[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. :lol:

[Karnajj]

Originally Posted by 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. :lol:

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]

Originally Posted by Karnajj

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 dunba$$ dispatcher I ended up with after my original one got promoted and transferred to a different terminal.