Idling Policy

I can't give any info on Squire but my girlfriend worked for them almost 9yrs. You can choose to run 48 or regional, but her advise is to run regional because each terminal has a area of influence that does not extend past their region. So you will be at the mercy of other terminals other then your home terminal routing you or plning loads.
They want you to keep under 10% as a yearly average. And getting fuel bonuses will be determined by the weights you haul- how much you idle- where you run Which will give you your mpg.
You will be assigned what they have available at the terminal or even put in a new truck. I'ts all luck of the draw. A manual was being saved for newbies but they where going all auto so most likely you will be in a auto. But phoenix is the best place to have a chance at a manual, just request it & see what happens.
Personally for the fuel bonus you want a auto- light loads- & to keep 2500 mile per week minimum on the odometer. Do your service & don't wreck &$ .05 per mile extra every quarter or $1,500 on avg miles 4x a year is 6k extra. you can easily get 4k bonus without any problem just for safety & doing your PM's.

 

I forgot to tell you that just because you run regional does not mean you cant run a 48 load back east.
Also because all planning is done outside of the DM's control now he/she can only request a particular area or lanes you like to run. At Knight, because they don't have forced dispatch or centralized dispatching the communication between you & DM is crucial to your money making ability.
My girlfriends #1 tip is that the phrase, thats all we have, when you get a crappy load is false. They just try to cover them first. She says if you are getting good miles don't sweat it, but if not you have to be proactive & get it solved early. All trucks on board should do minimum 2,200 or dm will disappear, but you want 2,800-3,200. The dry 5th wheel gets the grease at Knight.