Stevens Transport A year in review

You will find negative postings on this board about every starter company out there. You will find a host of negative postings regarding leasing.
Simply look at it this way: Leasing is not for everyone and it works very well for some.
I leased a truck from Stevens, finished the lease and expressed my option to purchase it. Now I am an O/O leased back to Stevens under Alliance. It has worked very well for me.
Others here at Stevens will simply sign a new lease when theirs is up and it works great for them.
Yet others will try and decide to leave the Alliance program before finishing their lease. Stevens allows that.
Each person has different needs and goals.
You don't have to lease. You can be a company driver. As a matter of fact, ALL new drivers have to start as a company driver, then CHOOSE to leave the company side to come over to Alliance.
You are not forced.
Good luck with your start with Stevens. They are a great company (IMO). Keep us posted on your progress on http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/stevens/97249-stevens-transport-aviary.html

 

Thanks for the reply, Max.. And thanks for the Alliance info.. As I mentioned, I am very interested, but I want to take it one step at a time. When I have some experience, perhaps in about a year I may look into it more seriously.

I have been lurking for several months doing research (not just on this forum) about the different carriers, who to work for and about the trucking industry in general. I can tell you that I have spent countless hours and many a late night tapping on the keyboard. But research is what I do and it's always worth gaining the info. I will, however admit that in the beginning there were times that I have come away more informed, but not any further ahead. Conflicting information on the good, the bad and the ugly for so many companies made my head spin! I was left scratching my head as to who I would work for. But I soon realized that there is NO perfect company. And it's not just about the money either. It's about what's important in the drivers life that makes he or she choose to stay with their company. And it became quite clear that there are LOTS of whiners and complainers that will never be happy and would gripe about being handed a winning lottery ticket!

I was pre-hired by 3 companies in my first week of school and Stevens was one of them. And after a couple weeks of careful consideration I decided that I'd go with Stevens. I only realized AFTER my decision the irony of my choice. See I am a bird lover. When I was boy my parents raised birds and had aviaries. I have raised Love Birds myself and my last clutch of babies was a little over a year ago. So look for me in a couple months when I go solo. I'll be the one circling the truck stop lot looking for a parking place that's not so skinny to back into! And yeah.. I'm sure you will finding me in the Aviary hanging with the rest of the Buzzards.

 

It's where you trade your load for another load. It's based on moving the freight most efficiently, hours available and driver needs.
For instance, I pick up a load in LA bound for Cheyenne. But I want to go on hometime in Boise. So in Salt Lake, I am repowered to a load heading for Ontario, OR and the other driver takes my Cheyenne load.
Capice?

 

Hi I hope I am not repeating a question already posted. My husband and I will be going to a private school in a month or two. What we would really like ultimately is to find a company that we can super solo and run 4000-4500 miles we both are hard workers but do not want to burn ourselves out. The recruiter for Stephans said they offer super solo. How realistic is this? We don't want 24 seven with no down time. Thanks

 

There are some team operations at Stevens and you can set your own tempo.
You'll run hard for a couple days, then take some down time if you want. Normally there's enough down time between loads (a few hours) to suffice most teams.

 

Thank you. Emulsified

 

Do you deliver or drive through OR much?

 

I get to OR often. But if you're looking for that as a regional area, Stevens isn't the right company. Most of the PNW freight is reserved for training teams and locals.
I fit both.
They try and shy away from areas where chains are more common in the winter, altho we run 80 thru WY,NE, IA a lot.

Most of the PNW routes are in thru Boise and out the same. So 84, 82, 90 (west of Ellensberg) are the most common.

 

Regional not necessary just wondering how hard it is to get home time every 2-3 weeks.

 

Also do they have a pet policy once you are done with training? Not a deal breaker just curious?