I Have A NO Contract With CRST?

Just sent my recruiter a TON of questions I had about the school I'm attending and the company I'm assigned to. The number 6 or 7th question I had for him was:

Me:*With joining CRST,will my contract only be 6 months or will it be alittle longer?

My Recruiter:You are not signing a contract, all you have is a loan for 1500 from the company and as long as you complete 6 months with them you don't have to pay that back.

How true is this? I'm attending TTDS (Tennessee Truck Driving School) in another week (the 29th). I plan on staying at CRST for 1 YEAR,if everything goes well. Don't plan on breaking my contract at all if I have one. Just wanted to know has anyone actually NOT have had a contract while working with this company. Any other helpful input is welcome☺️☺️.

Thank you.

Just sent my recruiter a TON of questions I had about the school I'm attending and the company I'm assigned to. The number 6 or 7th question I had for him was:

Me:*With joining CRST,will my contract only be 6 months or will it be alittle longer?

My Recruiter:You are not signing a contract, all you have is a loan for 1500 from the company and as long as you complete 6 months with them you don't have to pay that back.

How true is this? I'm attending TTDS (Tennessee Truck Driving School) in another week (the 29th). I plan on staying at CRST for 1 YEAR,if everything goes well. Don't plan on breaking my contract at all if I have one. Just wanted to know has anyone actually NOT have had a contract while working with this company. Any other helpful input is welcome☺️☺️.

Thank you.

Haya, Bubbles; I've been reading your posts since you've joined the forum, and just want to congratulate you on taking the leap into the world of trucking!

Regarding CRST, are you aware that they run teams? That's not a deal breaker for some; a few of our current members are with CRST, and quite happy there. One that stands out in particular is Millionmiler24. Search for CRST in the above bar, and you will find his diary, among a few other threads started by him. He is still there, and is/was a trainer, as we last knew.

Stevo Reno is another one of our members that drives (drove) for CRST. You can search for his diary & threads, as well. He just recently got a transfer to Gardner, which is a regional/solo division of CRST; and he's very happy as well.

Regarding the contract; from what I gather, CRST is one of the hardest companies to get out of a contract with. We have a recruiter, JRod, who is on this forum, works for Greater Omaha Express, and often times posts his experiences in dealing with 'prior' CRST drivers. If you follow this link, look within his photographs (and his threads, actually also) and you will see an example (or many) of the letters that they send out when someone tries to break contract. JB Hunt lost a lawsuit from them many years ago, and the law still stands. Just be WELL AWARE of this. Here's the link:

JRod's posts and pictures

And finally, there is another driver (well, aspiring driver) that got hurt or something while training with CRST, left the 'orientation' per se, and was still on the hook for the full tuition cost assessed by CRST. For the life of me, I can't remember his name; you really should just search CRST in the bar above altogether, if you've not already.

Mind you, i don't KNOW if CRST will put you under 'contract' since you are training elsewhere, unless they've got some affiliation directly with your school. (Another reason that TT recommends going with COMPANY PAID TRAINING.) If I were you, I'd double and triple check with your recruiter, IN WRITING.

Lastly, I wish you the best of luck. I was still under the impression you were going with Swift. (<< What happened there, anyway?!?)

Anne :)

Hi Bubbles

Mike C again the FNG with no experiance, nor knowledge, here to share knowledge??? I wonder how that makes any sense?

I also was contacted by CRST as I began the Tampa school. I declined only because at this time I dont want Team driving. I have heard absolutely nothing negative about CRST from anyone who has signed on with them. All I've heard were good things and a lady that graduated with me did sign on with them and she's not one to commit to anything without first asking all the questions. Being new to the whole thing I didn't want to live my life in a box with someone I dont know so my decision was base on my personal wishes.

Look into it Bubbles as your doing. You have time to make that call.

Thanks for your response Anne A. Driving team is kinda my biggest concern. But at this point I'm willing to stick it out. And will definitely start my search for CRST on TT for sure!! Willing to make the best out of it since it's only for a short time. I read so many people end up quitting before their contract was up and found out it was a huge mistake later on in their life. I rather stick this out vs having to get stick with warehouse pay all because I wanted out with because it didn't go my way. Anne A, I'm hoping to keep a positive attitude through my first rookie year of trucking cause I know its gonna be difficult. But man the rewards are gonna be amazing afterwards,long as I keep a leveled head,positive attitude, and want to be proactive,I just know trucking will be butter to my pancakes for me & my family.

"Lastly, I wish you the best of luck. I was still under the impression you were going with Swift. (<< What happened there, anyway?!?)" Ah yes! Good ole Swift! They wouldn't take me because my license hasn't been reinstated for a full year as of this month (will be fully reinstated in October)😊😊.

Goodness why do I always forget how to quote lol. Sorry Anne A.🤦🏼‍♀️

Heyyyy Mike C!!! Oh my goodness I can't get the teaming part out of my head. My recruiter told me that after 6 months,I can go solo. So that's something to look forward to. I really wanted to go with Swift but I would need to have my license reinstated for a full year sadly. But yes,fingers crossed that my co-driver decides to jump ship!! Joking,joking. But all and all. Making the best out of it since it's only temporary. But I have heard about the CRST contract. It scares the mess out of me! But you're extremely right,I have enough time to call. I will be getting into contact with my recruiter Monday and ask some more questions!!

Thanks for your response Anne A. Driving team is kinda my biggest concern. But at this point I'm willing to stick it out. And will definitely start my search for CRST on TT for sure!! Willing to make the best out of it since it's only for a short time. I read so many people end up quitting before their contract was up and found out it was a huge mistake later on in their life. I rather stick this out vs having to get stick with warehouse pay all because I wanted out with because it didn't go my way. Anne A, I'm hoping to keep a positive attitude through my first rookie year of trucking cause I know its gonna be difficult. But man the rewards are gonna be amazing afterwards,long as I keep a leveled head,positive attitude, and want to be proactive,I just know trucking will be butter to my pancakes for me & my family.

"Lastly, I wish you the best of luck. I was still under the impression you were going with Swift. (<< What happened there, anyway?!?)" Ah yes! Good ole Swift! They wouldn't take me because my license hasn't been reinstated for a full year as of this month (will be fully reinstated in October)😊😊.

LoL, no problem on the 'forgetting how to post' part, haha! Stevo Reno (here on TT) went solo with CRST, ONLY due to being 'promoted' to their Gardner division; ya GOTTA read his posts on that.... here's a link. It took him awhile....but further down the line (in a different thread) he was saying that he was 'short' on miles... way less than CRST, and thinking of going back to teams.

Stevo Reno on Gardner/CRST

Again, either way I wish you the best. That sux about Swift; way darn it. Nothing became of KLLM either, eh?

Not sure who all your school is hooked up with, but since you've got that darn license issue, I guess that 'will' limit you. Have you looked into Millis? Just a thought. Western Express? Another thought. (They DO have a dry van division, too!)

It could just be 'me' but....I've run many a time with my HUSBAND (he's a driver of many years) and I sure could NOT team for a living, even as much as I love him. . . just saying~!

Keep us posted, and do your due diligence, m'lady~!!!

Anne A.

Try other companies man. You don't seem excited for teams so don't go to a teams company. There's a million other companies out there that in my opinion match your needs far better.

Teaming can be great, but it can also be a nightmare. Especially in a scenario where it is mandatory.

Keep your eyes and ears open for someone that runs, works, and lives like you do. A lot of times you will have one driver that busts butt and the other one barely gets by. Or you end up mismatched skill wise. Throw in a living area smaller than most people's bathrooms and it can get old quick.

I first started training drivers when I worked at CRST because I kept getting codrivers that couldn't read a map or back and I figured if I was going to essentially be training people anyways I might as well get some of the perks.

As a mentor with Swift I have been in a team setting for the last two years and it's burning me out. I'm almost done with number 22 and I think I will be taking a break from mentoring.

CRST is a decent company just make sure you understand what you are going to be dealing with before/ if you sign any contact.

As you have seen, they don't play around with there non compete clause.

Yeah Anne A it limits me a whole lot. I put in a application for Prime just to see what they would say (this was a few weeks ago). The lady on the phone told me I'll be available to work for Prime in 2022!!!! My license has to be fully reinstated for 3 YEARS!! Like wow lol. But no worries. & I will definitely look up the other companies that you listed. Thanks Anne😃!!

Thanks Daniel B. for your response!! I tried 8 different companies before I ran into Tennessee truck driving school & CRST. Some wanted experience drivers between 3-6 all the way up to a 1 year, and some wanted people with a nice driving history. My accident has happened 4 years ago,so that's painful. If you were to look at my Tenstreet account,it would look sorta a hot mess by having to apply for so many companies. But you're absolutely right,teaming is kinda not my thing,but I will do what ever it takes to get the experience I need to succeed in the trucking world & move on to a company I really want to work for😊.

Thanks Big T for response!! Yes I completely forgot that,just like covenant,you will start out as a team driver. The only difference between those two companies (if I'm not mistaken) is that if you want to become solo covenant will have you go to their sister company Star transportation as with CRST you will just work in a different division. ((Correct me if I'm wrong in this please😊)). But those advice you gave me,I will stick to them. And yes that contract is beyond strict. Will have to tough it out most definitely.

Anne:) lol Well, Friday I had enough, got ahold of the recruiter@ CRST who got me transferred over to Gardner's

Long story short, they are good for more localized loads, not so much for any over 500 miles hence I ain't making enough moohlah.....You have to hunt for empties to get a load, which is a waste of LOTS of hours ! Not talking smack on em just isn't all it was made out to be, 47 cents a mile ain',t diddly without them miles !!

Right now am in Idaho delivering 29,000 lbs of new tires lol longest run yet 850 miles. I know already I won't probably get a back haul, since last time here I didn't 3 of us were here in Idaho, and dead headed to SLC Ut.

So I am going back to team driving, at CRST,,,, BUT on an XPO 3/2 lane, point A to point B and back. More of a steady paycheck, and mileage which is why I am out here driving in the first place.... Besides I been parking my truck at the CRST Riverside terminal on off days, because GT's trucks all keyed alike which is fine for local city guys slip seating.... But I'm not removing my stuff, when off duty, so some idiot don't steal it ! We were told in orientation to do so, take your electronics etc out or it can come up missing lol We were like WTH??

Anyways, lot more to it behind the scenes but I ain't workin' for free, period!