Profile For Drew S.

I know it's been a while since I've been on, I left my laptop at the house last time I was home, won't make that mistake again! Mathew, I don't know much about the iceless coolers as I have a yeti cooler in my truck (i use dry ice, when I can get it) but I know a few people that seem to like them. I hear the fans can burn out rather quickly, but it still might be cheaper buying a new cooler every year than buying ice every few days. Anyways I'll get to be home for thanksgiving for 3 days and then plan on staying out until Christmas, my dm has had me running on a Wal-Mart dedicated account close to home the past couple days so he can pretty much guarantee me to be home on time. I was also up in the northeast for a couple weeks and right before the lake effect snow pounded them he sent me back south.

Went through the charlotte terminal just the other day, only stopped to change trailers though. They dont have apu's on the trucks and you can only have a power inverter that plugs into 12v so microwaves and fridges are probably not possible. But if you can find something that works i dont believe they have have any policy against them, just as long as your not wiring anything directly to the batteries. you can get an iceless cooler thats 12v. Also i wrote a thread on here about my experience with them so far (My experience with knight transportation) i also mention the sliding pay scale in it

I had this situation come up yesterday, i was given a load scheduled to pick up that evening, but my hours would only permit me to pick it up the next morning. i sent a message on the qualcomm saying my ours would not allow the pickup time and he said no problem, you can grab it in the morning. it was a drop and hook. usually there are windows of time as stated above that allow for such situations. Even with the later pickup, i still was able to deliver on time. i wouldnt refuse a load as a new driver even though knight (who i believe is who you're training with) has no forced dispatch.

Update:

Went to El Paso, TX from Arkansas and got there a day early. The consignee wouldnt let me deliver early so my DM let me drop my trailer in our yard over there. I was pre-planned on a load from El Paso to Valdosta, GA (1550 mi.) but wasnt able to pickup til the next day so instead of sitting in my truck all day my DM paid me some extra $$ to do a local run while I waited! On my way to Georgia i stopped by my home terminal and had a full service done on my truck. Truck went strait into the shop with no waiting or complaints/griping from shop personnel. I knew i would be driving past my house on the way too and decided to ask my DM if i could stay at the house for the night and head out to the consignee in the morning. It would not put me behind schedule but would put me about 100 miles out of route on my trip. I wasnt expecting him to say yes because of the miles it would add to my trip (last company i worked for would have for sure said no) but he didnt seem to mind at all. Still proving to be a great company, very laid back operating structure with drivers needs/wants in mind.

I would appreciate someone explaining the "sliding pay schedule" that Knight is using. Thanks

The sliding pay scale pays you different cpm's based on how long the haul is. They do this because when you have shorter trips you are generally sitting at shippers and receivers longer so they will pay you a higher rate for the short runs. I believe their starting pay is .35 to 44 cpm depending on the length. a run less than 200 miles would pay 44 cpm while a run over 600 miles would pay 35 cpm. when you get a raise, the whole pay scale goes up.

Yeah I know. What is the hometime policy out of the Gulfport terminal?

Well I believe they have different options for home time. I think you can run two weeks out 1 week home (slip seat though) or two weeks out and 2 to 3 days home bringing your truck home with you. i am doing the two weeks with 3 days home, although i have not been home yet, they gave me the option to stop by the house after orientation. I decided to run for a couple weeks then go home. From the experience I have had with the people working at the terminal there, I bet they would be willing to work with you on your home time needs too. I feel like I am working for a small trucking company, but with the benefits of being a larger company.

His name is Ken Morton. Its going pretty good so far. Only issue I have is he has a automatic truck so why am I training on an automatic? I don't get why they would put me with some one who has one.

Yeah, that doesnt make much since to me either. I do know that these days trainers are hard to come by so they may be putting you with whoever is available to keep you from sitting in a hotel. It took me two weeks to get a trainer with Werner. I also hear that all the new volvos they are getting are autos and that trainers usually get the best equipment.

I definitely agree making it in this industry has a lot to do with what you put into it. It seem also that your DM can play a huge part in how your experience on the road is too. I trained with Werner and lucked out with a great trainer who was very patient and willing to teach me a great deal about the industry. However, once I was assigned my own truck and DM with them it was a different story. He would constantly have me sitting and when my hours were low would schedule me to pick up. He was terrible about keeping me pre-planned. I never new if I should be trying to sleep because I might be running that night or picking up the next day. It seems they will hire anybody to plan/dispatch their loads, or either they had to many drivers per DM to effectively manage them. My DM with Knight actually seems to know what he is doing, I am able to run during the day and sleep at night while still getting a decent amount of miles. I know I have only been with them for a few days, but I am pre-planned for the next 4 days and will be able to keep my sleeping schedule. I hope it stays this way. Parked in Springdale, AR for the night, got a chance to walk down to some stores today and get out of the truck for a few hrs. Picking up in the morning and headed to El Paso, TX!

My driver trainer is from the Gulfport terminal!

Who is your driver trainer, if you dont mind me asking, and how is your experience with their training program going?

So I just went through orientation with Knight Transportation at their Gulfport, MS terminal. First day we got to meet everybody in the office, everyone was very welcoming and made me feel like part of the group right away. We went to do our physicals at a local chiropractors office and then came back to do our driving test and drug test (urinalysis and hair follicle). There was about five of us in orientation, which i hear was one of the bigger classes. The second day we watched some videos about Knight and how they operated. Day three we did a Smith safety driving test and waited around to get assigned our trucks. They let me pick which truck in the yard that I wanted to be assigned to. Every one was very easy to talk to and did not discourage asking questions. I got to meet my dispatcher on the third day also and got into the 2012 international prostar that I had picked out. it has been three days since out of orientation and has been going great. My first run was about 800 miles and have already been pre-planned for two more load this week, my second load is about 850 miles and the load i am pre-planned for after that is 1,350 miles. I dont understand why there are so many bad reviews about this company online, they seem to be an excellent company to work for so far. They are interested in driver feedback and like to hear about how they can make things better. Nothing but great things to say so far.