Knight Or Roehl?

I just got my CDL today and I graduate next week. I've got my applications in at several companies, but I think I've narrowed it down to either Knight or Roehl. They both have pretty good home time and reasonable pay plus good equipment. I just don't know which one is a better company. Anybody have experience with one or both of these companies?

I just got my CDL today and I graduate next week. I've got my applications in at several companies, but I think I've narrowed it down to either Knight or Roehl. They both have pretty good home time and reasonable pay plus good equipment. I just don't know which one is a better company. Anybody have experience with one or both of these companies?

Hi, Sean. Have you read the reviews for Knight and Download here: Trucking Company Reviews?

Here's some more reading:

• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
• Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
• Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"

Hey Sean, Congratulations on your accomplishment!

We have some drivers here who work for both of those companies, and they are both excellent places to work. I drive for Knight, and have for the past two years, with no intentions of leaving at this point in time. Allow me to answer your question in a generic fashion, because I think you have narrowed this down to two really good choices that don't have a lot of difference in them.

Here is what I mean: Both Knight and Roehl have several different divisions, and lots of dedicated accounts that you could eventually move over into if you so desired. All this means is that if you started out pulling a dry-van, then later on you could switch over to Reefer if you wanted to, or even flat-bed. They also serve dedicated accounts, which is what I do at Knight on a dedicated flat-bed gig. You can really make some good money with these dedicated situations once you get the hang of how everything works, and you are familiar with the locations of the customers.

Remember that trucking is a performance based business, and therefore the top earners are also the top performers. The only reason I bring that up is that you will likely have some struggles during your first year. Always keep your focus on the fact that your struggles stem from the fact that you are still learning your trade - you are a rookie. Even if it seems that you are not getting dispatched the kinds of loads you see other folks getting it often times is because that person has established themselves well with a good track record of safe productive results. Most new rookie drivers want to leave their first company after a while because they think they can make more money somewhere else, when usually their only problem is that they just haven't given the time yet to be recognized as a professional dependable producer. Once they move to a different place they find that they are back to square one and trying to establish themselves to management again.

I only bring the performance thing up because we see it so often as something new drivers don't ever comprehend. Both of your choices are excellent places to not only start a trucking career, but also great places to stick around and learn to make some really great money. If it will help you any in your decision making process, I'll tell you this: It isn't nearly as critical a decision as it will seem to you. Make your choice and then get out there and really bust your tail at doing a great job. If you take that approach either one of those companies will prove to be a very beneficial place to work.

Fortunately for you you have selected two companies that have excellent reputations. At this point it's really just a matter of a gut feeling for you. Listen to the recruiter and get a feel for the culture without falling for the " it sounds to good to be true story's". As Errol pointed out there is some fantastic info available right here on the basic information.

I think you'll find quite a few drivers on this forum that are satisfied with either company. Consider yourself fortunate to have two great company's to choose from.

Thanks for the feedback everybody! I'm leaning toward Knight because they have a terminal closer to me. They also sent a driver manager from that terminal (Tulsa, OK) to my school for the recruiting pitch and he seemed like someone who'd be easy to work with. I've only spoken with a recruiter on the phone at Roehl, so Knight kind of gave themselves a leg up there. Again, I appreciate everyone's feedback! Keep it coming!

I'm sure you won't go wrong with either company. I work for knight refer and this is my first OTR company, so I have noth8ng to compare to, but, knight feels like a good company. Everyone seems to be approachable and easy to talk to, which is good.

I've not had to sit and wait on a load but maybe one or two times. Generally, they'll have you dispatched on your next load before you finish the one you are currently running.

Just do your due diligence before you decide. There are companies that pay better, some worse, some have better perks, some don't. Some have more amenities in their trucks, some don't.

Knight has good equipment, generally no older than 3 years old, but, up to this point, they do not allow inverters to be hard wired to the truck and they do not have refrigerators.......however, that is changing.

I've heard the new trucks will have fridges in them, and, rumor has it, they are going to starts putting inverters in the trucks.

I had heard that the refer trucks were going to get fridges because they are often doing more sitting than dry van. Dry van has a higher drop and hook percentage than refer. I don't know if that rumor is true, but it's just something I had heard.

Anyway, knight does not have apus in their trucks, so, it's a bit of a neusance with the idle policy, but it's not really a major issue.

Good luck, and hope you find what you are looking for. Best thing I can tell you is try to develop a good relationship with your dm. Try to work with him to get the job done as best as possible, and don't hassle him on loads you think are not what you want. If you work hard, they will take care of you.

Above all, be safe! Don't take shortcuts, at least not on anything that will affect safety.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

Drop And Hook:

Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.

In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I want to thank everyone again for the feedback. I really appreciate it. After consideration, I decided to go with Knight. I start orientation on October 10th. As I said before, I like that there's a Knight terminal near my home, and that I already had a chance to meet the driver manager from that terminal. One more thing that I was impressed with, and it is a little thing but it says big things about them: I graduate on Friday, October 7th, but I have a doctor appointment on Friday the 14th, so that's a week of dead time, right? Well, Knight set it up so that I will attend orientation Monday the 10th through Wednesday the 12th, but I won't start training on the truck until Monday the 17th so I can get to my appointment. Again, I know it's a small thing, but to me it shows that, even right up front, they're standing behind that "flexibility" they claim in their recruiting pitches. I'm excited about getting started on this new chapter of my life. Thanks again everyone for all your help and advice!

You'll like it at knight. It doesn't have that "rigid" feel that you get at some place . They may not be able to get you home on the exact day every time, but they will try. They work with their drivers to make them feel comfortable.

Never once has my dm called me and said "you are going to do this load", rather, he calls and says "hey, I got a plan for you", then he explains it all to me, and then at the end says "does that work for you?".

Naturally, I take every load they send to me, but I like the fact that their approach is not to shove it down your throat, they actually ask you if that load is OK with you.

I've even been given a plan, then my dm will call me and say "scratch that plan, I've got something better". A good dm will look out for you like that. Just remember to do well by them, and they will take care of you.

I'm a little late to this topic but like Old School Although I didn't know till just now that he drove for Knight) I too drive for Knight. Have been since Feb.

For the most part I'm happy. Every so often something happens that makes me unhappy but the fact I'm still here should show how good Knight has been. Tulsa at it's current location is kind of small and lack luster in amenities. I work out of the Katy, TX terminal in dry van division. It also is small and not much in amenities. My favorite terminals (and you can go to any of them to do your 10, 34, road ready services, etc) are Carlise, PA, Salt Lake City, UT and Las Vegas, NV. All 3 have always had plenty of space for me to park rig, nice terminals and plenty around them to do.

As a new CDL holder you'll have to go through training. length varies based on need, think I did 3.5-4 weeks with an otr training but he did such a poor job training me with backing they had me work with a couple of their local dedicated account drivers to get better at backing. first guy just didn't have the time with his account to help train me so they put me with a 2nd guy who had more time available and he did an awesome job. I went from being horrible at backing to being able to do it at least. Went home for my birthday and to finish packing up apartment and putting stuff in storage plus a couple days wait for truck then bam I was solo in a brand new (1400 miles on it) Volvo truck, auto tranny as of March 31st. I will say Knight is going all auto. I don't think any of the new trucks are standard so hope that doesn't bother you because it gets harder and harder for drivers who prefer manual to get one.

Once you're solo you'll be a squire. basically probation for 30k dispatched miles. not driven miles but dispatched, those are the miles you're paid for. takes about 3 months. I did about 33-34k miles driving before I reached 30k dispatched. During squire your sliding pay is 32-38 cpm after squire you'll be 38-44 cpm.

I started running mostly SE region which is easy driving and all but it started getting boring. sometimes I did loads in midwest and far ne as Penn, once in Jersey (which wasn't as bad as I have always heard). After squire program though I started requesting to go out west or more north cause I was bored of SE... miles were not what I wanted either and was having to hunt for empty trailers a lot. Well August I finally got a load from St louis area to Ontario, CA area. Spent almost 2 months out here (i'm back as of this past week) and my miles were better, loads better and hardly ever having to look or empties. When I do need one DM has me relay a t called load for one. Only reason I went back east was because I needed A Service for truck and none of the terminals out here had availability so home terminal couldn't approve it and I had my 3rd home time ever scheduled for late sept / early oct. soon as home time was done I was back out here as of last week. 2 weeks prior to home time I did 1800 and 1200 miles... I was not happy. the 1200 one was because I was home half the week but 1800... no that was a poor week. This past week here in the west I did 3445 miles in 8 days.

Some other hard truth I'll tell you... Knight's trucks are prety naked for amenities. no APUs , can't install a battery terminal inverter, no tvs included or anything. They are getting Inverters installed but it's a work in progress over what I have heard is 3 phases. no idea which phase my terminal is. Also they're in process of install front facing only dash cams. not all terminals have them yet... mine doesn't. so just be prepared you're limited to a 12v inverter and whatever you can run off that for now. If I didn't like my DM so much I'd probably switch to our mothership terminal in Phoenix to increase chances of getting an inverter sooner haha. A lot will tell you it's not that important, but let me tell ya... I miss having access to a microwave and having a fridge with a freezer (even if only a small one) would be great. APU isn't important but I hate having to idle all night in warmer climates.

Alright I think I have given you a fair insite into my experience with Knight. I do dry van myself. Been considering flat bed but not sure if I want to or not. I did haul a reefer load once... Knight didn't have any reefer drivers in the area so they had a few of us dry van drivers do the loads. had to crash course learn how to operate reefer unit and what not. not something I particularly want to do again. maybe... I don't know. Def don't want to unload my own reefer freight again. they (customers) made me restack pallets because they only allow them to be stacked x boxes high but shipper ships them more than that... so I would have to remove 3-4 rows worth and restack on their own pallet. lot of work but I got paid $40 for each stop I did that at.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Shipper:

The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.