CRST HAHA

yeah i had applied for them and i was going to go to train but i did my reasearch about the .11 cents a mile while you pay off training. hell they supposed to give you 50 dollars a day for otr training with someone but thats comes out to about the same pay you will get until you pay off your training cost. seeing that 11x2500=250 a week

 

thats ridiculous....0.11/mile, you'd have to run over 5500 miles a week just to barely break 30 grand a year, not feesible for a solo

 

I am pretty sure its .22 team split
That means you split the total miles not the individual pay
And dont they advertise .28????

 

still .22 team miles is ridiculous...

 

well if your like me and dude they take .11 cents from your check for the reminder of the 8 months if you go through their cdl training

 

you better up your CPM numbers or people will start to think you are crazy.
-even Werner pays more than that.

Where's the Gold Rush?

 

I work for them now and yes, it is split teams. I got sent to school in some crap-hole in Kentucky (which is by no means a shot at the people there, the instructors were great) and had to stay in a POLE-BARN that was converted to a dorm, there was supposed to be a full kitchen and other facilities....there were none, unless you consider a hot-plate and a microwave as a full kitchen. They did start some renovations before I left. Well, I have to pay the cost of room and board back, the cost of the greyhound bus ticket (which was the WORST) and the price of a DOT and Drug Screen that I didn't need, as I already possessed a Class A CDL and had a Valid Medical card.

Then I get assigned a trainer to ride with for 28 days....hmm, this guy had been to 7 different companies in 12 years, most of which were in the last 5 years. He was in orientation WITH ME! They asked "who has experience?" He answered and it was off to lead driver class for him. Needless to say I spent 28 days teaching myself company policy because my "Super Trucker" trainer had a scale in his pocket or something, because we never scaled a load. I had to figure it out myself. He never got out to help me fuel if he was awake, he would sit in the passenger seat and talk on the phone. He never taught me the Qualcomm, I did that myself too. Me? I would WAKE UP to help him with the Passenger side tanks for fuel....but because I was a student, he did nothing but drive his shift. And to top it off, when my training was done, they were supposed to get me back to the Terminal in Pa./ because my vehicle was there. Well, they gave us a load that was supposed to relay in Knoxville and I was gonna ride with the other truck back to Pa but this Numbskull whined to the Dispatcher and got a load near his house in SC and I got stuck for 27 hours on the Greyhound from Columbia SC to Harrisburg PA! I had NO MONEY left when I got to Pa because of the cab rides and the panhandlers at EVERY bus station, and when I called the dispatcher to get an advance so I could Live on my home time, he told me NO! I wont even get into the truck I had to live in for 28 days, full of pee bottles and trash....I know sometimes you gotta pee in that gatorade bottle but jeezus, THROW THEM AWAY!

Sooo, I get back and I am now a "Co-Driver." I am on a three man team that allows me to come home for 10 days at a time after 20 on the road. I got a decent truck, I am getting decent miles and I have two really good guys I drive with. Only problem is, instead of the Team getting paid all the miles, the individual driver gets paid half the miles....so yeah, I am making .11 cents a mile essentially. It sucks, I have to live off advances and with taxes and child support, I havent seen a paycheck yet.

But, I chose it, aside from the pay it is a great job and I know the pay will eventually get better. The team stuff stinks too...I CANNOT sleep when that truck is moving. I am under contract but am considering breaking it to go to another company....I wanna do flat-bed and there is a company in TN. that has said they will take me under contract.

So, for all the CRST Students out there, just hang in there guys....there ARE positive aspects of the job, you just gotta look for them. I mean what job can you ride a desk for 8 hours and see the Columbia River Gorge at sunset? None, I assure you.....

Be safe and keep on truckin...
Chris

 

I don't know if I misunderstood the information provided by my recruiter or was lied to, but I was under the impression that the CDL training fees were not taken out of your pay- hence the 8 month contract. Hey, I don't know crap from shinola with regards to the trucking industry, but that sure looks like double payment for what is alleged to be bottom of the barrel training, anyway. Is that money reimbursed at the end of your contract?