Stevens Transport

Thanks fozzy and just to let you know I was kind of ify about going to stevens til I read your post here. I hope my experience is as great as yours has seemed to be our instructors in houston told us that basicly in the first 3 weeks if we get the same training as you guys do in dallas so did yal have an orientation after training also

 

I'm also guessing that everyones history has been done because we had some guys sent home the first and second week for inconsistancies on their application and for not having ten years of verifiable work history. The instructor told us that on Sunday we will meet every department in dallas and sign a lot of papers hear a lot of policies and do a bunch of backing sounds like fun since so far I can straight line back fairly well but those 90s and 45s are another thing all together. The double clutching was a breeze although getting my trailer around corners was a chllenge so I want a lot of prctice.

 

Hi anutha and all - I've been off the board for 3 weeks while completing my training also. Finished on Friday and made sure my TSA came back before getting my CDL today. I'm heading down to Dallas on Dec 5th and I am looking forward to starting with Stevens.

Anutha I appreciate any more information you can share about the first week at Stevens and how long it takes to go through each phase. From looking at the paperwork I got it seems there's a ton of things to be checked off the list.

It was a focused 3 weeks in Keenesburg (which is actually Careers World Wide but has 90% Stevens Transport materials and most students are headed for Stevens). The trucks and trailers are T2000s with Stevens' badging and 800 number, but there were a few folks there headed for Swift and Werner as well.

It was a good school with some very competent trainers and in only 3 weeks I feel pretty confident in my ability to take on this job.

There was a group of 3 of us on one truck that did very well and we were the only crew that went into downtown Denver for some really tight maneuvers. We went under a 13'3" bridge with the instructor (turns out the measurement is from the curb, not the road, at least on that bridge) and he had us check the clearance, which was of course next to nothing. Everyone went into smaller towns for traffic experience and on the 70 for mountain driving.

Honestly I wonder how a few guys managed to pass though. I guess they don't take points off for rough clutch use or constantly missing downshifts. Nobody hit anything so I guess the rest is expected to smooth out with practice.

I am OK with the parallel and alley dock parking, those were my only real challenges so I practiced all I could and did well on the test.

Anyway, thanks again for the info, I'll keep watching.

 

The examiner we had said she only wanted to see control of the truck no stalls no coasting and no curb hitting downshifting wasn't a big issue to get your cdl but of the 11 students in my class 2 were asked to attend another week of those 2 one guy decided to go anyway and his shifting gave him problems because he stalled the truck. Our school was the same focused on stevens standards and obtaining a cdl. From what I have heard so far the 4 days in dallas are long day classes and nights in the truck but I will let everyone know what's what when I get there

 

They are all telling it like it is.
The training companies,Stevens,Swift, Werner..etc.
All basically Mcdonalds of the trucking industry.
Cheap freight and volume.
You'll get out what you put in.
Where ever you go stay at least a year or you'll end up starting all over again if you're not blackballed.
I worked for Stevens for 3 years.
Trainee, company driver,Trainer,lease operator.
Completed 2 leasees.
1 out of 100 new hires lasts 2 years.
you are a senior driver after 3 years.
I've heard that the training period now is longer than stated due to lower driver turnover....no trucks for grads of program.
Stevens is what it is...a training company.
Survive and get what you need....experience and move on.
I did ok...I had no choice, i had to survive.
Today I own my own truck.
Still struggling. Only the strong will be successful.
Don't exepct to make any money right away,,its gonna take a little time.
About 6 months to actually start making 500-700 take home.
When you go solo,just try and run the tires off the truck.
3000 x .26 per mile= 780 per week. If you can get them.
Theres worse than stevens.
I'd think about a community college for driving school.
Then talk to the recruiters.
cheaper and possibly better.
Trucking industry is tight right now.
Good luck.

 

I'm right there with you chefbob. I have to make this work, I have no choice. Since I just finished the school (for which I am indebted for 2 years), there are no other options.

Just lost my house and everything resembling decent credit due to 15-20 of us that lost our jobs over a year ago. Nobody is hiring for a living wage in this area unless you have an active secret clearance (oh yeah, mine went inactive 2 years ago or so). Not complaining, I know there's plenty of folks that have lost more than I have. But it still stinks.

Anyway thanks for the info and the well wishes. I am one of those guys that hangs on fiercely, I will do fine I'm sure.

Take care.

 

How does per diem work at Stevens?

 

Well, I opted out of it, which I reccomend in most cases, as if something happens and you end up on unemployment or disability they do NOT count that amount as income when figuring your benefits. This is just my opinion. I think they give .08 cpm as pretax so your paycheck is bigger. This makes a lot of sense for them as they do not have to pay taxes on it either.

 

Thank you Fozzy. Do you know what the difference would have been on the weekly paycheck? How is training going? How many weeks do you have left?

 

No I don't really have a clue as what the difference would be. I am out of training for almost 3 months now. Ran out of hours today just as I hit the last stop. Fortunately they said I can find a spot in the back and take my 10.