I really like Knight Transportation

It is a bad deal to take your money to pay for a per deim. Yes it is voluntary, I used that as ONE example of how they were ripping off drivers. I have over 20 years in this industry in all facets from co-driver, O/O nad safety. I have companies that have called me for years trying to get me to work for them. Knight represents everything I hate about it. Maybe after bigblue19 gets past his 5year mark he MAY learn something about trucking. But I doubt it. He sounds more like a DM they hired from memphis state than an actual driver.

 

I past the 5 year mark about 13 years ago, so like your earlier post you are still clueless.

It is not my fault that with all your experience you do not know that company's have to match some of the taxes you pay on your miles and therefore offer perdiem as a tax break for themselves and the driver that gives them more take home pay and in many cases more yearly after tax income.

If you do not like Knight , then fine. But don't act like you left orientation because they were forcing you to do something that is 100% Voluntary and can be opt out of at any time if it does not work for you.

By the way I am a driver and have been a O/O and even a employer in the past, but never went to Memphis State or have I been a DM. I do have a associates degree in applied sciences I got while in the Navy many years ago.

 

worked for Knight for 3yrs out of their portland,or terminal. Knight will keep
you rollin and allow you to drop loaded trailers with extra time on them at their terminals to help maximize your miles. That being said it can be very hard to find mt trailers. It's been 4yrs since i worked for them and at that time their trucks were only governed at 62mph which made them a very dangeroues ride outside the I5 corridor. When you cant keep up with the flow of traffic it can cause serious problems. I found Knight to be well organized and catered to drivers needs but at Knight your always going to be paid on the bottom end of the industry average. Bottom line a slow truck and low pay = no success you will never make big money with Knight. The only other thing i find frustrating with Knight is they dont pay for experience so if you have limited experience they could be a good fit but if you been around for awhile your going to start at the same rate. Overall Knight is better than most OTR companies.

 

I understand a company has to pay for a drivers per deim, if you read the post I said the savings from matching income taxes, and SSI offsets the cost for the company.
My post addressed how Knight will nickle and dime a driver and used that as ONE example. I never stated they forced a driver to accept the per deim, they DO strongly encourage it though.
I talked to driver who were at the terminal and the complaint was lack of empty trailers and having to pull local freight to get out. Knight is very proud of their 2.5-1 ratio of trailers to trucks as a model of efficency, the truth is it comes off the drivers backs. Knight MAY be better than swift, warner or JB but since I have never worked for a company that puts profit and stockholders first I can not say. All I can comment on is what I learned from drivers at the terminal and from the company at orientation, and that is Kbight is no better than the other large companies out there. They micro manage everything the drivers do, find every way they can to increase profits while shafting the driver. Maybe some day drivers will get tired of it.

 

I have found several companies that seemed really good at first,it usually takes a while to find out what underhanded stuff they are doing and who is doing it. I have found at least one that showed it true colors immediately (Covenent) And I wish I had walked out of orientation.
It usually takes awhile for the new to wear off, to really tell about a company.Lots of new guys like to tell what a great outfit they work for and they haven't been there long enough to tell yet.
My comments are not meant to offend you or disrespect you. I wish you all the best with Knight.

 

Believe it or not it seems that Knight has pretty good reviews when you weigh the good and the bad in comparison with other companies. I just talked to Mike (a recruiter out of Syracuse, NY) as I live in upstate N.Y.
Does anyone have any experience driving for Knight up here???

 

My short time with Knight lasted a couple weeks. On week two I ended up in Dallas for three days with no freight, plus the batteries died after the first night in Dallas. The truck didn't run for the next 2 days and the batteries got so low they wouldn't charge my cell phone and the quallcomm quit working. It took them over 48 hours to get someone out there to jumpstart the truck. The last 12 hours I was having to walk over to a gas station to charge my cell phone long enough to talk to them. It was embarrassing explaining to the people working at the gas station that I had to charge my phone off of thier electricity because my company had left me stranded for over 2 days in a truck that wouldn't start. The part that really made me mad was that when I first picked up the truck at the KC terminal it wouldn't start, and of coarse the mechanics didn't bother checking the batteries or alternator at that point.

 

I've heard Knight offers a 7 out/7 home plan where you share a truck with another solo driver, and a similar 4/4 plan. Any truth to either of these?

 

Sorry, I said I talked to Mike. His name is Mark.
I'm realizing that when you're a newbie on the road you have to pay your dues with one of the larger companies, or at least get payed less then once you bide your time you make more money and get with a better company.
Heard somewhere that half the fleet has six months or less experience on the road. Half usually quit or get fired by then.

I got my licence in 2003 and drove Concrete Mixers, dumps, belly dumps. should of went on the road then, but I hate being away from the family.

I'll be starting with Knight next Monday, so I'll let everyone know my experiences. Still got a week to go with Superior out of Port Gibson.

 

Went through orientation last week. Started driving on Thursday, got me home for the weekend then went out on Monday. Been to Va, Pa, and will be going to Wisconsin tomorrow.

So far I like the daily pay, and I like the truck. The people seem to really care and they made sure I got home for Thanksgiving today.

So far so good.