Profile For Thomas M.

I hear alot of good things about knight, they seem like a good company to work for? What kind of trucks do they run, meaning what type of transmissions? APU's, etc Any feedback about the pro's and Con's of their trucks

Knight runs all Volvo and International Pro Star's. Eaton 10 Speeds No APU's

The Volvo's turn sharper and their Jake Brake is much better, but the sleeper's are smaller. The Pro Star's ride better, have more room for both storage and sleeping, but they turn more like a 379 pete and the engine brake is a joke.

You need the CDL Permit before going to the school.

Misty,

If i remember correctly the only time any company can push you into a refresher course is if you do not have 3 years of recent combination vehicle experience. (Truck & Transfer or trailer are combinations) I would simply ask them for a road test and if you pass then no need for a refresher. In my experience people who have driven local or dumptruck are a lot better drivers than anyone who comes out of any school or someone who drives 90% highway.

I have driven OTR (53') Local , Log Truck, and Dump truck w/transfer. The dump truck and Log truck were by far the biggest test of skills and the hardest to master. I am by no means an expert but after trying different things i can honestly say OTR takes the least amount of training.

Knight was 2800

Everyone talks about paying your dues and getting through the first year. There is really no way to sugar coat it, the first year sucks. The failure rate is huge and recruiters are full of s***. Reality is that a recruiter is nothing more than a salesperson and they will tell people anything to get them through the doors. Whether you go to a company school or a private school it does not really matter the job is the same. Anyone who has the false hope that you are going to start with high wages and be home every night fresh out of school is sadly mistaken. The reality is that until you have a few years under your belt you are going to struggle and the divorce rate is extremely high.

It took a long time but i finally got on with a small company where i am home every night and off every weekend. It was along road and i thought about quitting so many times that i lost count. In the end it all worked out and now my family and i are very happy. The best thing i can advise to anyone considering a career in being a truck driver is to just hang in there it will get better and you will get where you want to be if you just work hard and never give up.

It is working great for me and i have been in a 2012 Volvo for a while, but i am seeing a few 2014 Pro Star's roll in to some of the guys that have been around for a long time. Hoping that someday maybe my name will come up for one of them.

For the most part i love everything about the company i work for. Yes i do max out my HOS every day and the money is awesome. The only major issues i ever have is that our shop at my terminal stinks really bad. The shop manager is horrible and i have had issues where i have had to refuse to move the truck until they fix a mechanical problem. I really have no interest in jumping ship unless the company i would go to would assure me in writing that i would not have issues with the shop and getting service. I went rounds with the shop manager this last time where i finally just told him and the terminal manager that i run that truck and my dispatcher keeps me moving freight, if the terminal wants the revenue then keep my truck running 100% and i will move as much freight as i can legally run. It didn't go over well with the shop manager but the terminal manager just smiled and said he would support me and work with dispatch as much as possible to keep us on track with our goals. I understand there will be down time since the truck is just a mechanical item and it will break. It is not a matter of if but when. The key is how fast it gets back up so i can keep moving. I run a Volvo so i am not sure it gets any more cramped, especially with everything i have in there. The way i look at it is that i have invested the money into everything from refrigerator to cooking so i don't ever need a truck stop for anything more than fuel and a wal mart every couple weeks for food restock. If the shop does not get better i will take a hard look at prime. Thanks for the advice Brett, i love to hear advice from the guys that have been out there a long time. I have managed to avoid a lot of "Rookie Mistakes" by simply asking other drivers about their experiences.

Thanks Brett, That is interesting. I never knew why they do it. My company always kicks an extra $36-$48 for doing local deliveries plus $14/Hr to do them so i spend 1 day every 2 week run just doing them because nobody seems to want them. I like the extra cash and it seems to make dispatch happy. I don't know if other companies do this but i will take them every time. we do not have any local drivers at my terminal so anytime someone runs out of hours and dumps a load on the yard someone has to run it. The wife loves it because i make enough money that i can be out 14 days and home for 5-7 days.

I have talked to a lot of drivers from different companies and it seems like the ones that offer to pay high CPM are nothing more than a marketing play. What good is it to get paid 50 CPM if you are only gonna run 1000 miles a week? Seems like the ones like my company that pay a little less actually run more and you make more. I have been getting 33 CPM but my runs are all 600-1200 Mile average and have been getting 3000-3500 Miles a week consistently.

Interested to see others experiences. No need to mention specific companies, just want to get the truth.

Things like Hazmat & Passport are helpful but i agree a TWIC card is useless unless you are going to do Port & Rail. I also agree, buying a truck before having several years under your belt is very foolish. I have talked to so many people that fell for the O/O pitfall as rookies and lost their butts. O/O is great for a single person that can live in it especially with fuel being so high. Companies will feed people a big line of BS about all the money you can make but reality is it is a rough road.

Talk to as many O/O as possible and get the truth before buying a truck. There are a lot of pitfalls that can put you out of business quick. With a felony under 10 years old i would work for a smaller company that will not care as much. Any large company will not consider hiring anyone with a criminal history at all and depending on what it was you may not be eligible for a hazmat, passport, or TWIC card.