Going Over the Road with Knight

I'm a Knight Driver and as I sit here, my truck is cool and idling. The idle policy is fairly realistic and takes into consideration the summer months where your goal is less than 25% idle time rather than the 10% you spoke of.

I went through their training, am in my truck now, and average between 2,600 and 3,200 miles/wk. The DM's in my terminal are good, maintenance on the trucks is decent, and overall I've been treated fairly by this company.

Like you I had to decide if I wanted to go the company training route or do it on my own. I chose this route as it seemed to make the most sense to me. Let's see..... We all know as newbies we hunt for that magic first year to be done so more of the industry opens up to us. I started my training in April, have been on the road for a couple months now, and rarely do I see any of our drivers who are miserable working here. Sure there are some complaints, but what company is perfect? I see and speak to a lot of drivers who have been here for several years, some who left and came back.

Take it for what it's worth, but I think you can do far worse elsewhere. It's simply my opinion. The company is doing right by me.

 

I start orientation with Knight (Squire) on Tuesday and am wondering what terminal you are based out of? I am hoping that when I finish my training (I have my Class A CDL) I will be able to get about 3000 miles a week.

I am glad to hear things are going well for you because it makes me hope the same will be true for me.

 

I'm out of the Carlisle terminal, live in upstate NY, and was in your neck of the woods last week. I know I don't have to tell you this, but, the key to success is understanding that nothing and no company is perfect. There'll be bumps along the way. My experience has been nothing but favorable with Knight. If you want the miles, you have to plan to be out for a while. The guys who want to be home every weekend won't get the miles. Is it worth it? In my opinion, yes, it's definitely worth it.

CDL school is just the beginning. Going out with a trainer is a pain but necessary, and I never fail to listen to the more experienced drivers out here. Ok, in all honesty, you DO have to have a B.S. filter... lol.

 

I have come to the conclusion that trucking is much like the military, you get out of it what you put in. If you are willing to work and follow the rules you will do well. If all you want to do is complain and get something for nothing nothing is what you will get.

 

If all you want to do is complain and get something for nothing nothing is what you will get. So very very TRUE

 

Careful there man. Knights going to curb stomp your strong work ethic. Not "if" but "when." They capitalize on the naiveness that new drivers bring. Other companies embrace hard workers and compensate accordingly. It's not the industry as a whole like many will lead you to believe.

 

I don't consider myself as naive, I am 50+ years old and have a pretty extensive life experience. I know I have to pay my dues somewhere adn of the available options that meet my requirements Knight seems to be the best choice to pay those dues, I need a company that will allow a pet and preferably has a presence in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. If Knight turns out to be a bad fit for both myself and the company after a year I will look at other possibilities. After 11 years in the Submarine Force I am pretty sure I can deal with anything Knight throws at me for a year or two to get the experience I need to move on if that becomes necessary.

Thanks for the advice though.

 

What he said. I was with Knight, still am. Expect a brutal training. Like getting up at 6:45 am, rolling at 7:04 am to 3 grocery DC's in industrial LA then after all is done swinging by Anaheim Sunny Delight to take a load back to Phoenix. Then by the time you get to Redlands finding out your headlights are out. After waiting for a road crew which took 3 hours finally "Line 2'ed" at 11:53 pm. This is a absolutely true story that happened to me a week and a half ago. It is not what everyone thinks it is. I love getting into fights with other drivers at DC check in too.