Stevens Transport A year in review

Im not Tleaheart but I worked with Katrina and have no complaints with her. I hear others say they talked to Leslie and they seem to like her to.

 

Thanks and i need to get back asap no matter what.

 

Awesome thread TLeaHeart. Read it all in one day after that joined this site. It was weird how intresting I found it. If you don't mind I have a question. Stevens is recruiting pretty heavy here in Houston and I am looking at Stevens and Swift. I really would like to drive for Stevens, but seeing as how I will be in debt to the company for training. If I stayed at Stevens for let's say 3years, will my trucking Life always consist of pulling reefer? Vs if I drove for Swift and train in flatbed(which is what I would like to do) reefer+ van. Thank you for your time. Also I applaud you for answering the same questions over and over. Maybe because I read it all at once but I saw people asking alot of the same questions and you did not seem angered at all. Thanks again.

 

I can tell you that Stevens is a temperature controlled carrier. Meaning they rarely pull anything other than refers. That said you still can get "dry box" loads from time to time. To the best of my knowledge Stevens does not haul flat bed of any type, but I drove for them over three years ago. IMO Stevens is a great place to get started, and who knows you may find a home there.

There are tons of flat bed companies out there, Swift is only one of them. Take advantage of the information available to you here on TTR and do you due diligence. Not saying anything bad about Swift of any other company, I'm just suggesting that you take the time to read in detail about the companies that interest you. Good luck, and we hope to see you out there.

 

thank you for the response. I'm unsure on which company ill end up with. Still looking into everything. I was just unsure if pulling reefer for a few years would limit my ability to haul flatbed later down the line. Have herd alot of good things about Stevens. Home time is not a problem I have one son but his mom has full custody. I live with friends therefore i'm not on a lease. Have only child support and a few bills to pay monthly. Would have no problem staying out untill I'm told to take home time. Grand father and unlce were both otr 30+years. I'm 22 though unsure if that affects what company will hire me.

 

Flat bedding does take some specialized training, but I don't think hauling refers will effect that if you intend to do it down the road. OTR experience with all its nuances is so valuable to your future career you can't even imagine. I have a couple of friends that have switched back and forth several times from box to skateboards and they've never mentioned any issues with that.

To the best of my knowledge all you really need to be is over 21 ... and you're there already! From personal experience Stevens is an excellent place to start. I drove for them for around 6 months back in '08 and the thing I remember most is how serious they were about safety. Working there is a great way to cut your teeth and get a start in the industry. That's the only personal experience I can tell you about. I didn't go through their school ... so I can't really speak to that, I got my CDL at a private school in Maine. Good luck in your decision ... you're definitely in the right place to begin your research.

One suggestion. Take the haters with a grain of salt. Think about it this way... if you have a bad experience you're going to tell everyone you know about it, but if you have a good one how many friends do you tell? The usual answer is not many. Read these threads, and start from the beginning of this one ... a lot of your questions about Stevens will be contained in the various posts. Above all else, make your own decision and don't let haters convince you that you're wrong when your research and your gut tells you otherwise ... it's a common mistake. Good Luck!

 

How much does stevens run in the NW I cant say i see em very often up here. anyone know better?

 

When I was with them in 08 they were up through Ore and Wash quite a bit. I know that when I was in training I crossed Snoqualimie (spelling?) and Cabbage each way twice. Hope that helps.