Profile For Jon C.

So I got the OK and got a time where I can go down - Monday the 18th with Wil-trans.

Still a bit nervous, I'm sure it's normal.

For those of you who've gone through a similar training, is there anything i should avoid to not agitate them and let the process flow smoothly or have them second guess their decision?

I just don't know 'what they want to hear' in the trucking business. I'm 100% honest in all my applications, just don't want to say something stupid or articulate something to them in the wrong way :/

Heads up, for people who want to apply and are relatively young like myself - Wiltrans wants 10 (ten) years of employment history regardless if it's driving or not.

Just finished filling out how i was in high school and living with parents afterward :P

So... I totally forgot it was Labor day... :P

Hope to hear from wiltrans tomorrow, i'll keep the thread updated as i know more

Knight seems like a good option since they do offer regional/dedicated routes to lower seniority drivers.

Jon C, welcome to the forum!

I've been with Knight for three years. It is a great company. They have a lot of specialty accounts that would be available to you, especially once you've established yourself as a safe, efficient, dependable driver.

I am on their dedicated flat-bed "SAPA" account. I know they run some drivers out of Carlisle, PA on that account.

I'll tell you the most important thing when getting started at this is how you determine to approach this career. If you have a strong work ethic, get along well with others, and are self motivated you've got half the battle won already. Don't let all the foolishness you read online about the various companies give you pause. You are basically in control of your own destiny out here. That is the reason those qualities I mentioned are important. It also happens to be the reason so many folks fail at this when they first get started, and then write stupid reviews of how bad these trucking companies are.

Unfortunately most of the folks who can't seem to find success at this can't seem to focus on what their issues were either. Their misguided concerns usually go something like this:

"Such and such a company set me up for failure, and I want everyone to know how bad a place that is to work."

Now, does that sound logical to you? What kind of business plan tries to run off the very employees they desperately need?

All I'm trying to convey is that you can find some really bad reviews on Knight if you want to believe them. Actually you could find them on every major carrier there is. All those unemployed slackers have apparently got lots of time on their hands to post ridiculous slander all over the Internet. As for me, and the other successful and content drivers for these big trucking companies, we just dont have the time to pump out voluminous reports of how great our jobs are. We are too busy making great money and taking care of business.

Wow, thanks for the great writeup!

I know there's always some negative words, especially about the mega-carriers. This is why i'm banking on a (somewhat) smaller company at first, then i'll work my way through to Knight. I hear good things, some bad, but the majority of the bad is mostly people who are 'outraged' a little too easily and like to 'speak out' about it.

A lot of us go to Allentown, just out of curiosity, which warehouse were you in? There is a chance some of us have been there before.

Hah, yeah, I can imagine; it's pretty busy around the whole area.

I worked at Kelloggs off Schantz and rt100 - That "mess" of a place I'm sure many of you are familiar with. I'm especially sure some of you Hunt, Swift, Crete, Prime and Carlisle drivers try to avoid like the plague :P The one where everything's double-parked 200 doors, across from nestle waters.

Do unpaid tickets resulting in suspension disqualify from prime? I may have had some over a quarter of a century ago- parking tickets or unpaid registration. I'm not sure if I caught them in time or not. Maybe not.

I'm not 100% sure, but i'd rather not burn the bridge by applying too soon with out a professional driving background established first.

I just applied to wil-trans, see what happens there, i know they haul a lot of prime, but i'd rather shoot one high, then one low. Please tell me if i'm making a mistake by that :P

I currently have no pets, girlfriend, wife, no dependents whatsoever, though I do have a foreclosure property that i've purchased a few years in the past. It's currently livable and i'm living in it right now. It does still need work to become mortgageable.

How do you handle managing the properties while on the road? I don't really want to rent this current place out; rather i'd like to return to it after finding a local or regional route/job after that first year and finally finish it up with the 'banked' paychecks.

As far as starting driving: After a long search, I'm really considering Knight to get 'rolling'. I don't have a cdl currently, and I had issues as a teenager when i first started driving, so that kind of knocked Prime out of the running. (no accidents, just unpaid tickets resulting in a suspension ~8 years ago)

Knight seems like a good option since they do offer regional/dedicated routes to lower seniority drivers. Their nearest terminal is about an hour from my home in north-eastern PA.

I've last worked on the other side of trucking as a shipping receiving clerk at a very active warehouse in Allentown, PA (~100 TL's per day). Trucking is in my blood and i've always wanted the other side of the business.

For the past 5 years I've driven 52 miles one way to work and enjoyed every minute of it. Traffic, snow, and ice; it's all a challenge I happily accept and enjoy.

I haven't been able to find very recent Knight information - most of it from around the 2014 time. Has anyone been through lately?

I know starting pay is low, but having next to no major expenses (mortgage, rent, sending money home to family etc) it isn't really an issue for me. I could pay for everything with a full-time mcdonalds job :P.

Thank you all for your time :)