Anyone know anything about Stevens Transport?

ive been in training with them for a week now. so far, no complaints! good training. they want everyone to be successfull!

 

3rd week in training and I finally got my CDL - that's what this company sets out to do for you. The instructor will stay with you throughout the entire process, one on one. Just be at the DPS at 5am to get in line first - that was torture!! This part teaches you patience and endurance, I guess.... You know they also offer fuel bonuses if you get your rig to achieve over 6 mpg? You can make up to $1800/yr if you get it to run 7.5 mpg - very possible if you shift in the "green zone" Stevens spends $17 million a month on fuel, so a little bonus is nothing for them. Also you get safety awards such as LCD TV's, iPods, GPS systems, etc... Pretty cool so far. Oh one more thing - suprise drug test today. Already tested the 2nd day of the 1st week, so "crack-heads" need not apply.....

 

thats good that you got your cdl. i just passed all my written exams. im in my 2nd week now. i am still having a hard time with shifting. i hope i get better!

 

oh brother yea your probably not gonna get more than .26 a mile form any co. being fresh out of school, and don't forget to pay back your training if that other company don't reimburse you.hell you might get .36 a mile and not a lot of miles.boy does everybody cry about new york city.It will only make you a better driver. it doesn't bother me one bit to get a load from Azusa, CA. to nyc or nj. if you can drive and read a map you will do fine. so what if your gonna be a number,but my fleet mgr. always called me by my name, and never a number when i was there i wasnt there to make friends with eveyrone hell i only saw them once in a blue moon anyway your there to make money and they are too.overall Stevens is a good co. to start with

 

i worked there for almost a year as a company driver then i leased a truck,about them not careing about you as a person i disagree completely when my 2 year old grandson died they payed my plane tickett there and payed for mine and my wifes back to amarillo from atlanta....i was making anywhere from 1200 to 1800 a week take home not gross...when my dm quit i guess i fell through the cracks and went a month with out makin any money so i went and quit , now i wished i didnt. they also dont do dumb and dunber any more dot stopped it.nowe i am out of work due to an injury i recieved workin for crime inc ooppss i mean prime inc , and goin krazy.... if you keep a good attitude and work not wine all the time you should do good with stevens

 

You're pretty funny if you think you're going to average 7 1/2 mpg. First, you have a C15 Cat, probably the worst fuel milage motor on the highways today. Cats are notorious for bad milage. Second, you have heavy reefer freight. The heavier the load, the worse the milage.

Also you have to factor in your speed. If you can only do 62 mph, that the fastest you can hit the bottom of a big hill is... 62. You'll be down in 7th or 8th gear with some of that heavy stuff (or even lower if they really have the HP cut down). Shifting in the "green zone" won't help you in that situation. You'll be driving with your foot flat on the floor praying you make it up.

Last company I worked for I ran dedicated. Had a dry trailer, Super 10, and a 470 Mercedes-Benz motor in a Freightliner. The most weight I ever had was about 2500 in the box, it was like running around empty all day basically. Most of the time I averaged between 7.8-8.2 mpg. That was being basically empty. Of course, I didn't give a crap about any "green zone" but I doubt highly if it makes that much difference.

Bottom line, I wouldn't buy anything with that extra $1800 you are going to make until you get the check...

 

the highest average i ever got in the o7 pete is 7.25 and i did eveythhing stevens said to do....also i had an apu so little to no idle time.

 

Funny, I run 7.2 constantly, with the cat c15, and an 8 speed tranny, hauling heavy loads, governed at 64, usually drive about 62, and I run down the hill at the speed limit, not the governed speed. Shifting and acceleration will make a big difference in any ones fuel mileage. I do have the older c15 without the DPF, which does cut the fuel mileage.

Run an engine, any engine at it optimal performance range, and you will get better results than your foot to the floor running around empty, shifting and grinding those gears.

 

When I said I wasn't shifting in the green zone, I didn't mean I was grinding gears and driving around with my foot on the floor. My truck was governed at 67, but I never ran that fast. My dedicated route was 267 miles round trip, all but 40 miles was in Illinois. All but 100 miles of it was two lane. I wasn't running the thing like it was stole. I just shifted every gear around 1550-1600 RPMs instead of different for each gear. Lots of flat roads though.

Now I'm OTR, I try to do better about shifting in a specific range. Don't just lay it on the floor, etc. Try to save fuel. With a 335 Cummins with a 10 speed in the mountains I'm in most of the time, with these heavy (for a dry van) loads we've got, I do good to get 5 1/2 average. Thats all miles, not just loaded or empty.

What are you hauling when you say "heavy loads" with an 8 speed OTR? Do you mean your driving a dump truck? Sounds like a dump setup to me. Most heavy haulers that are OTR have a bigger tranny than that to get better milage. More gears you got=better chance you have to find the optimal range for your motor/truck setup. If you are driving a dump, I'd say you have a good shot of getting 7.2 because a lot of your miles will be empty miles back to pick up another load. If not, you must drive a lot of empty miles to get that kind of milage. This guy won't have that option with Stevens. The less they can deadhead you, the better, so you won't have the advantage of bringing your MPG average up while running around empty.

I'd venture to say your not really getting 7.2 hauling heavy loads. Maybe once in a while you are, but not as an average unless you are empty a lot of the time. You might think you're averaging that, but I doubt it. Shift in the green zone all you want, drive in the best place, if your hauling a 100,000 heavy load, your milage is going to be crap. Sure, you can make it better, but it still isn't going to be great.