My application is accepted...

I have been driving for Colonial for a few months now. So far they have been taking very good care of me.
I came to Colonial right out of school. I attended CCS in Fall Branch, TN and yes, they do only hire from a select number of schools.
What was mentioned in the first post about their trucks was a bit off the mark. 90% of their trucks are 1 to 3 year old Volvo VN670's. They don't come with microwaves, or fridges, but yes you can add your own, and if you have a power inverter, they are wired with household outlets.
They are in the process of fielding new Volvo 780's. These do come with fridges, a small sink (holding tank holds 5 gal) and a work station/dining room table (like you would find in a pop up camper) that can be turned into a bed, and a large upper bunk.
As far as working for them. I'm still in my training. I started the week after Thanksgiving. The training was supposed to be 8 weeks of dry box, and 2 of reefer. Unfortunately, I drove for one week, and the freight ground to a dead stop. We spent 3 days in Atlanta before they were able to get us home. Then 2 weeks off. After that it was a week on, a week off for a while.
The good news, since I was in training, and I was at home because there was no freight and not by choice, I still got paid. The trainee pay is $475 per week. One of the best out there from what I could find before signing on with them.
Yes, they do have dispatchers. New drivers are on forced dispatch for 90 days. That's mainly because they are a lease operator/OO company (mostly) and their system works a little different. They don't seem to be very interested in preplanning dry box, but reefer tends to be preplanned.
For the lease, you pay every week. The amount depends on your truck. But you can expect to pay somewhere around $800 per week. This includes your truck, tags, permits, and all other fees. With two long runs and a short per week, you can clear $1.5 to 2k a week.
They have pre-pass and use Comdata cards for fuel. You receive discounts for fule at TA, Petro, Pilot, and Loves. And at Wilco-Hess stations, you pay just a few cents over cost. They do not have Easy-Pass.
Overall I'm quite happy with my training so far. This is my last week of dry box, and I start reefer next week. I'm very excited to get my own truck and start making the real money.
If anybody has any questions about Colonial, please feel free to PM me.

 

Who loves you more than your dog?

 

Ahroun you seem to be in the same boat as me. I started with Colonial the first week of December. I ran for two weeks then got stuck at home for two weeks. Ran for another two weeks then sat at home for a week. I got paid but would’ve rather been on the road training. Right now I am still with my dry van trainer waiting to start my reefer training but was told they have no one to train me. My dry van trainer has been trying to get some reefer loads so I can do it with him but nothing as of yet. I am in CA right now picking up 2maro heading to Atlanta. I told them if I can’t start my reefer training when I get back to the east coast I’ll just go home and call when they have a trainer for me. I really want to finish my training and get my own truck and start making more money as long as the freight picks up. Hope your training goes as planned cause mines not looking to good right now.

 

I have a buddy that just finished his training. He ran all reefer and was getting 5000-6000 miles a week going coast to coast. I think he gets his truck this week so I will have to catch up with him and see how he is doing. I did the math on what he was telling me as far as what he was grossing per mile if he was solo on those runs. He would be bringing home around $3,000 a week. Almost seems to good to be true but I know the money is there. They denied my application but wouldn't tell me why.

 

It is too good to be true and I have to get my boots on here . You're lucky to get 3,000 miles solo and you sure won't take home a dollar a mile . If he was running that many miles he wasn't getting any training . The "trainer" would have to be in the sleeper all the time your buddy was driving to get those miles . Time in the passenger seat is logged as on duty , not driving .

 

It looks like Colonial uses only O/O's and L/O's, do they have company drivers?

 

can they let kids 13 ride in summer months

 

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ide-scoop/60433-colonial-freight-systems.html

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ide-scoop/60433-colonial-freight-systems.html

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ker-jail-holding-weigh-station-employees.html

 

Hang in there...... Colonial Freight Systems is one of the best out there.... and they will always come through for you.