Knight Daily Pay Option...anybody Currently On This Plan?

I am about to go ahead and pull the trigger and go with Knight for my first trucking gig. I've researched all the companies by looking here on TruckingTruth, visiting each company's site, and also talking to a recruiter at each one. I applied for a few companies, including Knight, that met my personal needs and interests.

One thing that struck my interest, not that it's a pro or con, was the daily pay. Anybody here have experience with it? What is it exactly? And would you recommend it?

Also...any other info on Knight is appreciated. Please no unfounded opinions. Facts are appreciated.

thanks!

I have already set up school/training at Knight starting in a couple weeks. Also have Swift and Prime waiting for me to call back... (probably not "waiting" really HA! But they were both wanting to set me up for orientation and training and I am supposed to call back)

I use to drive for Knight and I was on Bi-Weekly Payroll and then I soon realized if they mess up and somehow you don't get paid, you have to wait for your next Payroll Date to get paid. Well guess what, that's another two weeks. Well after that happening a few times I changed it to Weekly and they still would mess up from time to time and I pretty much ended up on Bi-Weekly because they messed up so many times. After 6 months of Payroll headaches I went on Daily to solve all my issues. Worked out pretty well and I always had money but it's always nice to get one big check per week.

I use to drive for Knight and I was on Bi-Weekly Payroll and then I soon realized if they mess up and somehow you don't get paid, you have to wait for your next Payroll Date to get paid. Well guess what, that's another two weeks. Well after that happening a few times I changed it to Weekly and they still would mess up from time to time and I pretty much ended up on Bi-Weekly because they messed up so many times. After 6 months of Payroll headaches I went on Daily to solve all my issues. Worked out pretty well and I always had money but it's always nice to get one big check per week.

Well.... THAT raises another question! ha! Are they known for messing up on pay or is that just across the board with trucking companies and it just happens here and there?

Regardless...the daily pay worked out best for you then I see. Makes sense. And thanks for your response! Much appreciated. How long did you drive for them? Were you dedicated or regional or was it all OTR?

I use to drive for Knight and I was on Bi-Weekly Payroll and then I soon realized if they mess up and somehow you don't get paid, you have to wait for your next Payroll Date to get paid. Well guess what, that's another two weeks. Well after that happening a few times I changed it to Weekly and they still would mess up from time to time and I pretty much ended up on Bi-Weekly because they messed up so many times. After 6 months of Payroll headaches I went on Daily to solve all my issues. Worked out pretty well and I always had money but it's always nice to get one big check per week.

Well.... THAT raises another question! ha! Are they known for messing up on pay or is that just across the board with trucking companies and it just happens here and there?

Regardless...the daily pay worked out best for you then I see. Makes sense. And thanks for your response! Much appreciated. How long did you drive for them? Were you dedicated or regional or was it all OTR?

You know I personally think I just had bad luck when it came to their Payroll. I talked to other drivers and it only happened to them once in awhile. Like maybe once every 6 months, which isn't to bad but for me it was every other week. It was crazy! I was their roughly 6 months, I remember only doing daily pay for a few weeks and it worked out but then I jumped ship to another company that paid more and provided other things that I wanted such as an APU and an Inverter. The company I currently drive for has yet to mess up on my Payroll in that past year and I drove Western 11.

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

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.

DAC:

Drive-A-Check Report

A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).

It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.

Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.

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.

Well.... THAT raises another question! ha! Are they known for messing up on pay or is that just across the board with trucking companies and it just happens here and there?

I can say that both companies, and the independent contractor, that I've worked for occasionally messed pay up. The way I handle it is one day a week, I send a message to my dispatcher letting them know current outstanding payroll issues, and then I don't bug them about it again the rest of the week. If it is not resolved by the next settlement, I will again send the one message the next week, reiterating any outstanding payroll issues. Usually they are resolved by then, and sometimes they throw in a little extra for my trouble.

I've found that this approach seems to have the best result, as opposed to getting an attitude with them. That being said, daily settlements were not an option for me. I think that would pretty much reduce delay to what, a day or two? Sounds like a good deal to me!

@driver

I gotcha... well it's definitely something to consider. I will probably go weekly at first, but I'm glad the daily is an option seeing that there's a possibility for issues.

@buttonup

That's definitely good advice it sounds like. I will keep that in mind for when I finally hit the road.

Thanks to both of you for your help and taking the time to respond!

I was on it and switched to weekly because of the deductions for insurance and schooling. Seemed like every time I went home I would end up in the hole.

They will advance the money to pay insurance premiums and the deduction for school so you owe that on your first day back out. Im sure it works out but it sucks to go back out after being home and owe the company money.

I like weekly much better. I have only had a couple issues with pay. To their credit, all it took was a phone call to payroll and they fixed it no problem.

If you are tight on money to start out, daily may be the way to go but if you dont have a completed trip to send every day during the pay period with at least enough miles to cover your deductions you will see what Im talking about.