Which Companies Should I Look Into For...

team driving over the road? I am having so much trouble sorting out all the information. It's hard to tell if the review I am reading is a legit employee or someone being paid to post good stuff.

My husband and I are looking to drive as a team for over the road. We are both still in school and will be stuck with CRST for at least 8 months. Though we are thinking of making it work for a whole year, so we have that experience under our belts. We are pretty excited about it. I have read really great reviews for crst and some really awful ones.

What we are looking for in a company is one that has good benefits and decent pay. Not looking to be millionaires but we do want to be able to buy a home in a few years and maybe have children. Which would mean I would have to take a hiatus from the road and he will have to go local or at the very least regional. What company would work with us for that goal? Which ones are going to be good about making sure our goals are met, while we meet their goals?

Mistelle, Hi! I haven't started school yet but I understand your concern. First,I have been involved in Transportation and Logistics for many years. You and your husband sound young so enjoy this time and the adventures you are about to have. Don't look at working at CRST as being "stuck", we all have to start somewhere. I have encountered many CRST drivers over the years. they have been very professional and never had anything bad to say. After your contract period you might look at companies that offer many different career paths. Companies like Werner and Swift offer over the road as well as regional and dedicated local runs. Take a look at the LTL carriers as well. I don't know where you are based but in the south there are several regional carriers that have LTL routes as well. Best wishes to you both in your careers!

Thanks Train.

I haven't met many truckers. My husband didn't want to haunt truck stops to ask questions. Which was my idea of figuring out which way to go. So we did the internet thing. Which has really confused us.

We are based (sort of) in Texas. We really aren't too picky on where we go. I hope CRST turns out to be a good company but the reviews are horrible. And stuck was more of, we are contracted to them for 8 months after we finish school.

I'll look into those companies. I'll give each one a call Monday to see what working for them would be like. I prefer to have as much information and then time to digest that info before I make a decision. I'll also spend time asking other truckers as I meet them driving around.

Mistelle, welcome aboard! Hey, just so you know, husband and wife teams are a highly sought after commodity in this field. Team driving can be a tough gig. There's no such thing as alone time, and it gets pretty cramped feeling when you are stuck in that truck together both night and day with hardly a break from rolling down the road. Team trucks are just that because having two drivers available allows you to keep that rig rolling and making money. Even though you're with the one you love, you'll be sleeping while they're driving and they'll be sleeping while your driving. It's not a cake walk, but it is a good way to jump in here and get your feet wet while learning the business.

Don't let all those terrible reviews about CRST scare you to death. The whole reason I started this response with showing you some of the tough things about team driving is so you'd realize why you see all those nasty stories about CRST. Most of the people who wrote those things jumped in here not having a clue about what they should be expecting, and therefore they did a poor job of it and ended up without making any money, and/or eventually losing their job all together.

You know, you actually had a great idea about getting information by haunting the truck stops as opposed to looking for information on the internet. There is just so much misinformation on the web that it is hard to filter it out when you really don't know what it is that your really needing to know anyway.

It is best to make a one year commitment to your first trucking job anyway so don't let the idea of having to contract yourself to a training company for eight months to a year scare you away. if you are interested in Company-Sponsored Training there are some other companies you could look into that might be a better fit for you than CRST, check into it and see if you can get some ideas. Also, not sure if you are aware of this or not, but more than likely no matter where you go for your training you and your husband will go out on separate trainer trucks until your initial training allows you to drive together as actual employees of the company.

Well, I don't know if I was helpful or just muddied up the waters for you, but I want you to know that you can feel free to ask us anything and we will never give you bogus advice. We're here to be helpful if we can, and to assist new folks coming into the business with honest straight forward information whenever we can.

I'm really glad you found your way here and hope to hear from you often.

I just realized after looking over your original post that it sounds like you are already in school at CRST. If that's the case then I don't recommend that you start looking into other training companies like I suggested above. If you're there then stick it out and make the best of it, show them just how hard working and professional you mean to be, and if you do that I can guarantee you that they will be able to provide you with all the miles you can stand. Trust me, if you are doing a good job they're going to keep you busy, and that eight months will fly by so fast you're not even going to realize it.

I just realized after looking over your original post that it sounds like you are already in school at CRST. If that's the case then I don't recommend that you start looking into other training companies like I suggested above. If you're there then stick it out and make the best of it, show them just how hard working and professional you mean to be, and if you do that I can guarantee you that they will be able to provide you with all the miles you can stand. Trust me, if you are doing a good job they're going to keep you busy, and that eight months will fly by so fast you're not even going to realize it.

I'm hoping that we can get the miles we need. I read that article you suggested to me on another thread and I think we can make this work. I'm terrified of being separated from him, but I will tough it out as best I can. And when we are back together, I can write about what we did to make it work.

I do have to say, Tim and I have a different sort of relationship. We can be in the same room, and not talk to each other for hours. It's just being near each other that keeps us both comfortable. We have worked together at other jobs and we work very well together. To the point that the fast food place we worked at, let us work overnights together as the only two people on the crew. We could run the store and clean it. As far as the sleep apart thing, we are okay with that. He's 6'2 and I am 5'10 and neither of us are considered skinny. From what I have been reading and what we learned in class, we are only allowed to drive 10 hours per day, be on duty for 14 hours consecutively, and must be in the sleeper for at least 8 hours consecutively and then 2 more hours of off duty. I would guess we would try to time it so that both of us are awake when we have to do a load out or load (probably not the right term), so that we have that extra set of eyes.

We have also decided (based on looking for what works for other drivers on here) that we will always stop every two hours for at least fifteen minutes. That way we can get up and move around (the person driving, not the one asleep) and go to the bathroom. We will be able to check our tires and connections during that time.

And as far as logbooks, my husband laughed in class because I keep a list of everything I have to do that day and have done, all on my own. He thought it was funny that their logbook isn't as detailed as my list. (Still not sure if he was laughing at me, my mother handed that habit down to all of her children)

I have talked to other people in the school who already have some experience and I need to have some shower shoes and possibly some gloves for hygiene reasons.

Sorry I'm rambling on. Just throwing out our ideas so that if they aren't good ones, then we can get corrected before we get going. Not while we are on the road and under all the stress from training.

I would guess we would try to time it so that both of us are awake when we have to do a load out or load (probably not the right term), so that we have that extra set of eyes.

You may not realize it Mistelle, but you just stumbled onto one of the many difficulties involved in team driving. You can't really plan those deliveries for when you are both awake, you will be running just as hard as you can to get there and then who ever is in the sleeper will probably have to get out if their help is needed. This is something that you'll learn about while with your trainer. You don't log this in your log book because that will completely mess up your logs. There's going to be times when it is in the middle of the night and whoever is driving can't see anything where they are trying to back into a dock or something like that and you'll have to get out of the sleeper to go outside and help them with some hand signals to get backed in.

To make good money and keep getting those great miles at CRST you will really have to prove yourselves, because their organization is set up almost like a competition so that the ones who are really proving themselves by being efficient and on time consistently are the ones that get the consistent miles.

Truck driving is a performance based industry, and the better job you do then the better paychecks you will get.

Hi Mistelle.

First I'd like to encourage you to please clear your mind of any ideas you have of what life will be like on the road or what CRST will be like to work for. That's a dangerous thing to do - and here's why...

As far as life on the road, it is way different than anyone ever imagines it will be. All you're going to do is set yourself up for frustration and disappointment by getting the wrong ideas in your mind. Then you'll get out there, realize nothing is the way you expected it to be, and you're either going to think you're at the wrong company or in the wrong industry. You're trying to think of strategies and plans like "We're going to stop every two hours" or "I would guess we would try to time it so that both of us are awake when we have to do a load out or load (probably not the right term), so that we have that extra set of eyes." I can assure you right now that neither of those two ideas are going to work at all. Not going to happen that way.

As far as what CRST is like, they're like pretty much every company in the nation - their hardest working, more cooperative, most reliable drivers will get the bulk of the best freight and special favors from time to time when they really need em. The others will get the leftovers and no special favors. Trucking is performance-based as Old School mentioned. The best drivers get the most miles, the best freight, and the most favors. The lousy ones are never happy and never get much in the way of good miles or special favors. Which leads me to...

I haven't met many truckers. My husband didn't want to haunt truck stops to ask questions. Which was my idea of figuring out which way to go. So we did the internet thing. Which has really confused us.

Now you're already with CRST so stop trying to figure out what the company is like. You'll find out soon enough. Just keep a clear mind and a positive attitude. Go out there ready to prove to them what an awesome pair of drivers you and your husband will be. CRST has been around for many, many years. They know what they're doing. They're a proven company. You guys are new to trucking. You're the ones with everything to prove. If you'll go out there with that attitude and show em they have an awesome team, they'll certainly reward you with the good miles and fair treatment you're hoping for. But it's going to take 6+ months to prove that. Don't think in a week or two you're suddenly going to be treated like royalty. It's not that easy. It takes time to really show what you can do. So expect to pay your "rookie dues" and in the end you'll be rewarded for it.

For others who are trying to make a choice about what trucking company to work for, you should definitely "haunt" the truck stops and speak with some of the drivers while they're fueling up or walking into the truck stop. In fact, that is one of my #1 suggestions in articles I've written on How To Choose The Right Trucking Company To Work For. You'll be shocked at how much more positive the drivers are than the garbage you'll read at websites like TheTruckersReport and RipOffReport. Stay away from those type of "reviews". They're complete garbage.

Also, go through our truck driver's career guide. It's full of fantastic information on almost every topic imaginable that pertains to getting your trucking career off to a great start.

Ya know, I just noticed that your subject line asks which companies you should look into when you're already signed up with CRST.

I can't stress this enough - you're totally setting yourself up for failure with that attitude I promise you. You've already decided that CRST is no good. If that's the case, you're certainly not going to give them your best. Well, trucking is performance-based. You're not going to give your best, so you're certainly not going to get the best from CRST and you're going to be miserable. You're going to think "Yap, the reviews were right. CRST is garbage." Then you'll go to TheTruckersReport and "warn" everyone that CRST is garbage.

The reality is you're going to get out of it what you put into it. If you put in your best and you prove yourselves to be an awesome team then you're going to get awesome miles and fair treatment. If you aren't willing to put in the effort and get the job done out there the way the top-tier teams are going it then you're going to get treated like second-class citizens which is what you would have proven yourselves to be.

See what I'm saying?

Go out there and show em you guys intend to be in that top tier of drivers. You're going to run hard, be safe, be reliable, and you're going to handle yourselves like true professionals at all times. That is how you get the best miles and the best treatment in the trucking industry - you earn it. I can assure you it works that way at CRST and pretty much every company in America.

So please - do not sabotage yourselves by going into this with the wrong attitude toward CRST. Go into with the attitude that you'll get what you deserve and go earn it.

Troubadour is one of those guys running teams at the moment..look him up and shoot him a PM, I'm sure he would be happy to give you the straight dope on it...