A Sign

I am thinking I might go with CRST If they will have me. One day I was looking for a sign telling me wh Io I should go with when I go back to school. I jumped on the interstate to just go from one side of town to the other. I thought I would look for the first truck to pass that had a school that that would be my sign. Before I even got on I64 a big gold truck passed by. And every day I get on 64 I see a CRST truck. It never fails. Anyone with info that works or go to school for them let me know. I want any info I can get. Thanks! I am still waiting on my reqruiter he is away in cali right now.

Haha nice!

Lol I had to run to Georgtown and spotted 4 on the interstate , and one parked trailer at a truck stop in my town. that was within a hour and half.

There are a few newbies on here that are going with CRST. So hopefully they can give you some insight. I know that CRST does all lower 48 states, not sure about Canada. Good Luck !!

Sounds like a sign lol good luck

Hi Pebbles. I am with CRST. Just got a week driving with my trainer, and now doing a few days home time because our truck broke down. Are you planning on going to their company sponsored school? If you are, and go to their Iowa location, there are 2 schools you could be sent too. One is at Kirkwood, which is at their headquarters in Cedar Rapids, and the other is Hawkeye, which is in Waterloo. Ask to be sent to Hawkeye. They are both community colleges, but the size of the classes is very different. At Hawkeye, I was in a class of 18 people. Someone I know who went to Kirkwood was in a class of more than 40. The one on one time with instructors , and time in the trucks, is much better at Hawkeye.

One thing I saw several people have trouble with, is not having the proper documentation with them. You need to have a state issued birth certificate, in very good condition and a social security card, that is not laminated and clearly legible with your name and the number. You would be surprised at the number of people who show up there with photo copies, or worn documents that are rejected.Also make sure you know if you have any driving infractions in he last 3 years. They do check, and if you dont disclose that, (or felonies, suspensions, duis, etc.) You get sent home. They also take a urine sample when you start your first day at school. If you cannot pass a drug test, dont go. Any failure, you will be put out on the street with NO ticket home. Make sure you have a list of all medications you take, and if any of them could possibly cause drowsiness or interfere with driving in any way, make sure you discuss that with a recruiter first. They do give waivers for some things, but you might need a letter from a doctor saying it will not affect you.

CRST is a team driving company. You will be working with a team driver while you work there. If you know someone, or meet someone while in school, and you decide you can get along, that will give you an advantage when you do get hired and then done with your training. I was lucky and met someone on the bus out of Florida, and we ended up rooming together all through school and orientation, and will be co drivers when we finish training. We're close in age, both middle age men, sober, and there to work and make money. Plus, I spent time in the truck in school with this guy, and I am sure he is working hard to learn to be a safe driver. I will sleep well when he is behind the wheel.

The pay is not great to start, .22 cents a mile. You split the total miles with your codriver. That means you drive 2000 miles, you get paid for 1000. Now, on the flip side, because you are a team truck, it is possible to get a lot of miles every week. I drove 5 days with my trainer before we broke down, and we got 4500 miles in. We had 2 loads for the rest of the week too, that would have been another 2000 miles through the weekend, but we lost those when the truck went down. After 3 months, you get 24 cents a mile, and after 6, you get 31. So the pay increases fairly fast.

If you go to their school, you sign a contract to work for 8 months. After that, the school is paid for. There is no pro ration in the cost. If you work for them 7 months, and 29 days, you owe around 4000 bucks. The cost of transportation and lodging are taken out of your check at 40 dollars a week, starting after 6 weeks, until that total is paid. They do not provide food. If you go to Hawkeye, you will stay at a Super 8 motel that does have a fridge and microwave in most rooms. There is a Super Target about a half mile away, and a Walmart about a mile away. There is no transportation there. My room mate and I walked to the Super Target. There is a laundromat about a 10 minute walk away. The motel has a simple breakfast of fruit and muffins, though they did have waffles. Thats free BTW. They also had complimentary coffee and hot tea 24/7.

CRST is going through some major changes. They have a bad safety CSA score, and they are very serious about bringing that down. They got rid of most of their old safety department in the last year and brought in all new people, including some long term drivers from their own ranks, who had great safety scores. They also told us, they want to increase driver retention, so in the next year, supposedly there are to be some major changes that will benefit the drivers. One big thing they say they are looking at, is to provide a better home time policy. Right now, a lot of drivers stay out 4 to 5 weeks before going home. They want to try and make it, so the drivers can go home more often. It is probably a good time to be going with them, because of that.

Anything else you might want to know that I can help you with, feel free to ask, or you can email me too at henryinspect@gmail.com.

Thanks you guys. And Troubador I wrote you with a few more. Thanks!

Happy to help Pebbles! I just got word, our truck will not be ready until this weekend. I am ready to go back to work. I was able to go ahead and get my CDL transferred to my home state while I am here, so that is one less thing I have to worry about. But I am ready to roll. Hopefully by Sunday!

There was a guy from my CDL class that went to CRST after school. He didnt have a good wxperience and ended up quiting after 3 months. I cant tell you first hand but I know one of.his biggest problems is the never wanted to let him go home, his miles were minimal and his co driver sucked lol With everything and every place there is good and bad.