So you want to drive for Schneider?

When I drove Solo I got 62 and it didn't matter if I floored it that was it unless I was going downhill and I never took it above 75. As team I get overspends all the time because if I touch the accelerator at 65 or above it dings me. I ignore it and get them all the time an no one has ever said a word. Our on-time delivery is above 95%, we are less than 5% out of Route, idle time is less than 5%. I usually coast downhill to get speed to get back up the hill which is excessive overspeed....no matter no one has said anything to me about it.

 

Pretty much warhippy...I did the same thing coast down hills but kept it at 70. It was a good company I just didn't like being micro-managed lol. If I wanted to be micro-managed I'd get married lmao...not going to happen.

 

Sounds like Schneider still leads the industry in micromanaging, revolving-door turnover, and not to mention that so-called joke of a training program(two weeks of their crappy school, two weeks with a trainer, then two trainees together, then thrown to the wolves). they haven't changed since the mid-nineties when I first started driving, with all the idiotic PC garbage they label everything with, from their inept dispatchers(Schneider Trained Liars), short-haul nyc/Canada/hazmat freight, and sketchy hometime policy(run 3 weeks and youre lucky to get a day off at all, and forget about getting home for Xmas or even any holiday), and their corporate brainwashing(the so-called "make it your business" meetings), and pathetic joke of a maintenance dept. (bring a trailer into a shop with a bad tire which has tread peeling off, they still refuse to fix it). I left them in '96 after my first year of driving, and have been glad I did ever since. It wouldn't break my heart any if Schneider were to get wiped off the face of the earth.

My advice if you are in their training program, is survive the first year of driving, keep your record clean, and once that first year is up, head to a smaller, better company. Also, if you are thinking of getting a CDL and starting a career in this industry, look into a CDL program from your local community college, or a privately run school, not one run directly within a company. make sure the training period is a minimum 4-5 weeks, (I recommend National Tractor Trailer School in Buffalo or Syracuse, NY, they have an excellent 10 week program, its quite tough, but the instructors are old salts that have been in the industry for 10, 20, some even 30 years. it will teach you far better than any of those worthless programs at Schneider, Prime, or the other big-mega-bottom feeder training companies.

 

Not everyone has the same experience with whatever company they "choose" to hook up with. My advise has always been...DO YOUR HOMEWORK!! Investigate companies you are interested in. Whether it is a trucking school or a company. Every company has problem and is less than perfect in someone's mind's eye. And bottom line is #### happens sometimes. Most company's you have to learn to navigate through there system or way of doing things and work with what you have.
Not every trucking school is for everyone. Find out where a company sits as far as "the nation average." Where do they place as far as training goes. Some trucking school only teach you to drive in automatics and don't teach you how to double-clutch. Why I've no clue when most companies have trucks that have shifters. Although now companies are buying trucks that are automatics and training their drivers for it. There "testing" the waters and have been for some time now. Educate yourself. Getting your feet wet in this industry is about asking questions.
Yes it is frustrating at times...deal with it til something you find seems better for you.

 

Im starting with schneider soon. There going to start me off .42 mile see what happens . I have 15 year of ex. But took a brake for 2 years got to start somewhere . Knights pay for me .27 mile no way.

 

Your first paragraph is opinion and I can't really argue with it because in my opinion they've treated me alright but some people just don't fit in or have bad experiences for whatever reason. Only thing I could argue about is the hometime comments. Lucky to get 1 day off after 3 weeks out? Maybe when you worked for them 20 years ago, but I had no problem taking pretty much as much time is I wanted within reason (1 week straight for each month was the max without having to slip seat).

The second paragraph, however, isn't really accurate. The comments about the "training program" in particular are off base. First off, Schneider doesn't run a training program. You have to attend an approved driving school, whether it be private or community college, for the 4-6 week period you referred to. Not until you complete that schooling and pass your CDL exam will they even hire you. Then you go through their short "training program" that you refer to on top of that. So basically I just wanted to point out that simply stating you only have to go to their abbreviated training program and not actual driving school is misleading.

 

HOS,S Mery Christmas

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of trucking.!!!! I doubt Schneider drivers are the only drivers who experience that. lol after a few months on the road I expected delays and no place to park in Jersey. Don't get me started on chitcago or LA lol. I think with Schneider 7 from what I am hearing any large trucking company...long haul miles are working there way to be a thing of the past unless you run team and are on there "elite" driver board or you've been there more than 5 years...I could say more however it would be inappropriate hee hee. Don't forget intermodal chugga chugga choo choo. JB Hunt moves the largest amount of containers across America coast to coast. Ya you see other trucking company containers on the rail but all they getting is a piece of the pie...so to speak.

 

Been driving less than 6 months, made $4241.60 this month and had 6 days off. I don't consider that a bad wage for entry level position. Driving solo this week while my co-driver gets surgery and spends X-mas with his little ones. Much harder driving solo than team. More BS to deal with so to speak. I'm still getting decent miles (575, 362, 324 and 425=1687 miles since 22nd). All my loads have been over 42k and all have been live loads or unloads. Not something I'm used to. Days are much longer than as a team. I can see if someone didn't have trip planning and didn't hustle wouldn't make any money. Still on recap hours from when I was teaming.

Have to pass the truck stops and keep pushing.

 

I agree with you warhippy you have to hustle. I always wondered and had to laugh when I drove for Schneider how some of the owner operators made money because they would pass me several times during my shift. I could drive for 4 to 6 hours without stopping. Averaged 550 to 600 plus miles most nights or even days for that matter. it also depends on the terrain your driving in. when I got to know an area and where the truck stops were I had it planned out on where I would stop. There were some times it was hard to sit in the seat for long periods of time...I learned my limits and went with the flow and stopped when I needed to.