crst is the worst

Liked what you had to say and I was wondering if you could help me out. I am 21yrs old so no real responsibilities holding me back home, also no experience driving a truck or have a CDL. I have been seeing a lot of truck companies training/hiring no experienced truckers and was wondering what your opinion on these training contracts were like? schooling not too bad, the pay ok? Being young, I feel like I have less obstacles with committing to this lifestyle (no family, no mortgage, no need to settle down) thanks for any help

 

No offense intended to the people that drive for CRST, but only a moron would work there.

 

How would you suggest getting started in the trucking industry without a cdl, training, etc? pay for schooling on your own then seek job opportunities, or are there other decent companies out there to get training from through a paid contract? thank you for your time

 

Every company has their flaws,that's just how this industry is,there is no way around it.But there are companies better then others.If one wants to go to a company sponsored school,its best to do research on them first meaning ask other drivers what they're like,don't take the word of a recruiter,they're going to say what you wanna hear not the truth.If a company has bad reviews like CRST does and also crengland those are the ones you wanna cross off your list and look elsewhere.Thats how you get started in the trucking industry.

 

Company paid training is for people that have made a mess of their lives, or caught a bad streak of luck through no fault of their own. Company sponsored schooling is a last ditch effort before grabbing a cardboard box and setting up under a bridge somewhere.

My best advice. Go work for a local union LTL dock. Work the docks and load trucks. They will sponsor you, or you can get a CDL through a local community college. If you don't have the money, get a dead end job making pizza, and save up $5 grand. Then enroll in a community college school for about $3k. They offer 12 week programs so you can still work while schooling. Or quit dead end pizza making job and do the full 6 week course. Then hire on with a good company. I'd suggest tanker companies that train.

Avoid CRST, CR England, Werner, Swift, JB hunt, etc... Etc.....

 

If you're driver's license is clean, you might be better off calling a trucking school, they will help you with getting a government loan for the schooling.... Getting your CDL through a company contract is a bad move, they will lock you in and Ummm bend you over and make love to your behind...... You will be working for free basically and you won't be able to work for another company until you pay them back for the training..... This will not be fun for you
..... Try calling a driving school to check out the government loan... They will help you do this..... The choice is yours of course but I'm giving you very good advice....DON'T SIGN ANYTHING WITH CRST!!!!!!

 

Who are you reffering to that you like? Had to get a response from that person when your post doesn't show who you are trying to contact.

I went through one of the puppy mill schools myself and yes it gets you in the seat faster. At most of the mills you'll be lucky to find a good trainer and #### near impossible to find an excellent trainer. If you decied to go with an actual training company and not one of the mills out there, make sure they don't use an outside training company to get your CDL through first before they send you out with a company driver to "train" you. CRST uses an outside company to do the CDL training portion before you get in the truck with there version of a trainer.

The company I work for now is Prime and it takes a one on one approach to training for your CDL. You'll have to complete 70-100 hours of behind the wheel driving with an instructor before they take you to test. During the CDL phase you'll get an advance of $200/week.

Once you get your CDL you'll then go out with your trainer or different one to complete your minimum 40,000 miles before they let you drive solo. During the 40,000 miles you'll be driving team most of the time towards the end. The idea being that you should be getting progessively better as you complete the minimum 40,000. Your trainer will determine if you'll need to drive more then the 40,000. During that 40,000 miles phase you'll get $700/week for every week you and your trainer are available for the full 7 days for dispatch. During this time you'll learn how to improve your shifting skills, backing, trip planning, how to be successful at the company, and the basics of life on the road in this industry.

Basically the entire training program with the company I work for can take from 3-4 months. Now once you are upgraded to driving solo you will get $0.38/mile + $0.05/mile if you go with a truck designed for a one driver and not a fullsize condo plus a weekly fuel bonus. As a company driver I was averaging $1,000 - 1,100/week take home after taxes and benefits. Now I am a lease driver at Prime and make a lot more, but I am completely financially responsible for every aspect of my truck from fuel to maintenace costs. So the higher take home after my costs each week needs to be saved for when something happens to the truck that isn't covered under warranty.

I truely wish I had known about Prime before I went to CRST to get my CDL. I know I would have made way more money my first year if I had. That $700/week they pay you at Prime was way more then I made each week even after the training at CRST.

Just remember, not everyone is a fit for all companies out there. You'll need to take the time and research on this forum, at truck stops talking to drivers, and with multiple phones calls to recruiters before you make a decision. Before I switched to Prime, I spent 6 months researching and interviewing them. I am surprised my recruiter didn't loose my application when I finally made the decision to come over here. I had asked him so many questions, emailed him constantly, and called him many times. I asked the same questions over and over, just to see if the answer would change over that 6 month period. Then I would find any and all Prime drivers I would see at the truck stops and on the road and aske them questions. I even asked the shop mechanics at the TA's and Petro's which company they would recommend. The first one out of most of there mouths was Prime because of how happy, friendly and easy to work the drivers were and how fast Prime would approve repair orders.

I hope that helps answer your question. I wish you the best of luck on your search. You'll find many oppinions on here and I am sure you'll see plenty of people say you shouldn't go to Prime, but if you read the forums you'll see Prime is pretty good and has a good reputation for treating it's drivers well.

Good Luck,

Redoctober

 

I wouldn't get a student loan or government loan. Just get a job and save.

 

I totally agree and wish I had know that before I signed on with them.!!!

Yes stay away from CRST and CREngland. Every company has it flaws find out if those flaws are ones you can live with before you sign anything.

I would disagree partially with that statement. Company paid training is a way for someone that knows they wan't to be in the industry and understand you do need to pay your dues and work your way up in this industry. I would also agree that most of the people that take this option do it because they have messed up their life pretty badly, but they usually can't get hired on to the good companies and have only the choise of CRST and CREngland.

Not all companies that offer CDL training will bend you over or pay you like you live in a third world country like CRST does. There are some good ones out there, Prime has been good to me and the students I have trained have had a good experience. Plus, Prime does a prorated contract with you as well. If you decide to leave after 6 months, you owe half the cost vs. 100% like CRST does. Shoot, CRST will make you pay back 100% of the cost even if you quite with 1 day left of your contract or don't fullfill the contract.

Side note about making sure they don't come after you if you quite after what you think is your contract end date. Make sure you finish a load on or after the day your contract is up. If you do what a lot of drivers do and take hometime just a couple days before you contact is up and tell them you quite when you were suppose to return, you won't have fullfilled the contract. YOU MUST COMPLETE A LOAD ON OR AFTER YOUR CONTRACT END DATE!!!!

Good luck,

Redoctober

 

Awsome help and community on here, within a couple hours got a ton of great feedback! hey Im checking out Prime right now and am gonna wait before just jumping into any company too happy-go-lucky like I was about to with CR england/CRST. I am a really hard worker but value loyalty/honesty so high pay and home time are not a huge concern but I would like to work for a company that values its drivers, has good communication, and understands I will push out the miles for a good company