    Aug 2, 2012
    Connecticut
    0
    So how are things going for you? Do you still feel you made the right choice?

    Pete
     
  11. Jplc85

    Jplc85 Light Load Member

    101
    13
    Jan 6, 2014
    Merced Ca
    0
    I understand where you are coming from urgenfan77
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.