CRST or Swift ?
 

I am struggling with this decision, I am scheduled for cdl training with swift June 25th in phoenix with a 13 month commitment, but I am also considering CRST. As everybody knows CRST is team driving but it is 20 on 10 off with only an 8 month commitment and they train in California, which is the state I hold my drivers license so there won’t be the hassle with the transferring of the dmv paperwork from state to state.
What would be your choice? Any info would be appreciated.

i like having the truck to myself and sleeping in a stationary truck.
wonder how long 8 months team would feel compared to 13 months solo.
i hear you make better money as a team, but you run your ass off.
depends on where your priorities lie.

Do you not have your CDL? no matter where you train, you test in your home state, so you shouldn't have to worry about transferring from CA to AZ.

i would imagine swift would be better for a new driver, as they are larger, have more options, and more latitude for learning.

No I dont have my cdl yet

Currently, I am training with Swift, but CRST Van was another company I looked at. I'm happy at Swift and they have been good to me so far. I don't really know much about there school in Pheonix but some of the guys in my orientation class went to Pheonix for schooling and they liked it there (Said it was really hot there though LOL). CRST runs a lot of freight that is needed quickly so your constantly running with a deadline. Good luck.

You mean you're just getting your feet wet as a driver?

I ran flatbeds for Swift, and it wasn't that bad of a gig. Like with any other company, there'll be downsides.
The reason I left was because I was in the Army Reserve, and my prick of a dispatcher/driver manager/whatever the hell you want to call him caused me to miss several drill dates. After serving on active duty for four years, which included a tour in Afghanistan, I wasn't going to allow myself to receive a dishonourable discharge from the Reserve simply because the powers that be in the Eden terminal were a bunch of assclowns.
I would mostly run chassis to the midwest, and then run steel back. From time to time, I'd have to run Blue Bird chassis into Canada, which meant running I-75 all the way up from southern Georgia to Detroit (which kinda sucked), then crossing the border, but the running was usually good once I was in Ontario. Coming back, it could be steel coils to Thomas Built Buses in High Point, bags of some sort of fabrication material from Niagra Falls to Detroit.. those were the normal routes, though there was a bit of variety.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the jackass of a dispatcher I had to work with, I might still be doing that.
I know they have a school in Millington, Tennessee... my truck was in the shop for a couple days in Memphis, so they had me do some local work, running trailers to and from their school, but I really couldn't tell you anything about it.

Colts- Yep. I've had my CDL for about a year, but I wanted to finish my last year of college. ( It would have been foolish to invest 3 yrs of it then just piss it away). I followed the industry since I was 16 so I not the average joe that jumps into trucking. I choose Swift due to the fact that the regional they have out of my area is .35 cpm starting out and it is home every weekend :) . So far I've been happy here but I've ran into the cry babies at the Terminals that all they do is bad mouth Swift. When I was at the Detriot terminal one guy started in with how bad it was here and I asked him how long he's drove for Swift- 3 yrs :roll: If it was that bad then go somewhere else right :lol: Anyways, Swifty has been ok. Like I said I've studied up on them here and I can't complain one way or the other about them. I did some research on CRST awhile back but I turned them down due to the fact that a couple of former CRST drivers told me that although CRST preaches safety, safety, safety that is far from the truth with them. Peace out.

Not necessarily true. I lived in Arkansas and did my training in Missouri. Tested in MO, got the CDL there and had to transfer back to Arkansas. I think most companies that do their own inhouse training do it that way.

schneider you test in your home state, iirc

I got my CDL through CRST in Sept 04. Before they guaranteed a job they put me through 15 days of school (no pay). You then go through a 7 day orientation (still no pay). On the last day of orientation and after a road test they tell you wether or not you have a job. Then they assign you to a trainer for 30 days. They allow drivers with as little as 8 months OTR to train. During those 30 days you WILL NOT see home. They will run the hell out of you for those 30 days because they are paying you as little as they possibly can. They hired me at $0.11 split for those 30 days then raised me to $.18 split. Split Cents per mile means you will only get paid $.18 for half the mileage of the trip or half your cents per mile for all miles. ie.. 2000 mile trip means $.18 cents for 1000 miles or $.09 cents for all 2000 miles. Im sure the pay is a little better now. The 20 day out 10 day home is a 3 man team. 2 people on the truck at all times switching one driver every 10 days. If you decide to go with CRST do NOT do the 20-10 3 man team. If one of the other drivers happens to quit you will sit at home without dispatch without pay. I quit after my 3rd month (2 months working) because one of the drivers quit and I sat at home without dispatch for 30 days. They will NOT let you drive solo during your first 6 months while your other team member is on his home 10. To explain the 30 days..I went on my home 10, driver 2 quit the same day I started my home time. The 3rd driver drove solo for those 10 then went on his home 10. They got another driver to join the team and dispatched them together for another 10 days. If you ask them to switch you into another truck they will tell you it will take a few weeks to find you another team member and your going to sit anyway. You wont get paid detention pay because you are not under a load. Dont get me wrong CRST isn't the worst company out there for experienced drivers....it just sucks for new hires\ trainees.

If its available in your state the best way for you to get your CDL is go through a workforce\state endorsed type program. Oklahoma's workforce will pay for you to go through CDL training and pay you $50 a day. Most likely you will get recruited while you are in school without the contract obligations. You should also look at the different state's requirements to obtain a CDL. Cali might be more difficult than AZ
A few links to check out http://www.etp.cahwnet.gov/training_ops.cfm
http://www.edd.ca.gov/eddhome.htm
http://www.edd.ca.gov/eddtraini.htm

Sorry if this is a little much or if its confusing. Good luck which ever way you go


just googled CRST pay rate....its $50 a day while assigned to a truck for your first 30 days then $.22 cmp split..........they wont tell you its split until you go to orientation though

I called scheider but theyre only hiring teams with an 18 month commitment.

I ran for shift too for about a month after their training and quit.The miles they were giving me sucked, even though i give my best on being available so i can get miles.After getting a $200 paycheck and their truck broke down i turned the keys in ,and left home to phoenix.It's not that i didn't do my best ,since around that time my wife was coming from europe and needed a full time job and get married.Luckly i was living with my parents and didn't have to many expenses. Right now i'm independent running for brokers and can't beat that.Don't have to put up with all the BS that comes as a company driver.What i don't regret from swift is their training.That's where i improved my driving and shifting since i got my cdl on my own and didn't experience that much.Swift dispatchers are just a bunch of idiots and really don't appreciate the drivers that actually make that company.Finally i can say it was an experience but wouldn't repeat it again.Goodluck though!

Agreed.

[rant]
Most are not worth the salt in their bodies. They love to play favorites too. Get out too far from your terminal and you're hosed. If you are based out of a small terminal, like OKC you are double hosed.

They have a nice facility in Phoenix, complete with a restaurant, pool tables, vending machines for smokes and lots of seating space. Unfortunately these qualities tend to fade when you are among 100 or so drivers stuck there awaiting dispatch or an empty, given that they make you drop any empty trailer you have. (they check the computer when you enter the fuel island.)

I went in with 2.5 years experience and got a .34cpm rate, which wouldn't be too bad if I could actually have gotten some miles. Then to add insult to injury I was in one of the oldest trucks in the fleet (a 2003 FRGHT Columbia) while students fresh off the trainers truck are getting 2008 Volvo's. After a while (3 months) they sent me to Memphis to trade in the old clunker. (Needless to say it was prone with problems, given it's age and dumbing down the engine to 65) turns out they wanted me to have a run in the simulator (I guess 2.5 years of accident and violation-free experience isn't enough to not make you play a computer game of your job, not that I really cared.) and take a backing test with a few of the students upgrading to solo status. The truck they had was on old FLD (looked to be an early 90's model easy) that they wanted you to go around and back into a hole about 50% wider than your average slot. It was 5 am and I was on 3 hours sleep in the pouring rain and did it with only a slight pull-up to get it perfectly straight. I gave the newbies pointers on how the FLD handled vs the newer trucks they had been driving and most did pretty well given the conditions. So after effortlessly jumping through the hurdles I was told there was a waiting list for new units and I had to ride back to OKC with all my crap on two people's daycabs. (They were real cool about it though and I had removed most of my stuff in OKC in anticipation of getting a new rig.) After 2 weeks of the runaround I told them not to bother as I'd lost too much money from lack of pay for the downtime. It kinda pissed off my FM and driver services rep because they were grooming me to be a trainer. (the most likely reason they made me take those classes in Memphis) But I simply asked them what I was supposed to do in the meantime given that the bills don't pay themselves.

Maybe some solos do well there, if so I don't know any on the company side. O/O's do okay, but they are not forced dispatch either and seem to have priority for long hauls, as do trainers and teams. My longest run was 1500 miles and it was a JIT load with 3 days lead time.

Long story short, Swift is an okay place to train, but it is not for the experienced driver. They will jack your miles. They will give you inferior equipment and they will not treat you with respect.

[/rant]

I started with Swift I went to their school and did there training with a trainer. Then Only lasted 3 months with them going solo. I just wasn't getting the miles with them and they wouldn't get me home when i need to. I think it was my dm he was a real ass. The other guys i new who started with did ok for a starter company but they have a moved on to new company now to make more money. ONly thinging is keep your nose clean for that first year and then you can mmove on tho more money.