Stevens Transport FAQ

Well sir, I cant argue that!

 

The training in Houston is 3 weeks but you are staying at your own house or you are paying for a hotel room then off to Dallas for 4 days then driving

 

Or the driver lounge on the yard... last week when I was there, it was a bad week for the lounge men's room. 1 toilet backed up and overflowing with crap, someone shaved their head (I hope) all over a sink and left the mess, 1 urinal wasn't flushing, and the center stall had a big, pretty Swastika sharpied on the wall... and the idiot Nazi was so stupid, he drew it backwards!

 

Well I'm like everyone else seemingly posting on this thread. Stevens has me going to their "academy" October 14th in Keenesburg Colorado. The recruiter told me a bunch of stuff, most of which I'm taking with a grain of salt. The guy that runs the academy seems cool. He filled me in on some of the day to day stuff ill be doing. Anyone else going these days? And anyone else have stories about this place?

 

actually i do.... i was on the hill in dallas with a few guys who had come in from the colorado school before shipping out with a trainer, and they kept going on and on about how different the dallas course is from colorado. the primary differences they mentioned were the rpm at which they were taught to shift (2000 to dallas 1500), the condition of the course being better in dallas, and the equipment being better in dallas.

your plan to take everything with a grain of salt sounds like a solid plan. my personal suggestion would be to keep your game face on, and remember its only a step in the direction you want to go, and to remember that like all things, you will hear more complaints because complainers dont have time to do much else whereas folks who are satisfied tend to be busy being satisfied and working hard to stay that way.

good luck in colorado, and keep the shiny side up!

 

Quote:flue;> and keep the shiny side up!

nah, shiney? I prefer bug guts and road grime, the sign of a money maker.

 

Hello all,
New to trucking & new to the board. Thanks for having me here.

I'm in Pennsylvania, & schedualed to leave for the Colorado school on Fri. of next week & I have a few questions. The last co. I worked for was not trucking related, but we did drive box trucks (The bigest being a Frightliner with a 24' box. It did have air brakes, but otherwise not much compared to a rig, I realize) ) to and from job sites over about a seven state area around PA, so I already have a Med. Examiners certificate.I guess I'll have to get another one from what I've read, even though I just got this one a month or so ago.

Anyway, one of the questions I have is, I have read a few stories here & on other boards about Stevens getting you to sign the contract for the school financing & then kicking you out later for medical or other reasons, so that they get some kind of government aid money that they get to keep, plus the loan given to you for schooling, which you still owe. On top of this, you get stranded in Co. & have to pay your own way back to your home state. Now, I'm not saying this is true, only what I have read. I'm on 1 type of med. for BP & my worry is, that they will do their own exam & fail me, & I'll be stuck paying all that back + the return trip to PA. Does anyone know anything about their exam & if it it differs from the regular DOT exam?

I also read a horror story (horror to me, anyway lol) about a driver trainer not allowing the trainee to bathe for like 9 days. Now I'm no Prima Donna, but I don't think I could take going that long without bathing. Two days, three If I had to, as long as I could brush my teeth, but beyond that? I don't know. I would think that even driving for eleven hours + 3 on duty would leave enough time to bathe/eat etc. I mean, I know that there might be times when you stop somewhere other than a truck stop & there would be no place to bathe, & I have no problem with that, but I would think that in a 2 to 3 day period you could find one truck stop for fuel & time for a quick shower. Is that story just BS, or is it a norm? I hope not, lol.

Guess I'm a little nervous & having a few second thoughts...Sorry if I'm coming off like a complainer or a wimp, I'm really not, but I've been reading some real outlandish things about Stevens for the past few days, mostly concerning the driver trainers. I'm trying to take them with a grain of salt, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't worry me.

 

You will have a medical exam at Stevens and get a new card. I take BP medicine along with other meds and Stevens had no problem with any of my meds. Just be COMPLETLY honest about your meds and any medical issues, present or past.

From my understanding if Stevens sends you home because you didnt pass the physical, etc they will pay the bus fare home. If you lie to them about anything, get caught drinking, doing drugs, causing trouble, etc you will pay your bus fare home. Thats only fair.

Some trainers shouldnt be training and as soon as Stevens figures that out, they normally remove them from the training program. My trainer wasnt the most hygienic fella around. We normally went 3-4 days between showers and the longest was 6 days. I could had taken a shower by paying for it on my own, but I flat out didnt have the $12 to spare as I was living on $50 a week. There is no reason that you cant shower every day or two at the most except for extreme circumstances that are few and far between.

Hey, dont worry about being anxious. Its normal. Everything will be fine! I was a nervous wreck the first few days of each phase of training. I had a few issues with both of my trainers but I kept telling myself that its only for a short time and the issues wernt anything major. If you just cant get along with your trainer (it happens), just let your counselor know and they will get you on another truck.