CRST Trucking CRST C.R.S.T - If you want to go to any Truck driving training school... Crst is not where you want to be, They tell you they will feed you, they wont. They block every internet site lol.. No females aloud Cedar Rapids, Iowa

 I hear all the whiny complaints about CRST. The one thing that stands out is, everyone complaining has never been a truck driver and did not do their homework prior to accepting the offer to attend driver training. This is my second time driving for CRST. I drove for them in 2007 when yes,they did kind of suck,then. I returned May 2015,and I must say they have significantly improved,and are just as good if not better than the majority of other large companies out their. Unlike most of these crybabies on here, I did my research. I originally started driving in 1994. I gave up my CDL 5 years ago and recently decided to pursue it again. I chose CRST over Prime, Central Refrigerated, Swift, PAM, and Stevens Transport for various reasons. CRST has the best pay currently,the fastest route to get a CDL (2-1/2 weeks compared to a month), only a 10 month contract as opposed to a 12 month to 24 month contract, and, NO UPFRONT COSTS. The facts are, my recruiter, John Hairston, was 100% truthful with me,got me a $500 sign on bonus for being a veteran,took my previous experience and started me off at .42cpm, and I attended Hawkeye Community College for CDL training. While in training, breakfast was supplied at the Super8 motel, lunch was supplied at the community college,and once you passed your permit tests, you were given $40/week in prepaid charge cards, all provided and paid for by CRST. Bear in mind,you are not yet employed by CRST,but they are TAKING CARE OF YOU. I can't think of any other company who does that for PROSPECTIVE drivers. Once in Cedar Rapids, you go thru 3-4 day orientation, go out 28 days with a lead driver (you can crank out more miles if you prove to your trainer you can handle and drive without scaring them and without ripping the transmission out) by running as a team. After training period,I went to .43cpm and assigned a truck. I was only in that first truck for a month,then swapped it for a BRAND NEW 2016 Freightliner Cascadia Evolution. Since then, miles are decent,not overwhelmingly great,but I have a terrific fleet manager who listens and takes fabulous care of me and my co-driver, get home when scheduled,and the freight here is the best and easiest I've ever hauled. In other words, I am an experienced driver with over a million safe miles and over 10 years,but was out of truck for 5 years,and I have absolutely no beef with CRST. Some say they are only good as a starter company. I say if you want a home where YOU ARE TREATED WITH AS MUCH RESPECT AS YOU GIVE, then CRST has a good recipe for success. Check your attitudes at the door.

ANY ONE WHO COMPLAINS ABOUT CRST TRUCKING ARE A BUNCH OF P****YS!!!!  WWWWAAAAHHHHH!!! CRY FOR ME B**CHES!!  NO ONE EVER SAID IT WAS EASY.....BECAUSE YOU`VE BEEN HANDED EVERYTHING IN LIFE !!  

If you drive a commercial vehicle, and you make only 22 CPM, then you are part of the problem with OTR trucking. You lack the common sence, intelligence, and aptitude to operate any motor vehicle for pay.

NO company, regardless of their recruiters, advertising, current or former employees, etc., could stay in business more than 30 days paying that wage. Every employee with a brain would quit on the spot and go work for a company that pays 30 CPM or more to start.

Given that you are also refering to a Team rate, i.e., the wage earned by both drivers per mile the truck is driven, you are grossly mistaken. Your 'source' for this information is either lying to you, or has no clue himself/herself and is passing along heresay as  'facts.'

There is NO commercial truck operating OTR that is getting less than 45 CPM split. This means that for every 1000 miles driven in the truck, both drivers would recieve $225.00 per day (1000 * .45 = 450 / 2 = $225 per driver).

Teams drive the wheels off of trucks and no company will allow them to 'dally' or 'deadhead' a second longer than absolutely necessary, as they are paying a premium for these driving teams.

I am not affiliated with or in any way associated with CRST. I am simply getting tired of all the bad drivers trying to pass off their poor driving skills and lack of aptitude as industry standards. Outright lies seem to be the norm when a disgruntled employee gets fired becasue they either drove the truck into a wall or abandoned it in a city 500 miles from their destintation.

  In the last part of your post you hit on the biggest problem with most trucking companies.the lying.The best part of that is it starts even before you get in a truck.Also for them to wait for you to get there before they check you out and then find something they don't like about you and just send you on your way to find your own way home,is more than just low,it is disturbing.They need to check all of your information even before you leave your house,not after they have you stuck out in the middle of Iowa.
  Also I wouldn't think that there would be to many people going there with the expectations of partying,but I could see them being excited over a new job.
  They already have a reputation from many years of the way they operate,and no matter how you try to paint it,it just never gets any prettier.Hey I was making 25 cents a mile back in 1980,that ought to tell you something.
  Another thing I have said countless times is,if they didn't treat someone good they would have no one.

I went to Crst. I went through Kirkwood also then through orientation but unlike you I got the job. I am a 36 year old female and I feel given the circumstances of living in dorms it was a decent experience. There was no drinking or partying allowed. The TV in the main room did get turned off at 11. There are reasons for all of that. You are there to learn study ect... it isn't playtime! Kirkwood was tough
I was one of the lucky ones that caught on quick so my personal experience was fine however I did see others get their heads torn off because they couldn't get the double clutching or revving when down shifting. I thought it was awful the way a lot of people were treated then I actually started working otr. Crst/Kirkwood is an accelerated program. You HAVE to get it because within a couple of weeks you are going to be hauling 80,000 pounds at 65mph and you MUST know what you are doing. A lot of situations don't give you time to think you only have time to react.
Most of what you say is correct but you put your personal slant on it so it was my turn. You go there to learn a new career not party and get laid!
I have since left Crst for personal issues but I had to give credit where credit was due. If you are looking to party that is definitely not the place to go... too much to learn early mornings and late nights studying. If you are looking to learn then I recommend Crst. Do beware though... they do NOT do any background checks or dac reports or anything until you start testing or are in orientation. My recruiter lied to me not over anything thst cost me a job but ticked me off either way... several had recruiters lie to them only to be brought there then have to fjnd their own way home. If you have anything in your background point blank ask about it before you go there then do as much research as you can to make sure the answer you got was correct or better yet record every single conversation or try tk do EVERYTHING in email. Keep all if the emails! That way if you are lied to you.can take them to court!

It's actually hilarious that the companies which abuse drivers the most have someone on the board of the American Trucking Association,so I guess we know what ATA is all about.

I wish you folks nothing but the best and God Bless.

mrtmrsh@gmail.com                      

Marty

I used to work for CRST

What a joke that was.
I stayed long enough to pay for the training and get a real paying job.

pay from them is .11 mi or as they like to call it .22 split, 2 drivers, truck is paid .22 a mile driven based on the household movers guide not road miles

they'll find anyway to fine you to keep part of your pay.

scratching the truck will cost you $300, and you'd better be able to prove it was there before you started driving.

they want you to drive 5 hrs and sleep 5 hrs. just try doing that in a bouncing truck

just for reference most team drivers get 18 - 20 a mile each
so they are basically paying starvation wages. I was driving 3000 or so miles a week, (normal for team) and only bringing home 300-400 paychecks
as a solo driving 2200 a week I brought home 700 a week at .32 a mile

I watched them lie to my trainer/codriver several time
they pulled him from training without asking him to make him codrive with me. then took his assigned truck away because he wasn't a trainer even though they said he would be able to keep it.
(it was 1 of 50 in the fleet custom ordered for him for 5 years as a trainer accident free)

oh yea, and the "guaranteed home time policy" give them 2 wks notice of when you want to be home and they'll make sure you are home even going as far as buying a bus or train ticket to get you there.  NOT  I gave them 3 wks notice and when I informed them less than 4 days before I was to be home I was told they didn't have to get me home.

   I was a Teamster for 16 years,I never experienced more lieing,cheating and stealing than when I was on that job.The company does all this then the union makes up excuses for them.Now your going get on here and lie just like they do?Guess what,there are to many exunion people out here today that knows the truth about the garbage you are trying to sell,it won't work anymore.

   You was right about one thing,whatever we get into is our own fault,which is the way it should be,we don't need a union to make the problem worse.

   Also,so other people know just what I'm talking about.I tried to stop all the lies,cheating,and stealing,and what did I get for my effort.I got harassed out of a job plus I got blacklisted from ever working again,which is ok because I get to sit here on my computer and show people what liars people like you are.

   So keep spreading your BS while you can,it won't be long now.

                                                                 Marty Marsh

All you stupid truck drivers, when you leave unions out of the work place, these companies steal, cheat, lie, rob  you of your diginty.  So keep up the good work you slaves.

  They haven't had a very good rep for years now, and it is nothing that I can confirm it's just word of mouth stuff,but I have never heard anything good about them.

  I see you tried to leave your email but ripoffreport don't allow that,so there is nothing I can really do to help you,other than to say make sure you investigate before you go in to these deals.I've been in trucking for 39 years and the liars out number the honest people by a long shot.