Hill Brothers,John Christner, Kreilkamp
 

Can anyone tell me about these companies? Good and bad

Hill Brothers
 

I will say if you want to hire on to a "real" company Hill Brothers is the place to go.

After they hired me, I never heard the word bus! They put me on a plane and flew me up to omaha. The hotel they use is nothing short of the best. I have never, in ten years, seen a company put their drivers up in such a nice place. They use the Comfort Inn & Suites, off 72nd in Omaha. All drivers get a private room which is huge. In the lobby they have a terrific restaurant & bar. The hotel serves a full hot breakfast each morning at 6:00am.

Orientation is a very long 4 1/2 days. But they do their best to break up the day to help. Unlike most places they don't give you a small plain tidbit for lunch, they actually take the entire class out to a different restaurant each day, and you get more than enough. Monday morning is the usual paperwork time. Then lunch, and after it's off to the doctor for your physical and drug screen. Tuesday is broken up between video's and more paperwork. I will say you will fill out more paperwork here than anywhere! On Wednesday you will meet people from all the different departments, including Pat Hill himself. Thursday you will finish up with what didn't get done on Thursday, then truck assignments and road tests. Then Friday you will get your first dispatch.

The trucks are incredible for a company trucks. They use Volvo 780's. They have the 81 inch studio sleepers. Built in norcold fridge/freezer, bottom bunk transforms into a table with two seats, more storage room then you can imagine, and Thermo King APU'S. Most of the drivers(incl myself) keep the table set up and just use the top bunk to sleep. The inside of the sleeper feels like your in a mini RV. The trucks are set at 68mph also.

My true opinion of Hill Brothers is it's a real at home family atmosphere, everyone makes an effort to learn your name and uses it, no numbers here! The miles are great, you can run as hard and make a good paycheck here.

Well I hope that helps, if you have any other questions just let me know and I will do my best to help you out.

Re: Hill Brothers
 

Sounds like a recruiter or something . Not all there trucks are Volvo 780's I know that much .

No not a recruiter, just a new driver. All I was doing was sharing my experience so far to give him some insight on his question. As far as the KW T-6's they have, they are for their "utility" fleet, which is like an Omaha regional fleet, not their otr fleet.

Perhaps a new driver trying hard to get that $1000 referral bonus because he's starving to death on .31 a mile.

I'd try to get an extra $1000 if I could too...
Lets just hope he's telling the truth about all the info he posted.
No wonder they can afford to put them on a plane, when they're paying 31cpm..
But if your happy, then more power to ya.

Good on Hill Bros
 

Any info on John Christner and Kreilkamp?

Christner was a good company- runs west! pays about average for that region , lot of girls in the Christner family- working in the office --so watch you language and don't get too comfortable at the end of the phone interview and slip up--

i.e. Last question, why are you leaving your present/last employer?

Wrong Answer: Because they sux!

John Christner Trucking
Home City: Sapulpa, OK
Company Drivers: None listed on website
Owner Operator Program: Yes
Lease Program: Yes
Fleet Trailers: Reefer
Fleet Power Units: KW T-600, KW-W900L, Pete 379XHD, FRGHT Classic XL, INT 9900IX
Fuel Card: EFS
Website: http://www.johnchristner.com/


Hope that helps

Re: Good on Hill Bros
 

Kreilkamp is a family style operation north of Milwaukee. About 300 trucks I believe. I was with them for a short time before becoming a local schmuck.

I enjoyed my brief time with Kreilkamp. They certainly are driver friendly. A lot of meat and dairy to the east coast, plus a lot of work for John Deere. Lots of LTL/multiple stop loads coming off of the east coast. Kreilkamp has a warehouse/drop-yard at Edison, NJ.

The LTL stuff can be a grind, but the extra stop pay adds up quickly. Their system is set up so that you WILL get the various incentive bonuses. I did very well for a newbie to the industry. No problem at all getting miles.

Home every weekend, unless you want to stay out longer. None of that 3-4 weeks out garbage.

If I found myself in a position to go back to OTR, Kreilkamp would definitely be my first call. Good Luck!

Well, if it's posted on the internet, it's got to be true!!!

Yes I am telling the truth, I wasn't asking for anyone to get me a referral bonus at all. I do love how people think they know it all though, .31 cpm, don't know where he got that from! I wouldn't be driving anywhere for that! I haven't been out here but a short 8 years, but i'm worth more than that!

I know what you mean. They irritate and annoy me to no end.

I went to the Hill Bros website and they also pay 6 CPM add on as a Perdiem pay. So base rate is .31 +.06 according to their own webpage.

Hill Bros
 

Hill Bros website states:
Mileage Pay Scale 0 - 6 months employed = .32 / mile
Pre-taxable income. Per Diem is at $.06 per mile.

.26 per mile is not taxed therefore leaving .06 per mile untaxed as "per diem"

I thought...WOW Great, .38 CPM sounds great as a CO driver...then I called Hill Bros and the company set me straight.

Hill Bros still sounds like a good decent company any anyway. Yes, they operate KW T-600s and Volvo 780s.

The recruiter told me if you want a certain truck and you wind up with the other kind, next time you get thru Omaha you can Q-COMM ahead and see if your 1st choice is available.

Anyone drive for HB out there that can shed some light on their company???

Re: Hill Bros
 

They actually have a few oddball trucks in the fleet as well, but new drivers are most likely to get a 780 or T-600. Some of the T-600s have APUs but most don't, and none of them are as nice as the 780's.


This can take a while, depends on trucks being turned in. Took me a month before I got out of my T-600 into my company 780.

As far as flying / busing goes they also use rental cars where, say, someone from Michigan will rent a car and pick up a few other recruits in Illinois and Iowa then travel together to orientation. If you use your own car they reimburse the fuel, and if it is a rental it is all taken care of.

Paperwork is a chore but not the most anywhere. When I worked at CFI there was even more to hassle with.

The cruise control on company trucks is set up a bit odd from what I was used to. At Hill Bros you can be on cruise up to 68 but on the pedal only up to 66, so you don't have a few extra MPH to get around someone slower and are normally passing on cruise control. When you own or lease your own truck you can set it up any way you want of course, though the fuel bill is yours too.

I looked at Christner as well before I went to Hill Bros, even going to see their terminal in Sapulpa, OK. I didn't like the fact that you got stuck leasing whatever truck was available in their lot when you started and, according to their recruiters, new and used trucks all had 5 year leases. At Hill Bros it is your choice between new and used and some drivers start in a company truck then end up leasing the same truck once they are comfortable with it.

Also, another difference between Hill and some others outfits (Christner, Prime, etc.) is that you can't start out with a lease-purchase. Have to put in a few months as a company driver first to make sure you know the system and they like the way you run, keep your logs, etc.

Good luck,

Jim