knight or stevens

all big companies that hire new drivers are the same.. they're all crap, although some are worse than others. reefer trips generally has longer milages, are heavy, and you sit at the docks for long periods of time. some people like that. dry freight is lighter on a new guy, but if you're physically fit and don't mind doing the extra work, get into flatbeds. usually it's more compensating.

 

As a new driver as well I have spent the last year looking at all of the beginner companies I could find trying to make a decision. And the only thing I can tell you is, As a new driver we are going to have to take a bite out of that sandwich, and get our miles. If you would like to be near home more often stick with companies with a terminal in your town you will get through more often than if you go with a companies out of state. (Drivers Statements)

Knight is the company I am going with for kinda for the same reasons. I have spoken to some of the drivers and have gotten good and bad but over all I think they will be a good match to learn.

 

Just because a company has a terminal next door, doesn't mean you'll get home more. All starter companies are about the same in the home time department. One day home for every week out and 5-6 weeks out at a time.
APU's can be a HUGE difference, especially in the summertime. Also, Stevens provides inverters on all trucks.
Good luck in your choice.

 

Yeah, there's a England terminal 70 miles from my home in Burns Harbor, IN; but I've only been home 4 times in the last year.

Of the two you listed, I'd go with Knight.

 

I went down to the local terminal here in Phoenix yesterday and asked for a tour of the place. (I showed up unannounced) I waited about 5 minutes. The equipment looked to be in great shape, clean and well maintained. Spoke to a few of the drivers, all were helpful and were satisfied with Knight some bad mouthing but nothing too bad. the facilities in Phoenix were modern with a huge drivers lounge showers and catered breakfast and lunch daily.

 

have you looked into conway truckload they are a decent company and will treat you pretty well. they will bus you to joplin pay you 100$ for first day of orientation then send you off for a week to crowder college to "boot camp" which is basically just to make sure you can do the job your being hired for before you go out with a trainer or "finisher" as they call it. upon completion of boot camp you will get 300$ more. they put you up on a hotel and the hotel provides breakfast the school will provide lunch and a voucher for kfc buffet for dinner. they will pay you 26 cpm for training and 30 cpm once solo and you will be upto 36 cpm by the end of your first year i know its not the best pay but considering what other company's pay first year drivers its not a bad deal. they also pay practical miles for all miles loaded or empty.

sorry for the run on sentence but my punctuation skills are not the best.

 

Stevens is not the company it was 5 years ago and neither is the equipment and the upkeep. That being said, the little volvo's that makes up most of Knight's fleet are nothing to write home about either.

What terminal would you run out of (knight)? Knight is not a bad place to start if they'll take you. A lot less hassle (short term and long term) than if you go to Stevens. At Knight, if you want to run more miles and are OK with the added issues of pulling a reefer, than you could easily move into their refrigerated div.

With knight van, a lot will have to do with the terminal you run out of and how close you want to stay to home. Knight, though, no APU's, won't pay (reimburse) truck washes (no terminal tractor washes either), lot of drop/hook but often no empty available. (They have a serious deficiency of trailers as of 2010) If you can stay out of the SE, you can do pretty good with them.