[wbecca52]

I drove for them about 4 or 5 years ago. The thing I hated about them was teams. I'm not a people person, and changed co-drivers like a baby changes diapers, so I spent lots of time in terminals and motels. That's about all I remember about them. :?

[8ball1977]

just frogy,who was his trainer?sounds like he and my hubby had the same one :cry:
I guess if he would've gotten a better trainer,it would've been a bit better,but still don't know how long he would've stayed with them

[RustyShackleford]

I think that they are mainly teams there, right?

I would want to stay away from that. With the possible exception of a husband-wife, I would think that that teaming would suck. I wouldn't want to spend that much time with even my best friend closed in a little area like that.

[devin]

if you like having the truck making money will you sleep it is a good company to start out on. you should really get to now someone before you jump in with them though. its just like a marage in the truck. it can get as for the miles we ran 7400 miles a week. but we got paid split miles, we were paid .52 cents a mile split between us.

[lifespalette]

Every time I read someone's post about how CRST or any other company screwed them, that they owe a ton of money for the refresher course or the schooling what with the interest and all, that they weren't making any money because the deductions were killing them or that they were going to have to file bankruptcy I have to take it with a grain of salt.

Folks the truth of the matter is.. trucking maybe a job or a lifestyle if you want to call it that... but when you boil it all down, it's a business and you're a business executive... you're the CFO and CEO all rolled into one.

You can pretty well bet that most folks who end up broke getting into the profession, didn't have a clue nor a plan..... just wanting to be a trucker and getting your CDL isn't a plan.

Here's a few observations I think are pertinent. One.... if you're having financial problems before you get your schooling and your training period, you're not going to make it. The realities are against you. Even if you can get the miles to make $30 - $35K your first year... the largest portion of that is going to come in the last 6 months of the first year. Few if any companies are going to pay you while you are in school. Some will only pay you a fixed rate while you're in the training period and will deduct any advances from that taken out during your training period. You need enough cash reserves to cover your first 3-4 months into your big adventure......simply put, you need to be able to cover all your household expenses for 3-4 months without depending on that pay check during your training period. You need to be real folks... while you're out on the road, momma and the kids are still back at home with all the expenses......there's the rent or mortgage to be paid, utilities, car payments / operating expenses, car / medical insurance and any bills you have accumulated, not to mention little johnny and mary's school clothes, fun money, school lunches, school supplies, little league fees, dance fees, etc. etc.....now throw in your living expenses on the road (cause you have to eat, shower, brush your teeth, etc., etc.).......add that all up and your paycheck is gone before you know it. Before you even think about making that big jump, you need to take a realistic look at your finances and be honest. If you're behind on your monthly bills, rent, mortgage, etc., etc..... go get you a job flipping hamburgers until you can get your house in order, the odds are you will make more take home pay doing that then you will just getting into trucking.... I promise you, if you're already in financial trouble and thinking that by becoming a truck driver you're going to solve your financial troubles... you're standing in the batter's box, you've got 2 strikes against you and you're wearing a blind fold.

Second.... read every paper before you sign it and if you don't understand it for god's sake and yours don't put your signature on it. Especially if you can't pass the first point above.........you're setting yourself up for failure. Remember, any paper you sign that involves money is a contract.... every big trucking company has a boat load of lawyers who have created those forms and there are very few loop holes If you sign it you can't complain then when you find yourself broke. Remember, most of those contracts will spell out that any funds extended on your behalf to get your CDL by the company are educational advancements (student loans), that if you don't satisfy the contractual agreement, they become immediately due and start accruing interest...........and another thing to remember, student loans are usually not wiped out if you declare bankruptcy.

Third.... let's say you have the cash reserves to make it 3 to 4 months getting started........you have read and understand the business and contractual nature of the papers you're signing. You still need to have business plan and you need to execute that plan...... failure to plan is a plan for failure. You need to set up your budget for on the road, yeah it maybe nice to have all the toys and electronic gadgets, but you can live without them........don't fall into the temptation of instant gratification.....save that for the drive though at McDonald's. If things are tight, instead of buying that refrigerator for the truck and the inverter to run it.... get you a good ice chest and use that for a month or two or three. Buy your food stash before each trip at Walk-a-mile-mart and eat out of your food box. Forget the TV and CD/DVD player... get you some books from the library for those down times..........instead of that cell phone, get you a calling card with a set limit. You would be surprised the number of new drivers I've run into with the latest cell phone that they use to call home everyday, and then momma calls 3 or 4 times Ada and the kids call and at the end of the month, die from shell shock when momma calls and says the cell phone bill is $300 +.

I would be willing to bet, that for every 10 folks who post on this forum about the so and so company screwed them money wise, cheated them, ruined them financially and left them with a pile of bills and obligations... 9 of them had no business going into the business from the get go....... they weren't ready nor were they prepared to insure their chances of success.

And the last point is simply this.........attitude. The company doesn't exist to provide you a job.....it exist to make a profit for their stockholders. Your employment is a contractual situation .... you perform "x" services for "y" compensation.......something you have agreed on and too before you ever step foot in the cab..... if they screw up your pay check don't go
in all bent out of shape.......remember, you're a business professional as well as a truck driver, act like one....if you can't resolve it there are legal remedies and the great thing about this country of ours you have the freedom to move on to some other company you think will treat you better...... that does not relieve you of your contractual obligations to that company.... identify the consequences of your decisions and then be honorable to accept them if you choose to hit the road.

Every time I read some rant here, I have to wonder just what the company's side of the story would be........what would they say of the driver and would they be embarrassed for the whole story to be revealed to us here on the forum......I drove for CRST for about 6 months..... the only bad thing I had to experience was the lunatic partner they put me with.........besides some of the things I've posted in other threads here..... he was constantly bitching about the company screwing him out of money,.... not paying him on time, etc., etc.... yet he was always screwing up his paper work, losing his receipts, holding trip reports days after we dropped the load off, leaving off information on the forms that was required, etc. , etc..........but it was always CRST's fault for screwing him..... Hell, I wanted to screw him...........to the back of the trailer in a blizzard going through Montana in January just for the fun of it.

Folks... it's a business.... if you ever forget that for one week, you're setting yourself up for nothing but frustration, and hard times.... not only for you, but for momma and the kids back home and we all know that when momma ain't happy.......ain't nobody going to be happy.

Sorry for the rant... I'll climb down off the soap box now.........."we now return the control of your favorite station back to it's normal operations..."

be safe.... be smart........be professional.

[iowarider]

well said.

I have been making ends meet by substitute teaching for two different school districts. Same words applies to that profession. Those teachers that had daily plans in place and systems for running the classroom, I could walk in, follow their notes and all was well. Those that left a hand scribbled note on the desk beside a video and said play it and if it gets done early let them use time for study hall, was more like a punishment than a job. Every place has their rules and I have always found no matter what you think of them if ya follow them you get along fine. If you can't agree with them for some reason, best not start or plan to move on soon. Companies and policies do not change for one individual.

[lifespalette]

Amen to that Iowarider...........been there and done that. After I left the design studio, I did some substituting for a change of pace......wasn't but about 2 months and I quickly figured out the score.... the courts and the teachers unions have taken control away from the administrators, which has resulted in the teachers not having control.........the students are running the system and it's broke ..........I fear beyond repair. Thank god my kids are grown and in college or working.. If I had school age children now, I most certainly would either put them in a private school or home school them.

[long_hauler2005]

lifespalette... HEAR HEAR!!!!

I could not have said it better.... In my decision to leave my current employ, I have a choice of what to do with the meager 401K I had put together, the bulk of it will go to pay off cars, thus removing a bill that has to be paid monthly, and the rest is to go into the savings account which will ONLY be drawn from to supplement the small earnings at the start of my new career. It is funny to see that between the trucking industry and the air transport industry, the "average" starting wages of a professional driver is actually higher than that of a new right seater in the airlines. As I was and am training to fly airplanes, I was really having to decide how to supplement the lost income... making the finances a forefront concern.

Keep the shiny side up, dirty side down.

[lifespalette]

Oh thank you longhauler..........in my present position (Construction Administrator Consultant) while I'm finishing up my Masters, I'm spending alot of time in the air, anywhere from Dedham, MA to Houston to Orlando hitting project sites.....it's so reassuring to know that the guy or girl sitting in the right seat is making less than a new truck driver.....well.. at least they don't have to back the damn plane..... thank god for push outs I guess. Please don't tell me about the hours they work.

Good luck in your new endeavors

[long_hauler2005]

Thanks Pallet....

Actually, a pilots hours are more stringently monitored and adhered to (less the FAA fine both the pilot AND the airline) but the bad part, as in trucking, the GET THERE ITIS syndrome as well as the airlines pushing the pilots to fly because they have to maintain ON-TIME status.

As far as pay, a first officer (the right seater) in a regional carrier can expect first year earnings around $24,000 (with no tuition re-imbursement) This after laying out around $50,000 to earn this privilage. (And that price does not include getting a type rating in a jet... (add $20,000 to $40,000)


Hmmm.... that $5000 I just laid out for truck training just became rather small. :wink: