Navajo Express - good or bad company?

Hey everybody. Im thinking of sighning on with navajo. Im fresh out of school, and they will take me. So just curious if anyone out there works for them. You hear good and bad with all companys. Im realistic just dont want to be sittin around all week not getting miles. Im looking for otr and willing to drive hard. Any info is really appreciated. Also have offers from PTL and Hogan but i figure beer and meat is always in demand. if anyone has any info. Thanks

 

I thought I'd update this thread since it's been stagnant for a while. I've been with Navajo for about 5 months now. I came here after Schneider let me go for backing over a mailbox. That, combined with two wind skirt issues, gave me three preventables. With only a year of driving experience, not a lot of companies were willing to talk to me. Navajo was. I guess that classifies them as a "second chance" company.

I was solo OTR making 40 cpm when I left Schneider. Now I'm solo OTR making 36 cpm.

At Schneider I started out at 60 mph on the cruise and 63 mph on the pedal. Right before I left they increased the cruise to 63. They left the pedal the same. At Navajo we're governed at 62 on the pedal and 65 on the cruise.

A trip with "good miles" at Schneider was 500-600 miles, with the average being around 350. Most of my trips with Navajo are 800+ miles, with the average being around 1000.

With Schneider I was told frequently (usually at least once a week) that freight was "soft," and that I'd have to wait for a load. If this wait was less than 24 hours, I didn't qualify for layover pay. With Navajo I've only had to wait once for a load. I'm always moving.

With Schneider I'd say 50% of my loads were drop-and-hook. It's significantly less with Navajo, I'd say closer to 25%. And frequently loads will have multiple pick-up or delivery stops. Extra stops are compensated at $50/each.

Despite the lower cpm and higher instance of live loads and unloads, the fact that I stay loaded and moving is reflected in a higher paycheck. My truck is a Peterbilt 587 with 222k miles, an inverter package and an APU. A much nicer tuck for being OTR than the FL Cascadia with no inverter I drove with Schneider. My Peterbilt also has much lower mileage and is in the shop a lot less often.

Getting home can be tricky. I'm based in Denver but live in Charlotte, NC. If I have a complaint, it's that I'm rarely home on the day I requested. So I would suggest if you come on board here to plan accordingly. That said, when my father died suddenly they got me from California to NC in four days. So props for that.

My manager can be pushy and sometimes I push back. We have our differences but I'm satisfied with the way we work them out. Overall I'm happy here. I've seen a lot of the country and am making decent money. That was my goal in trucking.

 

Thanks for the information. I might be coming aboard with them end of this month. Heard bad and good but I think any company is going to be that way. Funny I almost went with Schneider but decided I'd rather not be micromanaged. Hopefully Navajo isn't like that.

 

Negative.
Getting your foot through the door by good impression, after that your an object. Your concerns fall on deaf ears, your put in situationas like HOS with no regard if you loose your license, I was forced to wear the same clothing i had for 2 weeks for what presumably would be a 2 day event boy was i ever wrong , it started off with the truck I first got was filthy and smelled like dog pee even thought it was sheepishly cleaned from the previous driver, truck had problems, radiator went out, so I next went out, the clutch gave way, then batteries went bad, all in 2 1/2 months, always putting it off to be fixed, when those problems finally were addressed after 2 1/2 months of nonsense,they decided to have me swap trucks for a better one, I was to drive a load from Darien , to Colorado and drop it there to get a better truck, but low and behold this truck which was never properly maintained by shop had one more surprise for me, just right in the middle of Nebraska only 586 miles to go before Colorado , I heard a pop, called break down and told them, I was only told Don't worry about it keep going. I got out to see what it was, couldn't find any problems . Finished my break, got back in, hit the freeway, put it in cruise at 65 mph, truck began riding hard and with out warning KABANG! Next thing i know the truck is bucking down this freeway near Kearny, and I have 43 thou lb hauling behind. I immediately pulled off to the shoulder, freaked out on what just happened . Called breakdown because now I lost air, I thought my airline blew, they ignored me.
Here comes an elderly man standing in front of the truck holding these huge steel objects. It was my UJoint and pieces of my drive shaft! The entire unit exploded on the freeway sending pieces everywhere.
He and I walked down the shoulder collecting pieces into a bag, he,was a volunteer for the DOT safety of Nebraska . Oh yes he wrote down everything. From that point on I had the same clothes on for 2 weeks not knowing when I would return home. It has been a nightmare with this company, the next truck I got was out of Arizona, all looked great, til I stopped on the way in the middle of Colorado HEADING to corporate , when I came out from my 30, there's a huge puddle under the front, that tuned out to be a radiator leak Again. So in the shop this one went, cause even the driver window got cracked from a gravel truck I presume , once all those problems were fixed, I was to head up to Kansas in the same clothes I left in the week before, to get a load and head back towards Darien where I would begin my dedicated route and be able to get a few days off at home to freshen up, but
This time on the way to Kansas for this load I took a 30 at a small truck place off hwy 23 , I left with a half tank of gas, I had enough to get me to liberal is, and fill up after I got this load, but when I went back out to start the truck after my 30, it would not start . I knew I wasn't out of gas. Turns out air got into the filter . Had to wait 3 hours for someone to flush and prime it. By that time was was late for this load, and it was my worst nightmare .
Most companies in trucking keep their trucks maintained usually in 2 to 3 months they are pulled in for a check up and look over. Navajo don't do this, this is,why they have horrible trucks, it puts a driver at high risk. This company in the short time I was there is reckless, dangerous and risky. You mean nothing, all you are is a tool. I immediately quit all it had me doing was getting so upset and I was screaming out of frustration no one really gives a #### , I was put in hos violation twice because of bad dispatch . They can't read a clock, they think you can deliver a 6 hour RUN on 4 hours drive time last cycle.
These are very uneducated and reckless people . Please do research on any company , any one of them can make an offer hard to refuse, but thats,all it is, it's like cheese bait to snap the mouse. Once your gone, they hunt another victim and the misuse and abuse continues. Your CDL is to valuable to be banned by a company like this that don't care. This is why so many companies are hard up for drivers, no one wants to be their escape goat. And it does hurt the ones in few that possibly work with their drivers to keep things right. If you can't practice what you preach.... Your in the wrong occupation .
End.

 

Jake Brake, what dedicated account were you on? I have been looking to join up.

 

The chic on the door has those baby blue bedroom eyes, that’s all I need

 

Yeah, you know she was like 14 on that photo, right?

 

And she's now the president or COO of the company, or some such.