Was thinking Knight, now thinking Crete???

[Truck Driver Dave]

So I applied with Knight and am good to go. But I'm not gonna start for about 3 weeks. About me, really fast, I am in the Kansas City area, and have 2.5 yrs with Schneider. I was thinking Knight but am now kinda thinking about Crete? Or heck, maybe some other company? Crap, I donno.

I guess Knight sounded good to me cuz you don't have to go to Canada and being able to "name" an area to drive in is pretty cool.

But Crete is impressing me cuz of the higher pay and the fact that they are putting the APU units on the trucks.

Over all I am looking for most pay.. And, a company that will treat me with respect.

I have been reading these forums for a while trying to figure out what to do. Of course no one can make up my mind for me.. But, I guess this would be your time to chime in on another one of these who should I work for posts.

Thanks!

[dk1ben]

I wont speak for myself. I am to new to driving to give that advise. But my brothers and brother in laws all basically drive. Local, Reg, OTR and they all say if Crete offers your style of driving then go with them. All of them have driven for Crete and only left Crete for local home daily home jobs. One still drives with Crete and he speaks very high of them. Not to be over shadowed with the fact they are still a trucking company. Or so he says. I think it breaks down to respect for the driver. Joe tells me they go a little further to "cuddle" there drivers. Now I cant tell you what he means by cuddle.

I would go to Crete but I am looking into flat bedding. Hope this helps a little. Just my two cents.

[dipstick]

I started with CRETE and am with Knight now. Positives with Crete, pay and keeping you moving, very seldom sitting more than thirty minutes. Your log details must be dead on nor safety will give you grief. Trucks get service every 15k a plus and minus as you don't get paid to sit at a terminal. Pick the wrong terminal and you could sit for a day or more. Trailers get service every mtwo months, again a plus and minus if they grab you at a terminal while fueling. Crete is also very good at getting shippers to get you loaded quickly. Negatives with Crete, HOME TIME, this is the number one reason Crete loses drivers. Kansas is a good spot for getting home but if you live out west forget about getting home when you put in for and expect four weeks out before they get you home. Plus you will have to wait for a load going and coming west. This killed production for two weeks for me. Also if safety is a concern, a Freightliner with no airbags does not cut it.
I have only been with Knight for three weeks and so far have done LOTS of waiting at receivers and shippers for loading. They pay detention but you are losing money. Knight also has a bad problem with MT trailers. Chasing mts kills pay again. I dropped at Walmart and every MT had pallets loaded in them for storage, so I reset picked up my old trailer two days later to pick up a load that was supposed to loaded,at another shipper, but now am waiting to get live loaded because shipper had no Knight MTs. I have sat fifteen hours in seven days . If this pattern continues for long I will go back to Crete in the west coast regional. Plus points is the Volvo is great and my dispatch is much better than the CRETE when asking for something. Crete dispatch has gone downhill in the last six months IMO. They have some real smartasses who seem rushed and miss things they shouldn't.

[dollarshort]

You say you want to make the MOST money. Then don't necessarily go with the highest pay per mile. That doesn't always get you the most money.

I would rather make 36 cpm running 3,000 miles per week, than 42 cpm running 1,800 miles per week.

Being I also drive for Knight I must tell you don't hesitate to call someone when you have a problem like that. Mt's can be a problem sometimes and it can be frustrating but after you are at Knight for a while you will learn where you can find Mt's pretty quick.

Just last week I sent in a macro to find an mt trailer in Joliet, IL. They sent message that closest one was 20 miles away. I went across the street and found 9 mt's setting there. I only knew to look there because of past experience. Hang in there an don't get upset. It will get better.

I will easily surpass the $60,000 mark this year at Knight and have been home nearly every weekend, so the money is there if you want it.

[Karnajj]

You say you want to make the MOST money. Then don't necessarily go with the highest pay per mile. That doesn't always get you the most money.

I would rather make 36 cpm running 3,000 miles per week, than 42 cpm running 1,800 miles per week.

Being I also drive for Knight I must tell you don't hesitate to call someone when you have a problem like that. Mt's can be a problem sometimes and it can be frustrating but after you are at Knight for a while you will learn where you can find Mt's pretty quick.

Just last week I sent in a macro to find an mt trailer in Joliet, IL. They sent message that closest one was 20 miles away. I went across the street and found 9 mt's setting there. I only knew to look there because of past experience. Hang in there an don't get upset. It will get better.

I will easily surpass the $60,000 mark this year at Knight and have been home nearly every weekend, so the money is there if you want it.

Lets see. Assuming you do make the $60,000 mark at .36 cpm that's over 166,000 miles and you make it home most weekends?! Lets assume that you will really do that. At Crete, making .42 cpm, I would only have to drive 143,000 miles which is much easier to attain. Unless you are making way more than .36 cpm or you are on some sort of dedicated fleet that has a lot of stops that you get paid separately for I can't see you making that kind of money.

[dipstick]

There is no question in my mind one will make more money with Crete, it is more than obvious , although I am sure if the trade off is worth it........one thing is for sure is if the BS and miles do not improve my wife will kick my butt back to Crete. :arrow:

[Truck Driver Dave]

Well that is what keeps going through my mind.. Starting and getting no miles, or having a bad time... Just weighting the options and want to pick the right one.. The interesting thing is it seems when you start with Knight you kinda go through the ringer.. Check out some of dollarshort's early days with Knight posts. Sounds just as upset as you do dipstick when he started, but now seems more then happy with them, almost TO happy about Knight, miles and everything else.

I guess you never know what to expect, I just like everyone else just wants to pick the most solid company to work for, make the right choice instead of having to jump around a couple companies to find the right one. And I guess as the saying goes, picking a trucking company is like picking a wife, you just have to find one that you can live with and one that will live with you.

Keep the ideas coming!!! Maybe in the next few days I will figure this out..

Dipstick, I hope things get better for ya. Nothing worse then a lot of sitting and getting jack over.. That just sucks man.. Keep us posted on what's going on..

[crzy4trkn]

I will be starting with knight on 9/24 running out of the carlisle terminal,everyone there has been very plesant to deal with. what can I expect at orientation :?:

[dollarshort]

You say you want to make the MOST money. Then don't necessarily go with the highest pay per mile. That doesn't always get you the most money.

I would rather make 36 cpm running 3,000 miles per week, than 42 cpm running 1,800 miles per week.

Being I also drive for Knight I must tell you don't hesitate to call someone when you have a problem like that. Mt's can be a problem sometimes and it can be frustrating but after you are at Knight for a while you will learn where you can find Mt's pretty quick.

Just last week I sent in a macro to find an mt trailer in Joliet, IL. They sent message that closest one was 20 miles away. I went across the street and found 9 mt's setting there. I only knew to look there because of past experience. Hang in there an don't get upset. It will get better.

I will easily surpass the $60,000 mark this year at Knight and have been home nearly every weekend, so the money is there if you want it.

Lets see. Assuming you do make the $60,000 mark at .36 cpm that's over 166,000 miles and you make it home most weekends?! Lets assume that you will really do that. At Crete, making .42 cpm, I would only have to drive 143,000 miles which is much easier to attain. Unless you are making way more than .36 cpm or you are on some sort of dedicated fleet that has a lot of stops that you get paid separately for I can't see you making that kind of money.

Well let's see....Since you must have ridden the short bus to school, I will explain it to you.

I said I am home MOST weekends. True, but when I stay out I usually run out west and back racking up plenty of miles. You see to me it doesn't do you any good to stay out over the weekend if you are gonna camp out in a truckstop.

But anyway....doing the math....36cpm X 156,000 miles= $56,160.00
"You made it look like I had to drive 10,000 more miles"
I also have a better chance to get 156,000 miles at Knight than you getting 143,000 at Crete.

I run a minumum of 3,000 miles per week, but usually am in the 3,200-3,300 range.


Not to mention I get up to .45cpm on some loads.

The biggest difference between me and you is I keep the left door closed and don't stop until I get where I am going. I am out here to make as much $$$$ as I can. I am not out here to sightsee or play the cherry master.

To crzy4trkn: Shoot me a PM. I am out of Carlisle too. I can help you out if you need it.

To truck Driver Dave: You are right...I was very unhappy with Knight at the beginning and I even quit. But after talking with the terminal manager
I came back and have been extremely satisfied since November of last year.

[Uturn2001]

Every trucking company out there has its positives and its negatives and what much of it comes down to is finding a company whose negatives are ones you can live with.

Yes, I agree, the MT trailer situation with Knight is a big aggravation factor. It was when I was there and it sounds like it has not improved any even with all that money they spent on that tracking software, but to me at least the over all positives outweighed the negatives even when I factored in the dunb***** dispatcher I ended up with after my original one got promoted and transferred to a different terminal.

[Karnajj]

You make an awful lot of baseless assumptions don't you Dollarshort? Not to mention the fact that your math makes no sense at all. But then very little of what you have to say ever makes sense so I guess you are just being consistent.

Where shall we begin? Hmmm? First of all you stated that you would easily surpass the $60,000 mark. $56,160 is not $60,000, at least the last time I looked, so to surpass $60,000 you would need to drive over 166,000 miles like I previously stated. Secondly, why in the world would I want to drive 23,000 more miles per year at the pathetic rate of pay you get to make the same amount of money I can make at Crete without the extra 23,000 miles?
That's rather stupid, isn't it? Work harder for less pay? I don't think so.
Thirdly, if you are truly home most weekends there is no chance in hell you are going to get anywhere near 156,000 miles. And lastly, you couldn't keep up with me if you tried. I'd run your ass into the ground after 48 hrs. :wink:
Have a nice day.

[dipstick]

If living in a truck for a month at a time floats your boat so be it, the reason I went with Knight is I wanted to see my wife and kids. If I make less it is still better than living in a truck a month at a time. After 10 years of that I'm betting that the dog would be the only one interested in knowing me, no wait the dog would be dead by then. .............

[Truck Driver Dave]

If living in a truck for a month at a time floats your boat so be it, the reason I went with Knight is I wanted to see my wife and kids. If I make less it is still better than living in a truck a month at a time. After 10 years of that I'm betting that the dog would be the only one interested in knowing me, no wait the dog would be dead by then. .............

I know it hasnt been long since your last posts, but are things getting better for you?? Let us all know.. Thanks!

[scythe08]

Weird,,,My first time with knight was a bad one also, but when my new job turned out not to be what I was hired for, they really went out of their way to get me back. Gave me a dedicated run(even though they say they don't have them) from SLC to LA and back twice a week and home on friday and saturday. Ran that run for a year and had a goodtime.

I never had the miles dollar did, but then again the freightlanes I dealt with didn't leave alot of options. I only left to go to work for the customer in SLC that I was dedicated to. When that went belly up I was going to go back, but took Cold frosty mugs advise and tried LTL.

I never had the miles dollar did, but then again the freightlanes I dealt with didn't leave alot of options. I only left to go to work for the customer in SLC that I was dedicated to. When that went belly up I was going to go back, but took Cold frosty mugs advise and tried LTL.

How is LTL going for you scythe? What outfit did you hitch your wagons to?

[scythe08]

I never had the miles dollar did, but then again the freightlanes I dealt with didn't leave alot of options. I only left to go to work for the customer in SLC that I was dedicated to. When that went belly up I was going to go back, but took Cold frosty mugs advise and tried LTL.

How is LTL going for you scythe? What outfit did you hitch your wagons to?

I spent 6 months with Dats trucking in SLC, a small barn but work was steady. I just couldn't get used to the hours and never knowing how big or small my check was going to be. But it was great getting more experience with doubles and triples and actually getting paid for everything I did, it was an eye-opener. I left them to go to work for MBI, as trash hauling contractor thats in a few states, think they have about 900 trucks scattered around in a few state. Fantastic job(so far,,lol) Pay is great, I only work 10 or 11 hours m-f in the am and make the same I did doing line-haul, good bennies, and almost no turnover at all, only 1 guy has left in 4 months and that was because he had some depression issues and went to live with his son in CA. Thank you, sir, and be safe

[evertruckerr]

Dollar Short wrote:

I also have a better chance to get 156,000 miles at Knight than you getting 143,000 at Crete

In my first 11 months with Crete I have 142,000 miles. By the end of my first year I will have 156,00 miles like you. Granted, I'm not home every weekend, but when I do go home I'm there for a week at a time. The difference is that I will make 9-10K more than you for the same work. Looks like you're more that a Dollar Short :shock:

[dipstick]

Dollar Short wrote:

I also have a better chance to get 156,000 miles at Knight than you getting 143,000 at Crete

In my first 11 months with Crete I have 142,000 miles. By the end of my first year I will have 156,00 miles like you. Granted, I'm not home every weekend, but when I do go home I'm there for a week at a time. The difference is that I will make 9-10K more than you for the same work. Looks like you're more that a Dollar Short :shock:

Five or seven days?

[fireman932003]

I can not answer who would be better between Crete and Knight. I worked for Knight up until two weeks ago. Knight is a good company. They treat you good and give you good equipment to drive. They have a company policy of at least of 10,500 miles a month. I never saw a week under 2600 miles for the week. At Knight, I did not have to take a load if I didn't want to. They are non-forced dispatch. I also ran the area that I wanted to run. The one thing I didn't like was the sliding pay scale. The longer the run the less per mile you made. BUT, it all evened out in the end.

In my first 11 months with Crete I have 142,000 miles. By the end of my first year I will have 156,00 miles like you. Granted, I'm not home every weekend, but when I do go home I'm there for a week at a time.

Last I heard, Crete's hometime policy was 1 day off for every 6-out. So home for 5 days = 30 days out. Home for 7 days = 42 days out.

Ugh.