Knight Trucking? Considering Starting Orientation In 6 Days At Fairview Oregon, All Set Up But Still Not Sure.

I try to take posts on all sites with a grain of salt. Having been submerged in a submarine for 2-3 months at a time on Trident's I can invest the work and thought required to improve many work related situations and have thrived at jobs others give up on. So with that in mind, how do other drivers feel about Knight Transportation? I am to start orientation this Monday. I can only find horrible information about them on the Truckers Report, but it all seems dated 2009 or older. I expect to be held responsible for the job I'm expected to do, and can generally give 110%. I also expect my employer to keep promises, provided I stay up to date on rules, procedures, and required forms/documents to be submitted to get what they say you get. I've seen negative posts about not receiving layover pay, breakdown pay, negative reviews and termination for idling in trucks with broken bunk heaters, and complaints about receiving any pay other than CPM pay. Comments about terminals say mechanics are underpaid and for that reason, don't care much and that if you try to have a issue in the truck fixed at a terminal other than your home terminal it's like pulling teeth from a tiger. Are these comments true now, in 2013? If you are a company driver for them please respond!! If you feel you have solid info on them regardless of your employer, please respond!!

We get a ton of great feedback from people who go with Knight.

Listen, that list of complaints you found is easy to find on pretty much every major company in America. You have to realize the number of people that go through those companies. They go through many hundreds or even thousands of drivers every single year. So to find some complaints is only to be expected. The validity of them is highly dubious.

Now we always tell people that trucking is performance based. If you go in there with a great attitude, work hard, be safe & reliable, and get along well with people you'll do great anywhere you go. If not, you'll be miserable anywhere you go and you'll soon see why TheTruckersReport is flooded with miserable people. Truth be told there are very few truck drivers that you could really consider true professionals. Most have terrible attitudes, don't get along well with people, or for one reason or another simply don't get the job done safely out there day in and day out.

The "top-tier drivers" at any company are usually well taken care of. They get great miles, they usually get home when they're supposed to, and they get a lot of special favors that most drivers won't get. That's trucking. You go out there and do an awesome job and they'll take care of you.

Now we have a ton of information on Knight Transportation for those who haven't come across it already. That will give you the low-down on their pay, policies, and the like.

But choosing a company comes down to figuring out what you're looking for in a company, narrowing your choices to those that hire from your area, applying to all of them to see who gives you an opportunity, and then picking the one you like best. But browsing the Web for "good company versus bad company" information is going to yield nothing but garbage.

Now one thing we always recommend is going to a nearby truck stop and speaking face to face with some of the current drivers at any company you're interested in. That's where you get great information - face to face from people who are out there doing it successfully day in and day out. Meet them at the fuel island or as they're walking into the truck stop. You'll be amazed at how friendly and willing to talk almost every driver will be. And it's commonplace for drivers to ask each other about their companies so no one will think anything of it.

We get a ton of great feedback from people who go with Knight.

Listen, that list of complaints you found is easy to find on pretty much every major company in America. You have to realize the number of people that go through those companies. They go through many hundreds or even thousands of drivers every single year. So to find some complaints is only to be expected. The validity of them is highly dubious.

Now we always tell people that trucking is performance based. If you go in there with a great attitude, work hard, be safe & reliable, and get along well with people you'll do great anywhere you go. If not, you'll be miserable anywhere you go and you'll soon see why TheTruckersReport is flooded with miserable people. Truth be told there are very few truck drivers that you could really consider true professionals. Most have terrible attitudes, don't get along well with people, or for one reason or another simply don't get the job done safely out there day in and day out.

The "top-tier drivers" at any company are usually well taken care of. They get great miles, they usually get home when they're supposed to, and they get a lot of special favors that most drivers won't get. That's trucking. You go out there and do an awesome job and they'll take care of you.

Now we have a ton of information on Knight Transportation for those who haven't come across it already. That will give you the low-down on their pay, policies, and the like.

But choosing a company comes down to figuring out what you're looking for in a company, narrowing your choices to those that hire from your area, applying to all of them to see who gives you an opportunity, and then picking the one you like best. But browsing the Web for "good company versus bad company" information is going to yield nothing but garbage.

Now one thing we always recommend is going to a nearby truck stop and speaking face to face with some of the current drivers at any company you're interested in. That's where you get great information - face to face from people who are out there doing it successfully day in and day out. Meet them at the fuel island or as they're walking into the truck stop. You'll be amazed at how friendly and willing to talk almost every driver will be. And it's commonplace for drivers to ask each other about their companies so no one will think anything of it.

Awsome! Very happy to see that I'm on the right track about info. on the web being unreliable. Marking The Truckers %$#(^t as spam. 15 years in the Navy, would not change it for all the $ in the world, got TONS out of it, and yet anyone can get horrible input about enlisting. Same stuff, different organization. I was a Navy recruiter too, and my gut told me that the guy I am dealing with at Knight was, all in all, a great guy. At just over two years into driving I still think of myself as a "newbee". A good leader in a new career needs to prove him/her self to be a good follower first. I intend on taking full advantage of the training materials and resources you offer. I'm willing to put my all into it, continue to learn, and always get along with people around me. Hard part is going from being the "go-to-guy" on subs to being the "who-do-I-go-to-guy" as a newbee. Now, on my way to the link you provided. Thank you!!

Ive posted the pros and cons on here a while back on another post bout knight,but to say in the least bit the info ya got is horse ****.i drove for knight for 4 yrs now and had little to no issues the little issues were human error and it was fixed quickly.some shops are slow but that is so things get done correctly.i did have an issie with an oil leak twice but that was pro stars fault not knights for it was a warranted part.

for the layover ya get pd that and ya also get pd detention time.some terminals allow pets but only one let per truck.carlisle does not allow pets.the trucks are within 1 - 2 yrs old and ya normally only have it till 500,000 miles. these ppl leavin ill posts are steering wheel holders who think they should be pd to babysit a truck stop.in my oppinion. if ya have a problem go to ur dm they will do what they have to to help ya.

the staff are very family oriented.heck i had an offer of a meal just to move a trailer which i moved the trailer but refused the meal.so plz dnt believe the malarky others post on other sites. bc it is just that.

Ive posted the pros and cons on here a while back on another post bout knight,but to say in the least bit the info ya got is horse ****.i drove for knight for 4 yrs now and had little to no issues the little issues were human error and it was fixed quickly.some shops are slow but that is so things get done correctly.i did have an issie with an oil leak twice but that was pro stars fault not knights for it was a warranted part.

for the layover ya get pd that and ya also get pd detention time.some terminals allow pets but only one let per truck.carlisle does not allow pets.the trucks are within 1 - 2 yrs old and ya normally only have it till 500,000 miles. these ppl leavin ill posts are steering wheel holders who think they should be pd to babysit a truck stop.in my oppinion. if ya have a problem go to ur dm they will do what they have to to help ya.

the staff are very family oriented.heck i had an offer of a meal just to move a trailer which i moved the trailer but refused the meal.so plz dnt believe the malarky others post on other sites. bc it is just that.

Thanks Crazy Rebel!

Ran across my share of cry babies in the service. Sounds like if some one truly knows how to give a good days work they'll be well off with Knight. I'm looking forward to it.

Bill

My hard work has pd off plenty im now runnin a dedicated accnt for them ,they tryin go keep it for every yr which will be nice.im what they call the 1 st truck so no matter what ijm here till the end.

Bill I am in orientation with Knight right now, I will pass along what little info I can state as fact per my first hand experience.

I did a LOT of research before choosing my company, because I understand the importance of staying with my first company at least a year. I chose Knight for a couple of reasons. I wanted home time options, and Knight has several different home times available. I also did NOT want to be dispatched as a team when traing. I want to learn when I am driving and when my trainer is driving, I can't do that if one of us is sleeping. More and more companies are training this way now.

My experience so far has been very good. Yes, it's early, but our classroom is right by the room that contains the Driver Managers, Recruiters, well just about everyone except mechanics. I can tell you there is a lot of smiling and laughing going on out there, meaning these people do not strike me as people that are working at a place that they hate.

Today I visited the shop and met some of the mechanics. They took some time to show us some of the trucks and some typical problems with different makes and some things to check to make sure we don't have problems jump up on us when it can be caught early. They STRESS keeping the trucks maintained and I believe them. Yes, breakdowns will happen. The trucks are running what seems like constantly and pulling 80,000 pounds up and down mountains so of course things will arise that have to be fixed.

As far as not getting paid I will give you an example that was discussed today. We get detention pay for anything that is two hours passed our scheduled delivery time. Say your delivery time is 1:00. At 1:45 you MUST send in a macro to your DM to let them know you are still there. From there your DM gets involved and Someone contacts the delivery to see what is happening and try to get things moving. Steps are in place for a reason and if a driver does not follow the steps then no, they won't get paid. Same thing when you have to transflo the receipts for other items you get paid for. If you don't follow the steps you won't get paid. So what you have been reading is by someone that probably didnt follow the steps.

I had dinner tonight with an experienced driver that is in orientation after taking a leave of absence. Frankly I wanted to pick his brain about some home time decisions I am trying to make and anything else I could think of. He drove for another company for 15 years, but when the owner of that company passed the children closed the business. He then came to work for Knight. His wife became Ill so he took the leave of absence. He is profesional in both appearance and in the way he handles himself. The type of driver that could probably work for who ever he chooses. He came back to Knight. If all the things you were reading were true I don't think he would have came back. I am glad he did because I learned a TON at dinner tonight LOL.

So far I have found one thing that I was not happy about. I attended a private school so tuition reimbursement is important to me. I asked early on and found out Knight does tuition reimbursement and for how much. While filling out my papers today I read that you must run 10800 miles a month to qualify. Now from the drivers I have talked to at the terminal getting the miles is not a problem, they have pretty much all said ill get as many as I'm willing to run. The problem is I had been considering doing the 14 out 7 off home time option. I'm not going to run 10800 miles with that type of home time. It is MY fault that I did not ask about qualifications on reimbursement. I do not feel in any way that my recruiter was trying to miss lead me. I will be meeting with some of the DM's tomorrow and will ask questions about miles then its up to me to decide how I want to run. Although I can see other people in my position spamming the web about how Knight offered reimbursement then didnt pay.

I have read many of the other forums you are talking about. In fact be honest I was scared about the physical due to what I read on some of the threads. While the physical was more demanding than a typical DOT , it sure wasn't what it had been made out to be!

I am VERY early on in mt time with Knight. But from what I have seen so far those other posters your talking about are full od s#%t.

Woody

If ya drive like i do 10800 will be no issue in 14 days bud i can do 660 to 680 a day

Oops ya better ask on that 10800 bud that should be in a month and even so ya should still make it.bc knight only require 2500 per truck a week.

Oops ya better ask on that 10800 bud that should be in a month and even so ya should still make it.bc knight only require 2500 per truck a week.

Hey, thanks for confirming Knights good rep. Some one who eats truck stop food in mass would probably cry about the physical. I'm 52, don't "work out" except working hard for a living, and eat right and can run circles around most 30 somethings. Crazy Rebel is right too. I ran through NV lots going from OR to AZ and did the back roads, 70 MPH Legal! I ran night time for the most part. Had nothing to hide from the scale inspector, but why waste time stopping when I can run hard while they are closed and they were usually closed at night. A 600 mile day was common and easy to do. I'll bet if you and your DM set your goal to reach your miles and they can count on you from time to time helping in a pinch, you'll get miles you need without giving up too much HT. You sound smart and reasonable so you already know this I'll bet. I did not burn any bridges with Knight, but got a last second offer to haul cars for big bucks and good home time so I'm taking it. Still keeping in touch with my recruiter, he's a good guy, just in case.