Comments By David M.

I have a 2018 Cascadia from CRST. I have to turn on the cruise control then hit a button on the temp control back in the sleeper. The truck will idle for a while then shut down for a while then start it'self back up (after a short warning tone) and idle for a while longer. It takes a little getting used to for sleeping.

CRST Melton Jordan

Thanks for the advice guys. It's what I expected but I needed to hear it anyway. Yes I'm sure CRST has a no compete clause but I can pay off the school if I need to. No, no solo runs, I've tried. They parked me at a loves for 4 days (350 miles from home) before they would even let me deadhead to the house. I'm just frustrated, I love my job and can't get out and do it. I know CRST has a bad rep but they've been fair and honest with me since day 1 and I hate to leave them but I need to get back to work.

I'll answer what I can, I'm still new to all of this.

You get your CDL just like any other driver. Start out or move to flatbed at some point in time. The flatbed company will not run you on oversize or specialized loads at first but you can work up to it over time. These loads are going to pay more and will take more skill and planning so don't expect them until until you have some time in the seat.

I'll keep this as short as possible but I want to give you the full picture.

I'm currently a CRST driver with about 6 weeks OTR experience (yes weeks). I fully planned on staying here for a year (contract is 10 months) and then going flatbed and solo. Now I find myself in the situation where my co-driver has quit and I can't find a new one. My DM has sent me a list of names, I've called them all and no luck. Some have quit, some have codrivers now. I have a brand new Freightliner in my driveway collecting dust. I have not run a load in over a week.

I want to just jump ship but I know I should do my first year and finish my contract (but I need to be running and pay bills). I've put in an ap with Melton. I think I can get on there and be happy but I want somebody to give me a sanity check please.

Dawn was mentioned a couple of times...and it must be said.. Dawn is great for scrubbing floors cause it gets the grease and also a few drops in the wiper fluid helps.

Wiper fluid? Please explain...does Dawn help clear the bug splatter? Regular Wiper fluid just makes for a bad windshield.

Yes please explain this dawn in the wiper fluid thing. I'm a noob and I never knew a windshield could possibly collect this many bugs in such a short amount of time. It's not as bad in the day but I like driving at night when possible and must have a clean windshield. I've stopped and gone through the fuel lines when I didn't need fuel just for a windshield cleaning.

Thanks for the encouragement Susan, I do love to drive. I just want to get my first year over with and move on to solo (flatbed I think) driving. If I can find that "perfect" codriver I know the year and the miles will fly by.

I'm in Western NC.

I'm a brand new driver with CRST. I'm 48 years old and this is my 3rd career in life (Army>IT>Trucker).

First of all let me say that I'm enjoying this much more than I thought I would. I'm stuck at home right now (more on that later) and can't wait to get back on the road. There have been times in my life when I wanted to go to work but I really cant remember when, my Army days (some days) I guess. But with this I'm really enjoying the drive, love the challenge, I'm having a great time while i'm moving. I hit my first 700+ mile day and it felt like I just finished a marathon (yes I've run a marathon, never again).

My training was in Cedar Rapids, IA. If you're expecting 5 star accommodations you're going to be disappointed. The food provided sucks, bring extra money for food if you can. 3 people to a room, the rooms and other facilities are kept clean but your roommates could make or break your experience here. I lucked out and had a couple of very respectful roommates for my time in training. As far as the training goes I would have to say it's good for the scope of what you're there for. They're not training you to be a truck driver, they're training you to pass the 3 DOT tests to get your CDL.

They hooked me up with a Lead Driver as soon as I was hired and we took off the next day. I spent 3 weeks with him and he was a good trainer for the most part. He did have a tendency to disregard the details that came over the qualcom that I don't plan to repeat. But if I know enough to see that I can do better in this area I don't need training on it. My biggest stress was backing and he spent a lot of time working on it with me. It's still my biggest stress but getting better at it.

After my trainer I hooked up with my co driver. I met her in class (yes they put 2 noobs out on the road). It went well and we were running great until she had family issues back home and had to ditch me. I don't blame her, you have to make family first and she did make sure I was close enough to my home that CRST would let me deadhead to the house. That's where I sit now.

Currently I need a co driver. I have a brand new Freightliner sitting in my driveway just begging to run long miles. Any CRST drivers, or anyone who might want to join CRST and run long and hard please hit me up. If you want home time more than once a quarter I may not be right for you.