Knight and Squire Transportation?

Hey i just got done training with my trainer for 21 days with knight. I finished with my trainer on 5/22/12 after 21 days with him. The pay for training is $400 a week. Overall i give the training a A in score. Now pressure training. What you can handle is what you do. Starting out if you can only drive for 6-8 hours and you feel tired then tell your trainer you need a break. They will not force you to drive the full 11 hours if your not upto it at first. Little by little you can build yourself up to it. LEARN the Qualcomm. Very important to learn it with the trainer then to try to learn it by yourself. Bring a binder full of paper and write this steps down you need to learn. Will be very helpful when you get on your own. Dont be afraid to ask as many questions as you want. I recieved my truck as soon as i tested out. Go over it with a fine tooth comb...look at everything and mark down any scratches, dings, dents and whatever you spot. Any repairs that you think need to be repaired before you go out make sure you bring it up to your dispatcher and shop people. Also any truck you get you are suppose to get a new mattress. if there is not one on your truck tell them you need a new mattress. Federal govererment regulations state you get a new mattress and not a used one. So far the miles are here and the dispatchers are doing good. Talk to your dispatcher as soon as u can. ask them what the expect of you and explain what you expect of them. get on the same page. Don't turn down any runs as long as you know you can make it on time. Always write done the reciever's information, consignee's information and all directions possible. Keep a mileage log, keep a record of all your runs. keep records of everything if possible. Make sure you get a map book and a cb radio. GPS is very helpful and if you have a tablet or computer get a wifi card or a hot-spot as they call it. Know how to read and plan a route. there is so much to learn but alot you will learn as you go along.

 

I worked for knight out of their carlisle,pa terminal.I only lasted a couple months though.Most of the drivers there were good people but hated working there.I held on for as long as I could,I live by the 3 strikes law.They reached the 3rd Feb.29th 2012.The dispatchers there are (Jennifer,wannabe corporate buffoon---Geoff,sounds like he is drunk all the time and 2 others that I barely delt with.Jose the terminal mgr is garbage and the shop mgr is worthless.They have qualcom but dont dispatch you with all the info you need,If you need something you gotta ask which usually takes 20 minutes or more.Directions are your problem most of the time unless you happen to have the 20 minutes or more to kill waiting for them.If you have to call them be prepared to listen to the Miami Vice soundtrack for a while.Every terminal runs themselves like a seperate company so dont expect any help from them when your in their area.I was dispatched quite a few times to loads that did not exist or wouldnt be available for 5,10.15 hours.I delivered to walmart DC fayetteville,nc and had to find an empty elsewhere.They sent me out into farmland to get one and insisted there was one there.I spent 3 1/2 hrs and finally gave up.I found one at walmart the next afternoon and went to Meritor in Maxton,nc.The release # they gave me was wrong and after 16 different #'s over an 8 hour period I left empty.That was the last straw for me,STRIKE 3.I dont know how the other terminals are but you take a chance with any company you choose.

 

Your dispatcher can make you or break you! If you get a bad dispatcher then ask to switch. Usually this is allowed but only one time. Unfortunately that is the way the cookie crumbles. I've been down that road before and had to just quit the company. Your dispatcher is your key to success. Its tough building a good relationship with a dispatcher at the mega-carriers. They are just responsible for so many drivers that you are just a number.

 

I'm glad you asked about the Knight training program because I'm thinking of taking the same route. I talked to a Knight driver the other day running the western regional and he said he was pleased with them but, I too am going to talk to Roehl first. Thanks to all for the info

 

Knight and western regional and Phoenix ... Phoenix has ran many a Knight driver off. And when you find yourself dropping in San Bernardino County on Friday afternoon, and there's no empty ... I liked Knight ok, but if I had to make my living with Knight van and dealing with Phoenix and So. Cal weekly, I couldn't have stayed there as long as I did. maybe things are better now? I'm familiar with Roehl's western flatbed division and that's where I'd go given the choice of the two if you live in CA or at least work towards Knights refrigerated division as opposed to their van. Knight for California drivers may try and talk you into going intermodal but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

 

Just an FYI for you newbies in Florida. Knight has a terminal in Lakeland. Also their reefer division is down here at the same terminal. Supposedly they are in a brand new facility. If you guys are aiming for Knight I would highly recommend you join the reefer side of it. More pay, and double the chance of getting a load! You can haul refrigerated product and can also haul just like a dry van. This is a no brainer guys so get your foot in the door while you have the opportunity.

 

thanx for the info

 

I am interested in the squire cdl training and was wondering if anyone who has been thru the program can give me any reviews.

 

I have actually attended Knight orientation and I must say that they were very straight forward and pretty blunt about their operations. Course that wasn't the case when I spoke to the recruiter but nonetheless they were very forth coming during orientation.

I would strongly advise you don't believe the ploy of their 7/7 or 14/7 home time policy. This most certainly was a "get you to orientation gimmick" and once I was there after talking to a dispatcher they were not aware of this program! This was interesting! As an experienced driver though I knew going in that there is no way you will make money on a schedule like this but figured I would see what they had to offer anyway.

So besides the home time ploy everything else was pretty straight forward. I have actually heard fairly decent things about their Squire program and have talked to many drivers who were satisfied with their training. Here is one issue I have heard a lot about from current and past drivers and that is that the senior drivers get the mileage and you have to earn your seniority. Normally doesn't work this way with most other companies. How long it takes you to start making any kind of decent money is still up in the air as far as my knowledge of the game.

If you are interested in Knight I would certainly advise you to go for the reefer division. This will insure you get more miles than normal just due to the simple fact of you having more load choices/options. For you new guys, hauling reefer means that you can haul anything refrigerated and also anything that can be hauled in a dry van. If you were to opt for the dry van division than you will only be able to haul dry goods or non-refrigerated freight.

Also for those of you in the Florida area Knight has a brand new facility that they just built or were building when I attended orientation down in Lakeland.