Latest Updates From Me

Greetings to everyone here on Trucking Truth. Last time I was able to talk on here I was getting ready to start out at Stevens Transport and was super hyped by it, boy did I get smacked by a major reality check with them. Everything I was told to get me down there was a lie, which was my stupidity of course without really doing the research. I get down there and all of a sudden I seem to have all these "medical issues". They claimed I was a sleep apnea candidate because I have a 17 inch neck and weigh near 250lbs. Not to mention if you take the stupid Sleep Apnea Study test this is where I have a problem: Negative test would be $1300 (Stevens pays) but a Positive test would be $2550 (You pay) which would be a $16.25 taken out of your check a week for the next 3 years! Another thing too is they try to find any type of excuse to get you on "medical hold" for anything, because once you are on "med hold" they will STOP your pay until you get cleared which could take at least 3-4 days. The $400/wk for training is really $57.14/day. Now I realize why everyone was telling me to stay away from them, I left Friday morning and came home to get myself straightened out health wise because the stress level was so high I was having moderate chest pains because of it. Trainers didn't teach me anything and no drive time.

Enough about them, I used a site on here where you could fill out one application and it would be sent out to hundreds of companies. In just an hour I already had email notifications from 23 companies and phone calls from 8 of them. I am doing my research and trying to narrow it down. I would appreciate any sage advice from you guys or any experiences you have had with any of them. I also want to check out CSA scores. The companies that have contacted me are: Paschall Truck Lines, USA Truck, US Xpress, CRST, Super Service, Star Transportation, JB Hunt, Prime Inc, Heartland Express, Covenant Transport, Werner, Transport America, Transco Lines, Roehl, Navajo Express, WEL Logistics, and TMC.

Well Authur that sure is a mouthful. Sorry things didnt seem to work out with Stevens but understand this I really dont think they intentionally targeted you for health issue. DOT has gotten extremely strict on their regulation over the last 2 yrs. So yes that means a crack down on Companies too and the drivers will be subjected to many more test. You being a heavier man with more than 2 risk facts will get you on the sleep apnea test everytime. I work for WEL Companies or WEL Logistics as your calling it. I started out here as a rookie. Its a good company and they pay rookies WELL. Please keep in mind that a positive attitude is super important in this job with any company. Bashing Stevens isnt going to look good to anyone. You need to learn to roll with the punches so to speak. Anywho I have a blog in training diaries that you can read ip on. The pay has gotten better but the rest remains the same. Any further questions you can pm me.

Arthur, any of those companies would give you a great start to a career. There's also plenty of experienced drivers that have stayed with those companies. I'm not sure how much you want to focus on CSA scores. Take this to heart - you'll succeed anywhere if you put in the effort, have a great attitude, roll with the punches, and have the mindset of proving yourself to your employer, rather than having your employer prove themselves to you.

The only thing about Stevens I'd mention is that they don't really pay as well as some of the other companies. You'll notice a trend where typically something has to give, i.e. companies with all the bells and whistles on their new trucks usually don't pay some of the better wages. Another example of this would be Trans Am - awesome trucks, low pay. The highest cpm doesn't make for the best paychecks, that has a lot to do with a driver's experience and ability to churn out the high miles. But ... cpm does count for something. However, some drivers aren't all about the paycheck, and choose to work for companies with high end equipment with all those bells and whistles. To each their own.

If you're looking into truckload companies, I'd recommend Prime Inc. or Shaffer / Crete. These guys pay some of the highest wages, and you'll get your miles if you're a proven driver. Nothing wrong with the other companies, I'd suggest Prime or Shaffer / Crete because they have higher cpm and great training. Shaffer / Crete is 8 weeks with a trainer that has no less than 2 years experience - now that's a plus in my book. Prime and Shaffer / Crete both pay out some of the highest wages during training. Primes is at $700 a week, Shaffer / Crete is $600 a week.

Sorry for your sour experience. Try your best to learn and move on. Don't spend a lot of time reading all those 'reviews' on trucking companies, you'll start to believe that they're all a bunch of crooks! Keep in mind there's a lot of disgruntled people out there, and there's a lot of successful drivers at these "evil" companies. Where do you think the discrepancy lies?

Hey Arthur, sorry to hear about the bad luck. From what other experienced drivers on here have pointed out in the past and from what I've read and seen, companies are more and more concerned with drivers health issues due to their insurance and rightly so. When operating an expensive piece of company equipment, the value of the load and most importantly, the value of human life, it's in their best interest to have those concerns about health and safety. Now, I can attest to the fact from military experience that BMI is not an accurate way to check fitness. In fact, the military has gone around and around on a better method but the concerns about weight and overall health issues are valid.

I'm not sure how tall you are but at #250 it puts you in a range where they do have some concern unless you're a body builder or almost 7' tall. Anyway, keep checking around and keep reading on here, I know you'll find the right fit but don't let one bad experience ruin it for you.