Schneider ?'s

I've been out of Schneider since 2004, but I know a few things still. The terminals (operating centers) are all pretty nice...there's a few rat holes, but those are generally ones where they took over a facility rather than built one from scratch. Satellite yards are hit or miss, some have nice things, some don't.

They pay HHG. When I worked there, I know if you found a serious discrepancy in the difference between HHG and practical, they'd consider alterations (this tended to only be a factor in local operations).

Can't speak for the trucks these days, I owned my own for my last 4 years, but generally, they keep their stuff in good shape.

I know back in the day, you needed a Hazmat. I imagine it's probably the same today.

As for pros and cons. My experience is skewed because I spent the majority of my years as a local driver with them, but at the time, they were decent folks, prone to pulling stunts every now and then. Pretty much par for the course for your typical huge trucking company. I have to say that there were times when it seemed that HOS restrictions didn't really seem to matter much, but in all fairness, I had a few times when I got stranded 300 miles from homebase (as a local driver with a day cab) and the STL (DBL's now) stuck me in a hotel for the day.

I'm sure a current driver will step in and handle the rest or correct me.

 

Yeah, I've been with Schneider since 2004, and still work with them now, it's the only trucking company I've worked for. I don't know everything, but I'll tell you what I know/believe.

I've heard back and forth whether they're hiring drivers right now or not, for a while I heard they were not hiring new drivers, but that may have changed now. And I think they're always hiring experienced drivers, even in these recession days.

On the west coast, they have terminals in Portland, OR, French Camp, CA, and Fontana, CA. They have a lot more drop lots in various cities too. And then they just opened a terminal in Salt Lake City. That's all in the west, I only drive the western states so that's what I know for sure. I started out driving team, and from what I remember they have a lot more terminals around the country, like Dallas, St. Louis, Columbus, and places like that.

As a team driver, you get paid 5 cents a mile more than you would get, so that's one of the reasons why I started as a team driver. I think I was getting 31 cents a mile starting out, so that means I would have gotten 26 cents a mile as a solo. Not much, but I am making 35 cents a mile now with 4 years experience, and I quit and came back, but I came back within the period of time where I kept my benefits and pay level, which was nice.

And as a western states driver, I get around 2500 to 3000 miles/week once I get going, that is after I've settled back into mode after being home. There are times where I get less than that, and if I was doing 48 states I may get more, but I'm good with what I'm making now.

They do pay out of HHG, which sucks sometimes cuz you end up getting screwed out of miles, but they've always had that system since I was here so I guess I don't know what I'm missing.

They pay once they get the paperwork, but the cool think is about 6 months ago, they started using transflo so the bills get sent over instantly when it's done that way.

They use freightliner centuries mostly, and they have some Pete's. They take care of their trucks pretty good, especially considering how old some of 'em are. There are issues with trucks every now and then, but from my own experience, I've had 2 trucks with them, and I haven't had any major problems. I've had to have 2 loaners, the first one was cuz a guy backed into my truck while I was home, and the other time was cuz they were backed up doing repairs, and I needed a new u-joint that took 'em longer than it should have because of that.

Solo trucks are governed at 60 mph, and teams are at 65. I would assume they're not gonna change that for a while, but when/if they do, they're probably only gonna bring it up to 63, which is where they were before.

Layover is 65 a day, which is base level. They knocked it down from where it was before, can't remember what is was.

All loads are forced dispatch, so they can give you loads to NYC, which is about 95% of the reason I went to western states after quitting teams. I told them that I would go anywhere else but the New England area, and they said they can't guarantee that I wouldn't get a load to NYC if I was 48 states. But as a team driver, we only had a couple loads that went out to that area, and none of them to NYC. But that could have been cuz they only give NYC loads to solo's :/ They tend to screw over solo's more than teams, I assume cuz they make less money for the company and they're easier to replace.

They do have Canada loads, and starting June 1, you have to have a passport to do a Canada load. I don't have one yet, and as long as I don't, I won't get one. Before that, I've had about 4 or 5 Canada loads, and to me they're not worth the trouble to do them. But if you don't have a passport or you have stuff on your record that won't allow you into Canada, you could just use that as an excuse. They've only asked once about me getting a passport, and I said I'm working on it

Hazmat endorsements are technically required, but I've heard about plenty of drivers that got hired without them. I started out with it, but then lost it cuz I didn't get fingerprinted within the deadline for the homeland security thing. I tell them the same thing that I tell them about not having a passport "I'm working on it". they haven't bothered me much about it, and when I did get hazmat loads, they were about 1 every 3 to 6 months, so it's not often anyways.

They do have prepass/ezpass, which I think is called superpass. It's nice when you go out to the midwestern states with ezpass toll roads. Prepass is real nice when I get the chance to benefit from it, Oregon and Washington doesn't use it.

I'm not totally sure about the passenger thing, but I remember hearing that you just have to tell them in advance and then it's ok, but I could be wrong.

I think the inverter restriction is 175 watts, but what they don't know can't hurt you They don't know what goes on in the truck since they're not in it, so it's pretty easy to get around that one, as well as other policies, like no cell phone while driving.

As a western states driver, I get home fairly regularly, when loads are good. There was a time though where I was out a month, and I didn't get through the house one time :I I would imagine it doesn't happen as much as a 48 states guy. When I was team, it was unimaginable to get through the house while out. And I think the policy is, if you live 50 miles away from a terminal or drop lot, you can take the truck home, but be aware they use the HHG for that too, I got screwed cuz of that where I used to live.

So that's what I know/believe based on what I remember and have heard. Some of their policies may be different now, I don't really check into them much. If you want to know anything for sure, you can always call them, but they're not above serving lines of b.s. in the hiring stages, so be aware of that.

I can't really compare this company to others, since it's the only one I've worked for. I've adjusted to the point where when I get screwed, I don't get too worked up about it cuz it could be worse. I've heard their dispatchers and overall driver service is pretty good. I would say so, they are generally pretty friendly although there are a few that I can't say so. But I've heard compared to other companies, they are good. I just had a time where I had to get home after just being home to take care of some family business, and they had no problem helping me there, so that was cool. But there are times though when it seems like they care more about the load than you, like you're just a number. Which in my opinion is cuz they're so big, that in a way you are just a number. But as long as you don't take stuff they do personally, but rather that they're doing it to help their bottom line, then it works out. That's the reality of it, so I've learned to just accept it.

I've heard some horror stories of what can happen to company drivers, mostly on here. I've never had anything that screwed up happen, I don't know if that's luck or not. But in my opinion, I would say Schneider's a good company to work for.

 

They have an operating center in Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC. They are hiring tanker right now. With any trucking company they usually want you out of a certain area for a home base. It never hurts to give them a call.

 

That's right they do have oc's in Atlanta and Charlotte. I also coincidentally found out that they technically allow inverters up to 300 watts, technically

 

180 watts/12vdc ---> 15amps

300/12vdc = 25amps --> that's way over 15 amps (fuse of a shaker)

Shakers have questionable wiring to begin with = you really don't want to push it.

 

Here's the best I can tell ya. I've been there since March of 2009. I'm on JC Penney dedicated account. So I can't answer all questions.

Are they currently hiring experienced drivers? (I ask because I know of a few companies with hiring freezes at the moment)...Out of the Atlanta terminal there has been about 15 new hires a week in orientation. All of them have at least one year experience.

Where are their terminals?...Atlanta, Charlotte are the only ones I've been to.

What is the pay like?... My pay on dedicated is less than an OTR driver, since I'm home on a regular basis. Once you've been with Schneider at least six months with no issues, you can go online and apply for other openings in your area for dedicated. There hasn't been much open in Ga lately.

How many miles per week do solo guys average?....I hear the OTR drivers say they get around 2000. Give or take a couple hundred.

Do they pay practical miles or HHG?...HHG

Do they pay on dispatch or when they recieve the paperwork?...Pay on dispatch

Whats the equipment like? Is it well maintained? What style and size trucks do they use?...I got a 2005 Century with 285,000 miles. It is pretty well maintained for all safety aspects. They are not fixing anything that they don't have too.

What speed are their trucks governed at?...60 on cruise. 63 without cruise on. You get used to it!

Do they pay layover/breakdown pay? If so, how much?...Layover is paid not sure how much.

Do they do forced NYC?...Not usually.

Do you have to run Canada and have a passport?...When I went thru orientation, it was not madatory to have a passport or run Canada.

Is a HAZMAT endorsement required?...Yes

Do they have Pre-Pass and/or EZ Pass?.... I have Pre-pass

What is their rider policy? Do you have to be with the company a certain amount of time before you can have one? Are there restrictions on who can be brought as a passenger? If so, what? Is there a monthly/weekly cost to have a passenger?... Suppose to be 6 months with company with no issues. Rider can be anyone over 10 years old. The cost is $16 per month.

Do they have any restriction on inverter size?...Yes, it must plug into cig lighter.

What is there hometime policy like? Can you take you truck home?...I think they are going to have a regional division soon, to be home every weekend. You can take the truck home if you live more than 50 miles from the terminal.

Pros & Cons of working here?...For me, the pro is that I'm glad to have a job! The con is, I'm paid less per mile since I'm on dedicated.

 

That's probably true, but I saw a billboard in one of their west coast oc's that said schneider allows inverters below 300 watts, and I also have a 300 watt inverter that I use in my century, and besides draining the battery quite a bit when the truck's not on, I've had no problems with it. I only run it when the truck is running anyway, though. But yeah, I always thought 300 was more than schneider allows, till I saw the flyer.