Comments By Janet M.

How common is it for trucks to have these air brakes? What if i prefer not to have hazmat endorsement? Having to haul some of the products on this list scares me. For me, I prefer to pass up some opportunities vs haul products that I am way to nervous to do. It's going to be hard enough to keep it all straight for written exams anyway. Yes I know getting all endorsements is typically recommended so please don't go to hard on that.

OK...to clear.something up.here about prime...they do NOT make tanker/reefer candidates lift the 100 pound tarp. They told.me to, then realized I wasn't flatbed.

I had to climb three rungs of a ladder several times, did have to lift a crate with weights and move it ten feet. Then had to lift two.more crates of increasing weight. If the crate was too heavy, it wasnt a fail. The agility test sorta guages your being radius and balance. I saw people I thought who did poorly but they still passed. It was.more of an assessment of your ability than a pass fail thing. That is my take on it.

Also, primes school program requires only $155 upfront. As long as you work the one year contract you pay NOTHING. I never had one dime taken from my check for schooling. The $155/ is for background check and permit. Now, if you quit or get fired before the year, my contract had me on the hook for $70 per week that could be taken from my next employer and paid directly to prime.

I'm pretty sure Sam the Wrestler's company was the same...no money required unless the one year contract was terminated. Thank you. Makes me feel better. Im studying the CDL training on site and need an eye exam w/ new Rx before I do anything else. My eyes need to wait until March so I have plenty of study time. I'm like 99% sure I'm going to try for Swift Its the best financial deal out there. I don't mind working for same company that trains me. I think its only fair since their investing their time and money. Very fair deal C

OK...to clear.something up.here about prime...they do NOT make tanker/reefer candidates lift the 100 pound tarp. They told.me to, then realized I wasn't flatbed.

I had to climb three rungs of a ladder several times, did have to lift a crate with weights and move it ten feet. Then had to lift two.more crates of increasing weight. If the crate was too heavy, it wasnt a fail. The agility test sorta guages your being radius and balance. I saw people I thought who did poorly but they still passed. It was.more of an assessment of your ability than a pass fail thing. That is my take on it.

Also, primes school program requires only $155 upfront. As long as you work the one year contract you pay NOTHING. I never had one dime taken from my check for schooling. The $155/ is for background check and permit. Now, if you quit or get fired before the year, my contract had me on the hook for $70 per week that could be taken from my next employer and paid directly to prime.

I'm pretty sure Sam the Wrestler's company was the same...no money required unless the one year contract was terminated. Thank you. Makes me feel better. Im studying the CDL training on site and need an eye exam w/ new Rx before I do anything else. My eyes need to wait until March so I have plenty of study time. I'm like 99% sure I'm going to try for Prime. Its the best financial deal out there. I don't mind working for same company that trains me. I think its only fair since their investing their time and money. Very fair deal

What exactly is an APU unit and what's the difference between a truck with APU unit vs one without one?

Janet actually reads the info!

Thanks so much that helps out a lot. I was eye balling Swift b/c the training can be free after driving w/them 2 yrs. I also like that they'll hire you after training which eliminates job searching.

A lot of people skip over/miss this part. Thanks, Janet, for pointing the out. If you can stick with them, Swift is the only company I know of that will pay you back your entire tuition. And don't think this is "slavery" because for those two years you are making decent money as well.

The thing about training -> getting hired works for any Company-Sponsored Training Program. A lot of the pre-hire work is done before you are admitted to the school. And having a job already arranged means you can focus on getting the school done.

No its not slavery. ITS A FANTASTIC DEAL!!

Janet actually reads the info!

Thanks so much that helps out a lot. I was eye balling Swift b/c the training can be free after driving w/them 2 yrs. I also like that they'll hire you after training which eliminates job searching.

A lot of people skip over/miss this part. Thanks, Janet, for pointing the out. If you can stick with them, Swift is the only company I know of that will pay you back your entire tuition. And don't think this is "slavery" because for those two years you are making decent money as well.

The thing about training -> getting hired works for any Company-Sponsored Training Program. A lot of the pre-hire work is done before you are admitted to the school. And having a job already arranged means you can focus on getting the school done.

Thank you Errol V

To reitertate.

When I walk in for my DOT Physical (not at a COMPANY - at my clinic) - I stand on one foot (shows balance), touch my toes. Doc has me push his hands up/down/in/out - and checks my grip.

There is NOTHING in the DOT requirements - that says anything about weight lifting, pushing or carrying weights, or anything of that nature.

DOT Physicals are 100% related to being able to drive a truck. Not loading/unloading or athletic ability.

Everything else is a COMPANY PHYSICAL - which can make you do the log walk, flaming hoops, clean and jerk - nd some of the other weirdness we see around here.

You may WELL BE ABLE TO PASS A DOT PHYSICAL - and yet FAIL A COMPANY ONE.

Try as I might - I can't "duck walk" without touching with my hands, or putting a knee down. But I can get under any trailer to do a pre-trip. But some companies require you to duck-walk.

Folks just need to understand the difference between DOT & COMPANY.

And again - since both are usually done at the SAME TIME - there would be no reason to NOT ISSUE A DOT MED if you pass that - and still FAIL YOU on the company-agility-side and not get a hire because of that.

Members here can relate what each particular company requires.

I've heard Prime requires a 100lb weight for their flatbed and wants everyone to lift it - even if they aren't going FB.

I can GUAREN-DAMN-TEE you that I will NEVER GO FLATBED (EVER - and that's not to say there's anything wrong with it - just that I know my physical limitations and have no desire to challenge them). And I probably wouldn't do the 100lbs lift - because my hernia surgeon tells me I shouldn't.

You need to be able to yank a kingpin lock, a tandem slide lock - and sometimes these can be pretty stubborn. For us lazy folks, there are "mechanical helpers" that take a lot of the strain out of it.

Some of these olympic style tryouts, just have me wondering what the heck they expect of you - if all you plan on doing, is dragging a reefer/dry behind you. Neither do I care about the $25 I can get by unloading/assisting - here's a comcheck - where are your lumpers?

Rick

I already know I can't do 100 pound ANYTHING and do not want to pay for DOT physical plus my CDL permit which school requires I have prior to reporting to school only to possibly FAIL that and be out of all that money. I'm starting to wonder if I should even attempt this. I ruled out flatbed when i read you need to handle 100 pound tarp. How can a company expect ladies to do 100 plus pounds? We're not built to be that strong

To reitertate.

When I walk in for my DOT Physical (not at a COMPANY - at my clinic) - I stand on one foot (shows balance), touch my toes. Doc has me push his hands up/down/in/out - and checks my grip.

There is NOTHING in the DOT requirements - that says anything about weight lifting, pushing or carrying weights, or anything of that nature.

DOT Physicals are 100% related to being able to drive a truck. Not loading/unloading or athletic ability.

Everything else is a COMPANY PHYSICAL - which can make you do the log walk, flaming hoops, clean and jerk - nd some of the other weirdness we see around here.

You may WELL BE ABLE TO PASS A DOT PHYSICAL - and yet FAIL A COMPANY ONE.

Try as I might - I can't "duck walk" without touching with my hands, or putting a knee down. But I can get under any trailer to do a pre-trip. But some companies require you to duck-walk.

Folks just need to understand the difference between DOT & COMPANY.

And again - since both are usually done at the SAME TIME - there would be no reason to NOT ISSUE A DOT MED if you pass that - and still FAIL YOU on the company-agility-side and not get a hire because of that.

Members here can relate what each particular company requires.

I've heard Prime requires a 100lb weight for their flatbed and wants everyone to lift it - even if they aren't going FB.

I can GUAREN-DAMN-TEE you that I will NEVER GO FLATBED (EVER - and that's not to say there's anything wrong with it - just that I know my physical limitations and have no desire to challenge them). And I probably wouldn't do the 100lbs lift - because my hernia surgeon tells me I shouldn't.

You need to be able to yank a kingpin lock, a tandem slide lock - and sometimes these can be pretty stubborn. For us lazy folks, there are "mechanical helpers" that take a lot of the strain out of it.

Some of these olympic style tryouts, just have me wondering what the heck they expect of you - if all you plan on doing, is dragging a reefer/dry behind you. Neither do I care about the $25 I can get by unloading/assisting - here's a comcheck - where are your lumpers?

Rick

I already know I can't do 100 pound ANYTHING and do not want to pay for DOT physical plus my CDL permit which school requires I have prior to reporting to school only to possibly FAIL that and be out of all that money. I'm starting to wonder if I should even attempt this. I ruled out flatbed when i read you need to handle 100 pound tarp. How can a company expect ladies to do 100 plus pounds? We're not built to be that strong

Janet, from your list of your three top choices I would recommend that you focus on going with Swift. Here's the reason behind my thinking: CRST is going to be a forced team situation, and that just has a lot of unwanted problems that come with it. There are people who think they would love having someone along with them, and then they quickly discover how terrible it can be to have to sleep in a constantly moving truck while the other person is listening to their favorite tunes, or their team partner turns out to be a slob, or... well the problems associated with teaming as a newbie with a total stranger are endless, and can make your transition into this new lifestyle absolutely unbearable.

Knight has a very rigorous physical that all their drivers go through. It includes a good bit of weight lifting, stepping up and down steps, squats, etc. All of these various exercises are then immediately followed by monitored heart rate measurements. I am a flat-bed driver for Knight, but all of their drivers be they van, reefer, or pulling containers from the ports all went through the same very demanding physical that the flat-bed drivers went through. Also their Squire training program is extremely limited to a very few locations. I think you need to be in Arizona, and maybe one other location to qualify for their Company-Sponsored Training Program.

Those are the reasons why I would choose against those two options if I were in your shoes. On the other hand, Swift will put you into their company sponsored program from just about anywhere in the country, and their physical is much less demanding than the one at Knight. Best of luck to you, and don't let those crazy internet reviews about Swift deter you. It is a great place to start your career, and also a great place to continue with for many long years to come.

Thanks so much that helps out a lot. I was eye balling Swift b/c the training can be free after driving w/them 2 yrs. I also like that they'll hire you after training which eliminates job searching. I will concentrate on Swift per your suggestion. Right now I first need an eye exam and am studying the CDL info on this site.

There's a difference between DOT Physical Requirements - and COMPANY AGILITY/STRENGTH requirements.

Much of the time - the testing is done simultaneously at the same location (even though it's not supposed to be).

Physical agility/strength vary from company to company. Most are about the ability to perform an inspection and get in/out of the trailer/cab. Flatbedders will have to demonstrate a little more strength and agility for throwing tarps/chains and climbing on loads.

While everyone would love to be 100% no touch freight (myself included) - there might be that rare occasion where you have to re-stack a pallet, or drag a pallet jack and move stuff off your truck. Some people go their entire career without having to step inside a trailer - some get stuck doing it once a week - some (the dedicated Dollar Store for example) are self hand unloads. Companies that do these kinds of stores may test all applicants the same - since no one knows where they're going to end up at orientation typically.

Every companies requirements are a little different. If you have a particular one you're looking at, speak up and one of our members might be able to help you out.

Rick

I have yet to make final decision but top 3 contenders are Knight, Swift and CRST. I have ruled out flatbeds. I won't be able to do 100 pound tarps so pushing something 125 pounds across room.. I think not. Please note: the school I attend must be company sponsored not able to do anything else financially.