Ohio CRST Drivers ... Need Advise

I need some feedback on the CRST team driving and cdl sponsorship program. I am looking for a CRST driver who resides in northeast Ohio (as I do) so I can understand how this location impacts commute for each OTR trip. I need to continue my residence near Akron Ohio due to family. Should this influence the company I choose for CDL sponsored training?

thanks for feedback. Mike

Mike, forgive me, but I am confused as to what it is you are trying to understand. I don't understand your question. Here's the part I'm not sure about:

so I can understand how this location impacts commute for each OTR trip.

I don't work for CRST. I think we have a member or two that do, but they aren't real often in here for discussion. I'm going to try to explain in general terms what I think you are wondering about, but I'm just not sure what you are asking.

As an OTR driver the company will usually get you a bus ticket to the terminal where you will do your training. After it is all said and done, and you are in a truck of your own, you will start running freight all over the country. Your state of residence will have to be one in which they include in their "hiring area," which simply means that they run freight to customers of theirs in that state. That is how they get you home for some time at home. You make a request for your home time and they do their best to find you some freight that is bound for someplace close to your hometown. Then you take the truck home and enjoy a few days of rest at home.

Now with CRST you will be team driving, and that throws a whole new twist into things. You see your team partner needs some home time also. It's one of the many problems associated with team driving. It would be an excellent strategy for you to locate a team partner in your area if possible to ease some of the difficulty of getting home. If your partner lives in South Florida and you reside in Ohio, well you can see the problem here.

Has your research led you to go with CRST? That's fine, but you need to be aware of the problems associated with teaming together with another rookie, and the problems you are going to have with getting home. What if your partner quits? I just think you need to think it through completely and make an informed decision on where to get started. You sure don't want to get started with CRST and then not finish the commitment. We have had countless folks come to us for advise on how to get released from their contract at CRST - it is boiler plate tight, and it will keep you from being able to find work elsewhere until you have paid it off. I'm just giving you this heads up so that you don't shoot yourself in the foot. We've had some drivers in here who loved their jobs at CRST, but the ones who don't have what it takes to see it through have been sorely disappointed in the results they got.

Have you looked into some of our resources here?

Check out the information on Paid CDL Training Programs and take a look at The Complete Guide To A Career In Trucking.

Thanks for the response and I will try to clarify. I am just in the beginning of my research about a trucking career. This would be a career change for me. I have made no commitments to any particular company-sponsored training program. CRST was simply one of the companies that has surfaced in my research. Ohio does seem to be in the CRST “hiring area”.

I understand some of the pros and cons of company-sponsored training vs independent school. I was leaning toward the company sponsored training as it seems to provide some assurances of being hired upon successful completion. I think it is a good trade-off for someone like myself just getting started with no license or experience. “You help get me started and I will commit a locked in period.” At CRST that period is a year and in a teaming arrangement. I just need to make sure the logistics are realistic or it will be difficult to get home.

Teaming - I am beginning to realize that maybe a lot of teams are planned in advance based on both team members location. I don’t have an intended team member at this time. I did ask the recruiter at CRST to put me in touch with some drivers from Ohio or a driver manager who works with drivers located in Ohio. I wanted to understand CRST presence in Ohio and I don’t have that information yet although I just recently asked. The teaming approach is good for the company and challenging for the drivers but that is probably why it is easier to get a start that way.

Getting start…you said, “I just think you need to think it through completely and make an informed decision on where to get started.” I agree and will continue my research. Ideally, I would find a company who offers a fair company-sponsored training and with enough drivers near me that it makes sense to team. I think the solo driving opportunities are more competitive and less assurances that they are available upon completion of training.

Thanks, Mike

Welcome Mike.

In addition to CRST, the other companies frequently discussed on the forum that offer training are; Roehl, Prime, CR England and Swift.

We have an excellent review link today will enable you to do an effective evaluation on the aforementioned possibilities. Trucking Company Reviews

Good luck!

Mike some of your conclusions about teaming are not correct. I'm not sure how you have come to these conclusions, but I just want to help you get started so I'm going to point them out.

The teaming approach is good for the company and challenging for the drivers but that is probably why it is easier to get a start that way.

There is nothing to support your statement that it is easier to get started that way. The very problems associated with teaming make it that much more difficult to get started that way. I well remember one of our members who started at CRST actually went through something like four partners their first year. It wasn't because he was hard to get along with, it was simply a numbers thing. There are a lot of people who think this is going to be their ticket to a new lease on life and it turns out they hate trucking. They had false expectations, and they were not prepared for such a drastic lifestyle change - they thought, hey these folks are hiring, and I could sure use a job right now. It takes a lot of dedication and commitment ta make a good start at this career, and I'm afraid just a small percentage of the folks who get started ever hang in there for the long haul. The driver I'm referring to kept on suffering with poor paychecks because every time his partner would quit they couldn't seem to get him any decent loads. Since the company was mostly structured for teams most of their loads were designed for teams, and he was having to run as a solo driver. Each time he would have to wait around for them to come up with another driver for him to run with.

I think the solo driving opportunities are more competitive and less assurances that they are available upon completion of training.

Once again, I'm not sure how you came up with this conclusion. The truth is that the persons who come through our web site and go to Paid CDL Training Programs are probably 200 to 1 doing it as solo drivers. If they accept you into their training program, they have a job waiting for you. It's not a competition - the only requirement for you to get the job is to finish the training program, which is the same requirement for the team companies. Now being able to complete the training may be sort of like a competition, they want you to catch on quickly, and it is sort of like a try-out for the team, where you should begin at some point to show them that you have the abilities to succeed. But I have never heard of anyone passing their training and then having to wait for a job to be available for them.

Here's the thing about teaming. You are not going to make a lot more money than a good solo driver, yet you are going to have to put up with a lot of problems. It really is best for a married couple - that way all the income is going into the same coffers, and that makes it worth while in my estimation. I think there is a lot of misinformation about team driving, and many people think that is the way to make a fortune in trucking. Well, it just isn't true, but if you want to be working and sleeping in a truck that never hardly stops, well, that is a personal decision. Some people seem to need the added comfort of having someone there with them, if that describes you then I'm all for it. personally it would drive me crazy having someone in here with me all the time. It is crowded living in a truck, I sure don't want another person with me all the time.

I realize you never even mentioned making more money, but just in case I wanted to set that straight.

I'm happy for you to be a team driver if that is what you want, the team companies would love to have you, but it just isn't true that it is easier to get started that way.

Thank you very much. Good information. Mike

Mike teaming is not for everyone.

Ask yourself one basic question; do you trust your life with the driving skills and experience of another rookie? That is the reality of teaming. Im addition to the valuable insight Old School shared, something else to consider.

Thanks G-Town. If I continue the idea of team driving via CRST I really would like to find an experienced team driver in northeast Ohio who can teach me the truck driving business that you don't get in the 4 week training. And it has to work out logistically as Old School stated. The responses are making me reconsider the team approach and rather find the right company that has strong freight activity in Oh/PA then go solo.

safe travels.