CRST!

You will hear all types of pros & cons. There are several routes to becoming a trucker & CRST is just one of those options. CRST is one way to get started with only an 8 month obligation. If you go flatbed, that will lead to some excellent jobs in the future. Many companies will hire you since you will have flatbed experience & 8 months experience OTR.

Best wishes.

 

Search and read.

Then run.

 

Seems like there is flatbed division that hires out of Florida and Georgia. They haul John Deere & Caterpillar.

 

I belive CRST Does Team runs Not Solo

 

Unfortunately jl I don't mean to scare you but CRST is what we call a bottom feeder... that sucker fish that eats what's left on the bottom. They hire students in groves and get what they can out of you before you quit. As a result they pay low wages. You will be paired with a team driver you don't know and with both of you inexperienced you find things out the hard way. You might find someone compatible or get the driver from hell.

I witness their school first hand when I hired in with another Cedar Rapids company. You will be crammed 3 to a motel room and hope you don't get the roll-a-way or room with the stinky guy that snores loud. I spent my mornings drinking coffee listening to 20 new guys complain about anything and everything while waiting for the shuttle buses. Many were upset because they jumped in on a lease purchase and got a choice between 2-3 ragged out trucks. Far from the nice truck they were expecting. Every morning was the same thing and me quietly listening and chuckling at the aggravations of a new driver.

Across the road from the ####roach inn is the CRST complex. Lined on the edge of the property is run down Army barracks looking buildings they use to house students. They still might? The trucks are all dirty and look like they never had a bath. Body parts from previous mishaps jury rigged back into place. Far from the pretty ads you see. Far from the training company I went to.

Now the plus side. Trucking companies train students because they are cheap labor. They have to deal with more accidents and mishaps but they come out ahead. Trucking has the highest turnover rate than any other job.

That said it's not peaches and cream anywhere you go to learn. Many think they'll jump into a brand new truck and make $1000 week. That doesn't happen for about a year. You have to tough it out your first year fulfilling your commitment or paying a student loan back. Paychecks will be small. You will learn the inside of the trucking lifestyle and adapt. Once you get that 1 year in, some accomplish in 6 months, you move on to a better company that hires experienced drivers. Then the pay and treatment becomes 10X better if you make the right choices. That's if you keep a clean record and are 1 in 6 that survive more than a year. Many get homesick, decide trucking is not for them or get frustrated with the first year aggravations.

Deal with your first year the best you can. Attitude is very important in this business. Little problems can easily become big problems if you let it. Take it a day at a time. In a sense the training company uses you and you use them. I was so impressed seeing the country the first time all the other stuff didn't matter. I cruised through my training period because I planned for years to become a trucker and it wasn't a last minute impulse decision many do to fix their current situation. I was broke but I was happy. You have to marry the job and love it and the rewards will eventually come. It will take you a good 5 years to become seasoned and learn all the ins and outs. But you always learn in this business with changing regulations, new customers, etc.

You also have to find your place in the industry whether it be flatbed, van, tanker, car hauler, hopper, dump, OTR, regional, local, LTL, linehaul, etc. You might hate one job but love another. The money is in LTL or oversize.

The best thing you can do is worship your CDL. It's your bread and butter. Develop good habits so you stay safe and keep a good driving record. There is a lot of monkey see monkey do out there. Don't be one of these drivers that does wrong stuff because you seen someone else do it. Be your own driver and do the right things like you are trained to do. A driver's brain makes some 10,000 decisions everyday. Nobody is perfect but you try to make as many right decisions as you can. With a good driving record and good work history you can pick where you want to work.

There is a lot of stress in the industry. You have to be easy going and not hot tempered. Most problems are little stuff that disappear the next day if not minutes and hours. So don't dwell on problems and let them snowball. Maintain a good working relationship with your dispatcher and company. You have to do your share of bad loads along with the good. A dispatcher that knows he can depend on you will take care of you versus a driver that gets repeatedly mad and argues with them. Sure you will have bad weeks but what's on that W-2 is what matters.

Being from FL you probably want to lean towards the reefer business hauling perishables. FL is stuck down in the corner of the states and outbound freight is limited. Produce is their best commodity.

Come back and post the first of the month for the next three months and share your experiences. You can find a lot of useful/helpful information in these forums.

 

Before you leave, check with Willis Shaw Express. They advertise tuition free CDL training. It's a Florida based refrigerated company with headquarters in Auburndale. Check their website. Don't know if their offer is better than CRST, but worth a few minutes to check.

 

jlharder you sure are going along ways to learn to drive trk.Why crst?