We've been with CRST 2 years

RamettePeregrine · Feb 20, 2017

morpheus said: ↑

Where did you train? Des Moines or Keenesburg, CO?

Thanks!
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He trained in Cedar rapids I believe. I'd have to hunt through my old email to be sure. Where ever you go make friends with somebody in training. A good co-driver and a good relationship with your driver manager is the key.

MrIT said: ↑

No they didn't. I worked there up to 2 weeks ago. Maybe your hubby lying to you
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Dude, CRST Dedicated started putting cameras in the trucks. I clean the truck every Sunday and I've SEEN it. The camera responds to certain triggers like hard breaking and sends those events to the office for review. It has been a PITA while they adjust to the new information because every time someone cuts you off it thinks you were following too closely. He got talked about it once very shortly after the thing was installed but not since. The outward recording is required but the driver-facing is optional.

KellyJo · May 23, 2017

RamettePeregrine said: ↑

When I first joined this forum it was to determine the lesser of the evils when it came to company-funded training. We've now been with the company 2 years and I thought it was about time we posted our experience to help the next round of folks.

My husband drove a school bus before getting his class A but he couldn't find a job in my city when he moved to be with me. We searched for work for over a year and exhausted our savings so when we turned to trucking it was out of desperation. We ultimately choose CRST because it had an 8-month contract and they paid pretty much all of the up-front costs of getting a CDL. We had almost no start-up costs going through CRST. We had to repay $480 lodging, $252 transportation, $50 drug screen, $50 DOT physical and $50 processing fee. ($882 total) which was deducted at $40 per paycheck. It took about 7 weeks from the time he left to getting the fik but that was because of a problem with his birth certificate that kept him from starting right away. The recruiter told us 5 weeks was a more usual number. Food is taken care of except dinner. They recommend you bring a couple hundred bucks to buy yourself dinner but we didn't have it so he took canned goods with him and used the microwave they had available or he went hungry.

The school sleeps 3 to a room and you are at the mercy of your roommates for how pleasant or unpleasant it is. The bathrooms are gross, and you aren't going to have anything resembling privacy. During your training, it is imperative that you find someone you get along with in your class to make up your team after your time with a trainer. Finding a teammate later is really difficult and you often don't know anything about the guy except whether or not he smokes.

After school, you go out with a trainer immediately. There is no home time between phase 1 and phase 2 training. They said to expect 8-10 weeks away from home, it ended up being a little over 3 months for us because of paperwork delays and wait times between stages. We got married in July, He left for training in August we got our first paycheck on October 2nd. We were recruited through the dedicated side of this so he only had to be with expedited until the first part of 2015. Expedited was trial by fire. You never knew where you'd be or when you'd get home. We had the truck break down more than once and there is nothing quite like being stranded 3000 miles from home while the truck gets fixed. I know a bunch of people complain about CRST paying really low during the contract but it paid the bills.

Things improved greatly when he moved over to dedicated. After awhile he got a run where he leaves Sunday night and gets home Friday morning. He occasionally gets a backhaul thrown in unexpectedly and gets home Friday night. We like our driver manager, he does his best to get him home on time and fix screw ups with the paychecks (which happens way too often). He's been through a couple of partners but now has one he really gets along with and that makes all the difference in the world. Overall, CRST has been good to us. It is hard at first but it gets easier as time goes on. I think that is intentional to weed out the people who aren't a good fit for the long-term.
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Im really glad you posted this
I am in CDL school right now
Sponsered by CRST
Another student in our class found tons of negative input online about CRST ..its the internet for petes sake everything with a grain of salt...
Consider the trolls
Consider the negative mind creating their own negative experience
Especially consider the "false" senses of entitlements...
I read an article by a bubba something
His was honest...like yours
Covering both the pros and cons
Pros and cons are with any and every company...period
Ive sincerely read every thread on this site referencing CRST after all id like to know who im entering a contract with...now its a 10 month commitment
I like the idea of team driving
Truck driving isnt a joke
Its a responsibility and to honor that responsibility you NEED experience
It pays so well because of the hazzards and inconveniences so to read a bunch of belly aching...((rolls eyes)) hence entitlements
I entered the program thankful CRST gave me this opportunity and after reading your post ..Im still thankful
I know what to expect ...looks like no home time and rough routes until ive put my time in and established a relationship
CRST can be a stepping stone or a foundation
And from what ive read the decision is all mine
A 10 month contract isnt asking much for basically changing my life now is it ...
CRST is my foot in the door to an industry that is coveted...corporate thinking ive read in threads ..isnt that the truth of any company in business looking to profit and make money ..
I know perfectly well that my retention level alone qualifies me to go to the DMV on my own for my CDL and that everyone involved banks on my schooling ...i could shop around and pit school against school
Fact is ...CRST accepted me FIRST
I applied to 8 schools i found online
Ive wanted to do this for a very long time and i look forward to every day
If my 10 months at CRST is miserable, then honestly 10% is on them and 90% of that is on me
Attitude + Mentality = your MindSet
Ill post my own thread in 10 months
An update to my experience
Your post though of all that ive read helped me the most in knowing what to expect and when you go in with understanding its REALLY hard to be disappointed...im still looking forward to my CRST experience

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