Karls Transport in Antigo, WI

I didn't know they had a school too. I see them come through here occasionally. There seems to be decent things said about them with a google search and looking at facebook. Looks like they customize some cool trailers.

 

I've looked at their school online and it looks like about 180 hours but it says 10 weeks to complete so I'm not sure how that works out. I did read there's a 1 week break during the school too. The cost upfront is $4500 if you pay it or if you drive for them for 18 months or 200,000 miles it's paid back.

 

I run for them currently and have for about 4 months now. Really good company pulling mostly their own dedicated freight. The office people and the owners are very high quality people. You'll never be lied to here and you'll run all the miles you can handle if that's what you want. They have two facilities on opposite ends of Antigo. On the north side of town is the main offices and the maintenance bays along with a drop lot out back. On the south side of town they have two very large warehouses, an apparel shop, showers, laundry, and a gymnasium where they hold the annual Christmas Party, which is off the chain fun. This facility also has a bigger drop lot and the driving school. Karl's has around 150 trucks and is still growing. The equipment is top notch. Kenworth 680's and Freightliner Cascadias. My Cascadia is a 2023 automatic that i got with 43,000 miles on it. Handles like a dream. Oh and there is no forced dispatch which is unheard of for company drivers. I mostly just run what they send to my tablet, but i did ask for a long run over Thanksgiving weekend and they gave me a multi-stopper to Tampa and Vero Beach. I'm happy but to be honest there are two negatives. You are paid twice a month instead of every Friday, and the money per mile is average at best until you've been here awhile and had a chance to get several raises. So you will need to be ok with that. But they do give raises fairly quickly and if you are a hard charger like me you can make up the money somewhat thru volume. All in all i'm happy here and would recommend them highly. I live in Ohio which is good, but if you live in Wisconsin around Fond Du Lac, Neenah, Green Bay, Antigo, Tomahawk or Milwaukee that is their "sweet spot" and you'll love it here. But they do hire from many different areas and states. Hope this helps.

 

Nice writeup, thanks!

 

Just a quick update to my December post. The company now pays every other Friday instead of twice per month. That may seem like no big change but it makes it easier for drivers to plan around cash inflows. And it means there are now 26 paydays per year instead of 24. Also i just passed my one year anniversary and they gave me a very fair raise that worked out to a little more than a 4.5% increase. I couldn't be happier. Whereas i feel i started out a little below industry average in pay i now feel i am paid very fairly, and with future annual raises i know i will be above industry average in pay. You will do well here financially if you are a solid runner, run safe, have a great attitude, and don't bust up your truck with little stupid dents and scratches. Finally, the bonuses are fabulous here. Every quarter you can earn a toal of 3 and a half cents for every mile you run for that quarter. And there is a big annual safety bonus paid on your hire anniversary each year which i just received and forgot was coming. You get it if you had no accidents. All and all things keep getting better here. Best driving job i've had in my almost 18 years of driving big truck. Best job, best equipment, best co-workers.

 

Update: I've been asked by the company to stop sharing my personal experience about pay increases and pretty much anything financial. I completely understand and i've agreed to stop jabbin'. But you guys can ask me any non-financial stuff about life on the road at KT and i'll answer as honestly as i can. Stay safe out there fellas

 

So, they got something to hide?