Schneider or Central Refrigerated Service - Which is better?

25cpm? Wow, they rip you western guys off. The thing to watch out for is when you are making that 29cpm, how much are you going to be sitting at docks? If you're sitting for 5+ hours every time you stop then that 29 works out to less than SNI's 25. You'll also have to write a lot of comchecks, which get deducted from your pay until reimbursment.

Schneider will mess with you, they do it to everybody. The main thing is that with your other option being owned by Swift, they may run it very similarly. So if you want to know what's bad about that, read up on Swift.

 

Both Central and Schneider are starter companies. What I don't like about Schneider is the way they try to push teams on rookies. Me personally, I don't think I could deal with another rookie driving while I try to sleep. I also want to be on my own. Eat when I want...take a crap when I want...listen to music when I want...whatever. I also don't like the way Schneider will hit you up for the full nut of school if something happens during the 12 months and you stop working for them. They don't seem to help at all with paying for school. You are an indentured servant unless you stay 12 months, 18 months I believe in some of their schools. They do have good training, from what I've found. They seem to ship alot on the rail system, which makes me wonder if they will even have company drivers in years to come. The worst is their pay.

Central is a reefer outfit. Really a totally different animal. Their equipment is in great condition. As a reefer outfit you really can't afford to have peices of junk breaking down. Central is a relatively small outfit for a training company, 1400 or so. That is a big difference than Swift's 18,000 or so, hauling dry loads of toilet paper. See, that's one of Swift's troubles...too big. This is just my opinion, but I think Swift is just too large and their management types just don't seem to business minded enough to keep up with issues. Ultimately, the driver gets the end of the stick that smells the worst. Central doesn't seem to have outgrown its management capabilities. Will it happen someday? Who knows. But to sit here and say it's another Swift is a bit naive. The only issue I have with Central is its drivers safety rating. Their equipment rating is average but they seem to have some issues with drivers. It appears their management ratings in the safety area have made consistent improvements.

For a starter company I'd take my chances with Central, and will most likely do so very soon. Just me, but I'd base this on their smaller size, good equipment, good miles and they won't force team on you. I hear the miles are good once they know you're not a screw up. I haven't found anything concrete that says they have adopted the ways of Swift. I won't say that I would 100% rule out Schneider either, though. They have a good safety rating now, compared to years gone by. But nothing else seems to really jump out at me.

One thing to remember is these are starter CDL companies that will help you get your CDL. If your credit sucks, can't get a loan, or don't have the money for a private school, you will have to deal with these types of companies to get your feet wet. Not everyone is in a position to pay cash or finance a loan for school. Keep your act together until the note is clear and move on to a better company.

 

im starting orientation tomorrow with CRS and hopefully things will go smoothely with them. I personally got my license from a private school and chose CRS because of their high CPM even though its a refer outfit gig.
According to the recruiter out of riverside,orientation will be 2 1/2 days and I will be starting right away;of which i am ready since I took a vacation before commiting myself to this trucker life style. I did do my research and scnider national and CRS were my two option since according to this forum have pretty positive ratings.(I live in socal btw).
With all things said and done, lets just hope I'm be making the right decision with this company. *closes eyes and crosses fingers

 

I just talked to Jyne
(Jenny spelled uniquely, thought it was cool anyways...LOL)

at CRS and faxed them my app today...I am pretty sure that they will accept me for training as I have had my CDL w/ hazmat and doubles since 1998 but no experiance so I just need a refresher course...Plus, I'm drug free,alcohol free, no felonies, and 1 ticket gotten recently (9 over speed limit on 3/18/07) 1 accident in a 4 wheeler 7+ years ago, my only one...

Thats great because I was gonna pay a school $3000.00 up front and they got me pre-hired at Werner, CRE and FFE...I could have done that myself and they could have gotten me pre-hired at SWIFT, but I told them I didn't even want to put in an app there unless all options had been exhausted...Not the greatest school out there and the only other one is AIT and they push the same companies and charge even more money!!!!

I got pre-hired at schneider as well but they pushed team on me and I will not gonna live with a stranger in a truck any longer then I have to, unless it was a hot ex-stripper who was changing careers.... So, since my partner wasn't gonna be jenna jameson I declined...

 

Hey redskins fan...hows is work # Central. Give me some info on training and how your loads have been. Go Eagles....

 

Been several months since I have been on this site. I finally went with Robertson's Transport, based in Rialto, Ca. Started 10-2-2007 training as a bottom dump driver. Took my driving test 10-16-2007 and passed.

About the middle of November I asked them about transferring over to powder trucks (pneumatic trailers). They said yes. Went thru about a week of cross-training and started on powder truck end of November. Since then have been injured (pulled back muscle) for a week, then the rains started. Have not gotten in the hours I was told I possibly would get. I think for December-January 26 I have driven maybe 12 days. Fortunately, this week I was able to do four house appraisals so that will cushen the blow to my finances from the lack of work from Robertson's. Today they cancelled the night shift drivers completely due to the rain.

Middle of December I went back to DMV and passed the HazMat test so now I have all the endorsements on my license. Did this as I am not sure what I will do after I complete my year with Robertson's. If one is trained by them and later quits before a year is over and stays in driving they will come after you for the cost of training. If you quit but do not stay in driving they say they will leave you alone.

Other than for the lack of work I enjoy working for them. Steve, the night powder train dispatcher is a pretty good guy. He is easy to work with, and if you need to maybe get off early due to needing to get to bed early due to whatever the next day, he is willing to work with you. Most of the powder drivers are really helpful towards new drivers. Several of them have helped me out at the various Robertson's Ready-Mix plants when I have had problems. Just wish there was more work available.

This past Monday a Robertson's driver was killed at the Oro Grande cement plant, just outside of Victorville. Not known why he fell off the pneumatic trailer that he was opening the top hatch on.

dave

 

i know this is an old post , but i am looking to drive for this company , i just got my cdl and have been over the road about a month now , training with my trainer , i would like to drive local here in l.a . ca ... I just want to drive for Robertsons to get the the doubles endorsment and experience for 1 year and 1/2 so i can get a tanker job thru my friends company. What would the starting pay be , for transport and just hualing cement ? note : i live very close to their gardena plant , any info you give will be appreieciated , thanks in advance .

 

Started training with Robertson's Transport on 10-2-2007. Got my Class A CDL on 10-17-2007. Trained on a bottom dump but transferred to powder truck end of November. All drivers, for the most part, start at the Rialto yard, which is where most of the administration and dispatchers are located.

Did OK as a powder driver out of Rialto, but did not make much over $100 each night. At the end of this past January I transferred out to the Cabazon yard. There I generally run $125-$150 per night, depending on downtime waiting to load at the Mitsubishi cement plant up in Lucerne Valley. The way they pay is that you are paid per load. You earn what you earn daily up to the first $430. Everything after $430 is paid on time and a half. So, say your daily earnings ($130) by the end of Friday is
$650. Take $650 minus $430 which equals $220. multiply the $220 by 1.5 and add that back into the $430. That gives you a gross of $760. My highest gross has been $1,020 and that was working thru one load on a Saturday.

Robertson's is ok, but you have to remember that they are a training company. For example, when one gets paid downtime (time paid when truck has broken down on the road, your alternate driver is late returning the truck for your shift to start, over 30 minutes delay waiting to load truck, time spend during monthly safety meetings, etc) the rate is $12.50 per hour. Truline Trucking has a yard in Mira Loma. They start you out at $14.00, but you need a year or so experience. KAGWest trucking (gasoline hauler) starts you out at around $17.32 per hour, requiring one year experience to start with them. I talked with a driver for another fuel hauler who was delivering diesel fuel to our 1000 Palms plant and he told me that company's starting pay is $20/hr, a small mileage fee and a delivery fee, that he generally works around 50-60 hours per week.
One Robertson's driver who left the company back in March to work for KAGWest is constantly trying to talk a friend of his still at Robertson's to come to work for KAGWest. Also, several of the long term drivers that I have talked to while at Robertson's have all urged me to leave after I finish my year, to find a better paying company, that they should have left but didn't.

Personally, I do like working for them. But, I have gotten myself into trouble with them. They allow 12 disciplinary points, after which they fire you. I have just gotten my ninth point since March of this year, so I really have to watch it. Three points were due to physical injury (dislocated thumb), three for supposedly not seeing a leaking inner wheel seal on fifth axle, three for letting truck slip out of gear when I went into shop to turn in fix-it-ticket thus letting rig roll backwards bending the drawbar which happened this past Monday.

Working out of Gardena? They do have a couple of transfer trucks there, but generally everybody starts in Rialto. They have trucks based in Rialto, Cabazon, Sun City, San Diego, Hesperia, and Lucerne Valley. Normal procedure is for one to get based at these other areas after working for a time in Rialto, being able to transfer when a outbased truck becomes open/available.

Right now, they are really the only company keeping busy doing the type of work they do. Most of the other companies, per Robertson's, are laying off drivers, that Robertson's is constantly being contacted by out of work drivers. Rialto powder drivers mostly get their first loads in Victorville or Lucerne, deliver to say Gardena, Irvine, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Ana, etc. Second load is picked up in Long Beach and taken back to Fontana, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, Rialto, etc. If you are high enough up on the list, second load will be close to Long Beach area, and you' get a third load to take back to Fontana, Corona, Rialto, Redlands, Riverside, Moreno Valley, etc.

In spike of what the senior drivers have told me, assuming I don't get three more points before next March, I plan on staying for at least one more year. Right now, with other things I do, Robertson's Transport fits my schedule (I work 2PM to 2AM, generally finishing at around 12:30AM).

dave

 

Thanks for your info very very helpful And good luck to you ..

 

I know this has been here for a while. I recently got my CDL class A and I would like to work for Robertsons transport for the experince and it doesnt hurt that I live close to the Rialto plant. Its been a week since I applied at the office,and I dont have any tickets and I have all the endorsements except my hass mats.Can anyone help me whats the possibilities of them hiring me? OR who do I need to talk to about my application? thank you I would really appreciate it.