Complaint Review: Covenant Transport

I hate to put a damper on your hopes, especially after having spent big money for training. But, you can't change the facts.

The trucking industry has OVER 100% driver turnover. How can you get more than 100%, you ask? Simple. Hire 100 new drivers in January. By March, most of them have left, so you have to hire more to replace them. By the end of the year, you may have had to hire 3 or 4 new people just to keep one truck running.

Common sense tells you that people don't walk away from good jobs that pay well, right?

And, common sense also tells you that if you treat the drivers bad, and pay them very little, and make them drive all night and all day, sooner or later they will get fed up and quit.

That's pretty much what you can expect.

If you want more info, search for truck driver or trucking job or long-haul or truck driver job. You know how to search with google, right?

There are message boards where drivers rate the various companies and compare them. Spend a few hours reading.

In addition, you can use the search function on the home page of this site. Simply search under trucking companies. Tons of complaints for you to read.

Good luck to both of you. You're going to need it.

I've read the articles on Covanent because my husband has recently gone their looking for work. My husband is a driver from another country, and had to pay 8000.00 to a school to get his CDL here in the USA. He has driven years in Europe, and originally had to train for 5 months.
Sadly, the truck companies are not familiar with other countries and their driving practices, and neither are they familiar with what a legal immigrant has to go thru to get into America. I'm not talking about Mexico they have there own set of immigration rules for some reason. After going thru this extensive process with my husband, I can say with certainty that most Americans should be glad they are born in this country, because if they had to go thru what he did, most of them could not get into this country, especially after 911.
Now that he has a class A CDL in the USA he is now looking for a driving job. I hope it is not a mistake, but we had to try with a company that would offer tuition reimbursment, and so he is at Covanent. It scares me to read some of the articles, and at first I almost called him home. After reading on, I decided that maybe it was not so bad, and to just keep our eyes and ears open.
I can understand if someone had a bad experience and wants to take it out on a web sites "b***h board" but for someone like me, I am trying to find some information, and to help support my husband, and find a good company.
It was helpful to know that driving is a job needing employees. and I just want to see him get on with a good company, because he is a excellent and good driver and employee, he has driven for years, knows the life on the road and likes it. I just don't want to see him taken advantage of. I want to see him get with a company that he can stay with, because he does not like to change jobs, and he has a hard time with all the paper work here in the USA. I don't want to see him put a lot of time into a company that is going to take advantage of him and rip him off.
Ater reading some of the reports, I was worried, and just wanted to ask if there is anyone that might be able to steer me in the direction of how to find out some good reports, and information on companies, and where and what to look for. Perhaps DOT reports, or the FMCSA, if they offer reports, and what and where?
Thanks and any and all information will be appreciated.

I do not care if you have been driving 50 years, you guys really sound stupid. You are part of the problem. Facts.

Trucking is ranked in the Top Ten most DANGEROUS Jobs. The other 9 most dangerous jobs are paid well. NOT trucking. Look it up on the web.

You are never home to see your family you live in a box subject to all kinds of laws Federal, state, loacal. etc. If you were forced to stay at your work place all the time you would be paid something called OVERTIME.

Big companies are trying to outsource your big bad supertrucker 1,000,000 miler self to an illegal who will drive for 24 cents a mile. You need to research that. Look at "Through the gears and look at the Spanish friendly companies. These companies have no intrest in fixing driver problems but only find ways to keep the labor as cheap as possible. They are looking at ways and, are working with lawmakers to show there is a real driver shortage and they need to start hiring guys south of the border who they will teach english and,make sure they pass a background check to satify D.O.T. These companies are creating the illusions of really bad driver shortages. There are no driver shortages just drivers who are tired of the low pay and disrespect. You see these companies know that and do not care.

Look at your health if you have bad health you can not drive. You never have time to exercise and have proper rest if you want a real check. The work condtions are not acceptable. You guys can rip on Paul but he is right! You really need to read first and research before you defend an industry who will run you in a grave and do nothing to change it. I am tired of the superman truckers who defend it. That is why I see you at Petro overweight and always in a bad mood. I just do not get it!

You seem to be a seasoned vet with many, many accident free miles under your belt, as do I. You spout off about trucking companies adhering to federal D.O.T. regulations due to insurance rate/coverage repercussions, and I am here to tell you that what you state cannot be farther from the truth! 3rd party testing is geared to, and accepted by the D.O.T. for one reason only:Monitary Gains.

Without 3rd party testing, the goverened companies would go bankrupt from lack of driver manpower!! Also I can not find one logical reason why you, or anyone else for that matter, would and does, work for a percentage of the load and or by the mile! You have all the markings of an online recruiter!!! Your acceptance to work by the mile and or load is the reason the trucking industry is what is today. 3/4ths of the nations non-managerial work force works for payment by the hour, but the rest, mostly truckdrivers work for percentages and or mileage!

Very few at best make a decent living with this payscale instituted by the trucking companies. Why you and the other 1/4 work for and ACCEPT company dividened profits is a mystery! You and the rest of this 1/4 are the reason paid miles and or percentage loads are still in effect!!

How embarrising!!!??? OTR companies are financialy sound due to one fact-you!!! So do not come and complain about the pitfalls and shortages associated with a driver of a OTR companyn unless you become part of the solution, not the cause!!!.

Hey, "Champ", just how many years and accident free miles are behind YOU in a class 8 truck? Not many, I'll bet. I drove for CRST while you were,evidently,still in elementery school. I have 20 years, accident free behind me (with an average of 150,000 miles per year, let's see, that would be somewhere around 3,000,000 miles, at least).
Yes, I have driven for companies that asked me to "run this one, then sleep". (I once ran a FedEx from Newark,NJ, airport to Bush Interco- ntinental at Humble, TX, in 24 hours. Then slept for 24 hrs. That's 1625 miles)(Ran one from Calhoun, GA, to San Diego,CA, from Saturday 0200
arrived in SD Monday at 0400 EDT.)
Now I'm with a company (Covenant) that REQUIRES legal running. No arguement, no discussion. LEGAL.
You Bozos who say you have driven for this company and/or that one, and know about them, maybe you do, from your experience with them. But, when you say, "I've never driven for this company, but I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who used to drive for them, so I know ALL about them..." GIVE ME A FRIGGIN' BREAK!!!
I've never driver for CR England, but I've met some of their drivers. TOTAL ASSHOLES! that does NOT mean all their drivers are assholes. Just the ones I've met. So, I don't say the few I've met are representative of the company as a whole.
Neither can you say, from what little experience you have in this industry, that you know how ALL companies are. You gave Tim some erroneous info, though. There's not a reputable company out there who will hire a "driver", get him/her a permit, put him/her with a trainer for 6 weeks then turn them loose with a truck. if you expect anyone to believe that, you're as stupid as you evidently think the non-driving world is. For one, the insurance companies who insure the industry will no longer allow that practice. A nationally accredited school is required. Then, a period (varies from one company to another) with a company driver trainer.Then,with some companies (Covenant included) each "newby" must run team with another "newby" for a certain period (at Covenant it's 30 days) then, maybe, will the newby get his/her own truck to run solo.
So, Paul, you seem to be typical of Californicators, learn a bit about a particular job description, go into it for a minute, find out your not man enough for it, quit to find something easier, and talk trash about the entire industry with your micron of knowledge about it.
I have but one thing more to say about your "...knowing all about trucking..." SHUT THE F--K UP!

I've read the above "rebuttals" to the report on Covenant and, in my considered opinion, both of you are either, 1) Bloody Morons, or 2) Outright liars. IF you have been driving for a mere 2 years, there is absolutely no way either of you could have stayed at any 1 company long enough to know diddly squat about the company. As I've stated before, I have been driving for 20 years (a rooky, compared to alot of drivers out there). I have driven for but 6 companies in that 20 years.
1) Schneider (was fired because of an ex-wife always calling and cursing dispatchers out.)
2) CRST (fired, because my student, my wife at the time, had 3 accidents in a month)
3)US Xpress (Fired because I "have an attitude problem)
4)Carpet Transport (Charles Prater, the owner was made to sell the company by Federal Authorities)
5)Timely Transportation (the company that bought CTI. I stayed with them until they closed their trucking portion of the business)
6) Covenant Transport (still with them.)
Until you can show a resume at least similar to this, you don't know squat about the industry you claim to "know all about"!
And I still consider myself a rooky in many respects. there's not a day goes by I don't learn something. Even if it's nothing more than, "d**n, this truck won't let me do that."
In closing I'll say this, when you have a few hundred thousand mile behind you, come back and we'll talk about what you know about this industry. Because it's like the t-shirts say,"Truckin' Ain't For Sissies!!!"

Paul seems to know what he is talking about. The information he gave you is very specific concerning the O.T.R. sector of trucking. I can give you an addtional lead concerning trucking-local driver! No one said that you have to go O. T. R.

once you get your CDL-A. I got my CDL-A thru CRST and the moment they stamped passed on my CDL-A permit, giving me my CDL-A licence, I had no intention of driving over the road for a living, let alone with a person that the company felt was right for me.

All CRST wanted to do was fill their vacant truck seats with a body, and for 27 cents a mile!! I laughed at the instructor of the 3rd party testing school hired by CRST to train and accredit with a CDL-A licence any all persons who completed the course.

With the industrie's 99.6% annual turnover rate, if you sat in an uprite postion, and could hit every other gear, ensuring forward momentum, you were passed and received a CDL-A licence.

My friend, there are many, many CDL-A driver postions that are locale to all main hubs of transpertation. Another words, drive all day and be home at night, in your own bed!

I work for SOUTH EASTERN FREIGHT LINES,work Monday-friday at 20.00$ an hour,9 to 11 hours a day. Find a locale carrier, union is tops, YELLOW ,CRX, OVERNITE, WHICH BY THE WAY WAS JUST BOUGHT BY UPS!!!24.63$ AND HOUR TOP RATE.

Working by the load or by the mile's is not only selfdefeating, but dangeruos to you and the public!!! REMEMBER THIS: ALL THESE TRUCKING COMPANIES THAT ARE SENDING YOU TO THEIR TRAINING SCHOOLS ARE DOING SO BECAUSE THEY NEED YOU!!!!!

I cannot emphasize that enough!!! You, with your CDL-A licence, are a much sought after commodity, that they need to exsist.

Without your CDL-A licence, these companies CANNOT EXSIST!!! They NEED your CDL-A licence, you don't need them!!! There is way to much demand for CDL-A drivers to accept a certain companies, benifits and compansation package if it is not what YOU WANT!!!

Your CDL-A is in big demand, charge them for your service's, don't let them dictate to you how much they will pay you for your servise!!!!!!!

Realize this,-there is so much freight out there that needs to be transported to the consumer, the freight hauling/transportation industry MUST turn away buisiness/proffits because they do not have the manpower(CDL-A)drivers to deliver it!!! This is why they are willing to train and give you a CDL-A licence, as long as you work for them for a given amount of time.

The more your servicese are needed, the more you are compansated for. You dictate to the company, the compansistion needed to transport the freight, not let the company dictate to you the compansation given.

All CDL-A drivers are a scarce commodity that trucking companies will do anything to harness your servises! Don't accept chicken feed for a 1st course surf and turf dinner!!!!

Paul seems to know what he is talking about. The information he gave you is very specific concerning the O.T.R. sector of trucking. I can give you an addtional lead concerning trucking-local driver! No one said that you have to go O. T. R.

once you get your CDL-A. I got my CDL-A thru CRST and the moment they stamped passed on my CDL-A permit, giving me my CDL-A licence, I had no intention of driving over the road for a living, let alone with a person that the company felt was right for me.

All CRST wanted to do was fill their vacant truck seats with a body, and for 27 cents a mile!! I laughed at the instructor of the 3rd party testing school hired by CRST to train and accredit with a CDL-A licence any all persons who completed the course.

With the industrie's 99.6% annual turnover rate, if you sat in an uprite postion, and could hit every other gear, ensuring forward momentum, you were passed and received a CDL-A licence.

My friend, there are many, many CDL-A driver postions that are locale to all main hubs of transpertation. Another words, drive all day and be home at night, in your own bed!

I work for SOUTH EASTERN FREIGHT LINES,work Monday-friday at 20.00$ an hour,9 to 11 hours a day. Find a locale carrier, union is tops, YELLOW ,CRX, OVERNITE, WHICH BY THE WAY WAS JUST BOUGHT BY UPS!!!24.63$ AND HOUR TOP RATE.

Working by the load or by the mile's is not only selfdefeating, but dangeruos to you and the public!!! REMEMBER THIS: ALL THESE TRUCKING COMPANIES THAT ARE SENDING YOU TO THEIR TRAINING SCHOOLS ARE DOING SO BECAUSE THEY NEED YOU!!!!!

I cannot emphasize that enough!!! You, with your CDL-A licence, are a much sought after commodity, that they need to exsist.

Without your CDL-A licence, these companies CANNOT EXSIST!!! They NEED your CDL-A licence, you don't need them!!! There is way to much demand for CDL-A drivers to accept a certain companies, benifits and compansation package if it is not what YOU WANT!!!

Your CDL-A is in big demand, charge them for your service's, don't let them dictate to you how much they will pay you for your servise!!!!!!!

Realize this,-there is so much freight out there that needs to be transported to the consumer, the freight hauling/transportation industry MUST turn away buisiness/proffits because they do not have the manpower(CDL-A)drivers to deliver it!!! This is why they are willing to train and give you a CDL-A licence, as long as you work for them for a given amount of time.

The more your servicese are needed, the more you are compansated for. You dictate to the company, the compansistion needed to transport the freight, not let the company dictate to you the compansation given.

All CDL-A drivers are a scarce commodity that trucking companies will do anything to harness your servises! Don't accept chicken feed for a 1st course surf and turf dinner!!!!

Paul seems to know what he is talking about. The information he gave you is very specific concerning the O.T.R. sector of trucking. I can give you an addtional lead concerning trucking-local driver! No one said that you have to go O. T. R.

once you get your CDL-A. I got my CDL-A thru CRST and the moment they stamped passed on my CDL-A permit, giving me my CDL-A licence, I had no intention of driving over the road for a living, let alone with a person that the company felt was right for me.

All CRST wanted to do was fill their vacant truck seats with a body, and for 27 cents a mile!! I laughed at the instructor of the 3rd party testing school hired by CRST to train and accredit with a CDL-A licence any all persons who completed the course.

With the industrie's 99.6% annual turnover rate, if you sat in an uprite postion, and could hit every other gear, ensuring forward momentum, you were passed and received a CDL-A licence.

My friend, there are many, many CDL-A driver postions that are locale to all main hubs of transpertation. Another words, drive all day and be home at night, in your own bed!

I work for SOUTH EASTERN FREIGHT LINES,work Monday-friday at 20.00$ an hour,9 to 11 hours a day. Find a locale carrier, union is tops, YELLOW ,CRX, OVERNITE, WHICH BY THE WAY WAS JUST BOUGHT BY UPS!!!24.63$ AND HOUR TOP RATE.

Working by the load or by the mile's is not only selfdefeating, but dangeruos to you and the public!!! REMEMBER THIS: ALL THESE TRUCKING COMPANIES THAT ARE SENDING YOU TO THEIR TRAINING SCHOOLS ARE DOING SO BECAUSE THEY NEED YOU!!!!!

I cannot emphasize that enough!!! You, with your CDL-A licence, are a much sought after commodity, that they need to exsist.

Without your CDL-A licence, these companies CANNOT EXSIST!!! They NEED your CDL-A licence, you don't need them!!! There is way to much demand for CDL-A drivers to accept a certain companies, benifits and compansation package if it is not what YOU WANT!!!

Your CDL-A is in big demand, charge them for your service's, don't let them dictate to you how much they will pay you for your servise!!!!!!!

Realize this,-there is so much freight out there that needs to be transported to the consumer, the freight hauling/transportation industry MUST turn away buisiness/proffits because they do not have the manpower(CDL-A)drivers to deliver it!!! This is why they are willing to train and give you a CDL-A licence, as long as you work for them for a given amount of time.

The more your servicese are needed, the more you are compansated for. You dictate to the company, the compansistion needed to transport the freight, not let the company dictate to you the compansation given.

All CDL-A drivers are a scarce commodity that trucking companies will do anything to harness your servises! Don't accept chicken feed for a 1st course surf and turf dinner!!!!

Paul seems to know what he is talking about. The information he gave you is very specific concerning the O.T.R. sector of trucking. I can give you an addtional lead concerning trucking-local driver! No one said that you have to go O. T. R.

once you get your CDL-A. I got my CDL-A thru CRST and the moment they stamped passed on my CDL-A permit, giving me my CDL-A licence, I had no intention of driving over the road for a living, let alone with a person that the company felt was right for me.

All CRST wanted to do was fill their vacant truck seats with a body, and for 27 cents a mile!! I laughed at the instructor of the 3rd party testing school hired by CRST to train and accredit with a CDL-A licence any all persons who completed the course.

With the industrie's 99.6% annual turnover rate, if you sat in an uprite postion, and could hit every other gear, ensuring forward momentum, you were passed and received a CDL-A licence.

My friend, there are many, many CDL-A driver postions that are locale to all main hubs of transpertation. Another words, drive all day and be home at night, in your own bed!

I work for SOUTH EASTERN FREIGHT LINES,work Monday-friday at 20.00$ an hour,9 to 11 hours a day. Find a locale carrier, union is tops, YELLOW ,CRX, OVERNITE, WHICH BY THE WAY WAS JUST BOUGHT BY UPS!!!24.63$ AND HOUR TOP RATE.

Working by the load or by the mile's is not only selfdefeating, but dangeruos to you and the public!!! REMEMBER THIS: ALL THESE TRUCKING COMPANIES THAT ARE SENDING YOU TO THEIR TRAINING SCHOOLS ARE DOING SO BECAUSE THEY NEED YOU!!!!!

I cannot emphasize that enough!!! You, with your CDL-A licence, are a much sought after commodity, that they need to exsist.

Without your CDL-A licence, these companies CANNOT EXSIST!!! They NEED your CDL-A licence, you don't need them!!! There is way to much demand for CDL-A drivers to accept a certain companies, benifits and compansation package if it is not what YOU WANT!!!

Your CDL-A is in big demand, charge them for your service's, don't let them dictate to you how much they will pay you for your servise!!!!!!!

Realize this,-there is so much freight out there that needs to be transported to the consumer, the freight hauling/transportation industry MUST turn away buisiness/proffits because they do not have the manpower(CDL-A)drivers to deliver it!!! This is why they are willing to train and give you a CDL-A licence, as long as you work for them for a given amount of time.

The more your servicese are needed, the more you are compansated for. You dictate to the company, the compansistion needed to transport the freight, not let the company dictate to you the compansation given.

All CDL-A drivers are a scarce commodity that trucking companies will do anything to harness your servises! Don't accept chicken feed for a 1st course surf and turf dinner!!!!

Paul ruined his credibility when he said that he worked for Swift and CRST. He's right, if you're stupid enough to fall for their selling points as he was, you will hate your job. Their are plenty of reputable companies out there that will train you the correct way and not run you 24 hours a day. It's drivers like Paul that give the trucking industry a bad name. Anyone that believes what Swift or CRST tells you, must be a dumb s**t.

As you can see, "Big Rigger" Paul, has way too much time on his hands. (Look at all of his rebuttals.) I would be willing to bet that he's still living with his Mommy and Daddy in their trailer. You can imagine the type of people that they are to raise such a dumb s**t. They must be also. I wonder if they have any teeth?

Stick with it Tim. There's plenty of good driving jobs out there. If you were trained by the companies such as Paul was, no...you won't get a good job and you'll think that they all suck. He's obviously is not a good driver. If he has as much experience as he claims, and couldn't find a decent job, he must be a dumb s**t.

I would willing to bet, that the dumb s**t works in a grocery warehouse for $9.00/hr. Paul get a life and go back to looking at your porno sites...you dumb s**t pervert.

I love guys like you, Tim. You need to learn the hard way.

So, go for it!

You claim to be a newbie. You say that you're looking for a company to hire on with.

I'll save you some time. I'll show you how you can get started.

First, go down to the bureau of motor vehicles. Pay a few bucks and get a printout of your motor vehicle record.

Here are the qualifications. This is CR England's requirements. Others are similar.

-You must be at least 21 years of age.
-You must currently reside in the United States, and be eligible for employment in the United States.
-You must have had a valid car driver's license for the past 3 years.
-You must be able to read and speak the English language.
-You must be physically able to perform the job and pass a Department of Transportation physical.
-We are a drug and alcohol free company, and we require a drug test before you are hired and we randomly test all of our drivers. If you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse, or have recently used drugs, please do not apply.
-We have one of the best safety records in the industry so if you have had a serious accident that was your fault, have been cited for reckless driving, or had a DUI (Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol) in the last five years you are not eligible for employment.
-If you have more than 3 moving violations in the past 2 years you are not currently eligible for employment.
-Any felony convictions must be at least 10 years old.

Do you meet them, Tim?

Good, let's get started. Go to google and search for truck driving job. The top listing is classadrivers. Click on it. On the page, click on driver training. There are 23 companies listed.

Out of those 23, I worked for 4 of them.

England runs reefers. They train. You'll make money if you're willing to work at it.

CRST runs dry vans. It's team only. They'll match you up with another driver. The truck runs 23 hours a day. He drives. You sleep. Then, you switch. They run a lot of top-dollar freight. They have a lot of time-sensative freight. Your truck will be an International with a super 10. Gold paint. Most of them are decent. When I was there, I ran mostly USF loads and Bax global air freight. You'll learn what that is if you work there.

Out of the 23, I'd recommend KLLM out of Jackson, Mississippi. Reefer trailers. They have the Fresh Express salad account. Every week, you can expect at least one load of fresh express. They have a lot of top accounts. Kraft is a big one. You'll need a haz-mat endorsement because the company hauls haz-mat that needs to be temperature controlled.

I was at Swift, too. I'd skip them.

There's a lot of top companies in that list of 23.

Arrow runs flatbed. You tie and tarp the load sometimes. You haul lumber. Sometimes, steel coils.

USA Truck is another top company. Never worked there. But, they have lots of trucks.

Out of those 23 companies, you should find one that will hire and train you. Call them all and talk to the recruiters. Pick the one that offers the best deal.

A week later, you'll be on a bus to their company. You'll get your permit and start driving. Two weeks later, you'll be in a truck with an experienced driver and hauling freight.

After 6 weeks with the experienced driver, you're on your own. The trainer leaves. Now, it's just you and the truck.

Now, the fun starts. This is the part I love. Because, you came here and called me a liar. Now, you're gonna get to see just how real I was!

Hope you can handle it!

Don't fall asleep if you have to stay up and drive all night. Make sure your axle weight is right. The DOT don't care if you're new or not. You'll pay a fine like everybody else.

Trust me, you'll find out exactly what I was talking about.

There's always a load that tells you to pick it up at noon. When you get there, you have to wait, because it's not ready. By the time they get you loaded, it's after 5 in the evening. The load has to go 550 miles away. And, it needs to be there at 7 AM in the morning.

You have been awake most of the day. Now, they expect you to run all night. That's all part of the job.

Sure, in the beginning it seems like fun. You get to play with the big, expensive truck. You drive it. You park it. It's like you own it.

But, after a while the fatigue will catch up with you. You get tired of being filthy dirty and dead tired all the time. You get tired of all the toll booths and all the DOT scales. You get tired of the traffic in the cities. And, you get tired of living in the back of a truck.

But, you need to learn all that for yourself. So, there you go champ. Call em up! Don't waste any more time calling me a liar.

Get behind the wheel and see for yourself!

i think newbies like myself should read between the lines about trucking companies very carefully. I have been researching bad companies for 3 months now finding out who is good, bad, or ok. but a guy like this paul character if people read all the reports on trucking companies paul from anihiem calif. has worked for every major company in 2 years and has hardley ever ran leagal. also from a swift rip off report he said this "Try switching to a reefer carrier. Pick Kllm, if they'll hire you. I worked there" he also criticized a newbie that was fired from schnider "Cornell, I'd forget about a trucking job.

It takes a certain level of skill to drive trucks. Pro drivers make the job look easy, but that's only because they have been doing it so long.

There are lots of ways to get hurt bad if the truck gets away from you. The thing can roll over. It can jack-knife. The brakes can fade on a long downgrade. Or you can simply get a high-hook and the trailer comes forward as you stop.

When you do get hurt, it's almost always bad. Crushed. Smashed. Pinned in a wreck. Fuel fire.

Obviously, you have a problem with turns. You don't understand how to make them properly.

If you have two accidents in a short time, it looks like it's just a matter of time before you hurt yourself. Or worse, an innocent family on the road with you.

Trucking is no picnic. You aren't missing anything good. Walk away and laugh at Schneider. They'll figure out that they won't be getting their $4,000 back.

Keep your CDL. Maybe you could try those little trucks. Box vans. Do a local delivery job. Or a route sales gig. But stay out of the Freightliner cabs!" now this is how he quit of was fired from us xpress you choose. this is story no. 1 "My last week there, they told me to do a team load, LA to Dallas in 26 hours. I drove it. I did 1400 miles before. This was nothing new. A week later, the safety dept found out that a solo was running a team load. I didn't ask for the load. I really didn't want it either. But, I ran it because they asked me to. They turned around and suspended me."
This is his other story even better heres No.2 "Here's my deal. Runnin' solo. Just coming back from home time. Home terminal is Ontario, Ca. I did a few locals. Then, dispatch sends me team load. LA to Dallas. It's 1400 miles. Delivers in 26 hours. It's a team load. Dispatch says that I'm the only truck in LA to run this.

So, I say sure, no problem. I did 1400 before. I pick up and run it. I'm an hour early. Zero problems with this run.

Three days later I did Clorox load. Not the bleach. Those d**n wipes they have out now. Damaged case. Three, I think. They note it on the bills and I leave.

I'm so busy that I don't have time to call in until 2 or 3 days later.

Finally, I get a spare hour. I call claims. Tell them about Clorox damage claim.

They ask, why are you calling now? This happened 3 days ago. Why didn't you call in then?

I say busy as hell. First, I had this team load. Then, driving all night to get to a swap from a broken down tractor. They had the trailer way back in a field at the edge of Kansas. Then, hot load that had to be there.

Bottom line, I say, is that I've been so busy I didn't even have time to piss, much less call in this claim. This is the first chance I had to stop and get my papers together.

This was the wrong thing to say. The claims guy goes: team load, why were you on a team load?

I say f**k if I know. They sent it. I ran it.

Twenty minutes later, I'm out in my truck. I'm under a Rubbermaid load. Heading to Arizona.

I get a message to bring my truck in for "service". I know it's bullshit, because I just did service.

No problem. They want their s**t back? They can have it. I run right down to the OKC terminal. It's I/40 exit 140, if I remember correctly. I get to 137 and get off. Go up to dump motel. Drop trailer. Pay for 1 night. Back up Century. Unload all my s**t. Hook back to trailer. Run 3 miles into yard. Drop trailer. Park tractor. Bills into office. Keys, too. Adios, motherf**kers!

Ride from driver back to motel. Took U-haul back to Ontario terminal. My car is still there. Transferred my trash. Went home, laughing all the way.

Once I'm home, I call Idiot Xpress. They say I'm suspended for accepting a team load. I'm laughing at these fools on the phone. So stupid." Just to let you all know another us xpress driver said there is no terminal in ontario.

I really like your story paul but people like you and your lies make it so hard for people to belive any thing thats written on the net. so to al you newbies do your research carefully as i am doing and dont get burned because of lazy pissed of people who maybe have never even seen the inside of a truck.

I never worked at Covenant. Whenever I called, the recruiters always fooled around. Idiots! Other companies will grab the drivers up as fast as they can get them. So, I always managed to pass Covenant by.

But, from what I saw in the industry, you're probably right on the money.

These trucking fleets treat the drivers so bad that most of them quit. The job itself is hard enough. Then, on top of it, to have your own company pulling against you? That's more than people will take.

The thing that gets me is the stupid fleets are always complaining about never having enough good drivers. Dumbasses! If they treated the people half way decent, they wouldn't always be quitting.

Trucking company executives aren't that smart. They never understand that.

Plus, now the safety groups are getting ready to force on-board recorders on the industry. This is because the fleets just refuse to run legal. They keep pushing the drivers until some of them fall asleep at the wheel and get killed.

Again, the industry did this to themselves. If they would run like the rules say, they wouldn't have to worry about installing on-board monitors.

What can you say about an industry that shoots itself in the a*s, and then bawls about it? Clearly, the people who run these trucking companies aren't the brightest stars in the sky.

The reason that trucking jobs are so bad is that deregulation forced the companies to compete for business. So, they all started bidding the rates lower and lower until there was no more profit left in the industry.

That's how they got where they are today.

One-truck owner-operators do the same thing. They take hauls that barely cover the price of the fuel and expenses. They do that because the truck payment is due.

The problem is that when they need a clutch or 8 drive re-caps, there is no money for them. First major expense, and you're out of business. That's what happens when you run for break even money. You pay the fuel and your food. But, there's nothing left to maintain the truck.

I even tried a small fleet before I quit. A 70-truck reefer company. They couldn't afford maintenance. Plus, they expected you to do 1000 miles a day on certain produce loads.

So, the majority of the jobs simply aren't worth doing. The people who stay are willing to work hard for little money. I'm glad they continue driving. Without trucks, nobody eats or drives. So, clearly, there is a need for the service.

But, I just don't want to end up being the one stuck behind the wheel.

I have been with Covenant for almost 4 years. True,when I first hired on their criteria for making a driver a trainer was "6 months with the company", whether coming in with experience or straight out of school. But, in recent years that has changed. I don't know what the criteria is now, because I don't want to be a trainer. I value my life more than that. A student behind the wheel with me in the bunk is not something I want to even imagine.

I would really like to know just how much experience that "driver" has?? He says, "...more miles asleep..." That's a scarey prospect to think about. I'd be willing to bet my next month's pay that I have more miles in the Flying J buffet line than he does on the road.
if all you can do is complain while you are with a company, then lie about the company after they fire you for your unprofessional attitude, you'll never make it in any job description.
It's always been my motto, no matter who I work for, or what kind of job it is, (as they say in the cowboy movies), "Ride for the brand!" Meaning, don't talk the company down. If you can't say something positive, keep your face shut.

Because, as you may (or may not) have heard, all things come back to you. if you put out only negative, guess what you get back???

I have been with Covenant for almost 4 years. True,when I first hired on their criteria for making a driver a trainer was "6 months with the company", whether coming in with experience or straight out of school. But, in recent years that has changed. I don't know what the criteria is now, because I don't want to be a trainer. I value my life more than that. A student behind the wheel with me in the bunk is not something I want to even imagine.

I would really like to know just how much experience that "driver" has?? He says, "...more miles asleep..." That's a scarey prospect to think about. I'd be willing to bet my next month's pay that I have more miles in the Flying J buffet line than he does on the road.
if all you can do is complain while you are with a company, then lie about the company after they fire you for your unprofessional attitude, you'll never make it in any job description.
It's always been my motto, no matter who I work for, or what kind of job it is, (as they say in the cowboy movies), "Ride for the brand!" Meaning, don't talk the company down. If you can't say something positive, keep your face shut.

Because, as you may (or may not) have heard, all things come back to you. if you put out only negative, guess what you get back???

I have been with Covenant for almost 4 years. True,when I first hired on their criteria for making a driver a trainer was "6 months with the company", whether coming in with experience or straight out of school. But, in recent years that has changed. I don't know what the criteria is now, because I don't want to be a trainer. I value my life more than that. A student behind the wheel with me in the bunk is not something I want to even imagine.

I would really like to know just how much experience that "driver" has?? He says, "...more miles asleep..." That's a scarey prospect to think about. I'd be willing to bet my next month's pay that I have more miles in the Flying J buffet line than he does on the road.
if all you can do is complain while you are with a company, then lie about the company after they fire you for your unprofessional attitude, you'll never make it in any job description.
It's always been my motto, no matter who I work for, or what kind of job it is, (as they say in the cowboy movies), "Ride for the brand!" Meaning, don't talk the company down. If you can't say something positive, keep your face shut.

Because, as you may (or may not) have heard, all things come back to you. if you put out only negative, guess what you get back???

I have been with Covenant for almost 4 years. True,when I first hired on their criteria for making a driver a trainer was "6 months with the company", whether coming in with experience or straight out of school. But, in recent years that has changed. I don't know what the criteria is now, because I don't want to be a trainer. I value my life more than that. A student behind the wheel with me in the bunk is not something I want to even imagine.

I would really like to know just how much experience that "driver" has?? He says, "...more miles asleep..." That's a scarey prospect to think about. I'd be willing to bet my next month's pay that I have more miles in the Flying J buffet line than he does on the road.
if all you can do is complain while you are with a company, then lie about the company after they fire you for your unprofessional attitude, you'll never make it in any job description.
It's always been my motto, no matter who I work for, or what kind of job it is, (as they say in the cowboy movies), "Ride for the brand!" Meaning, don't talk the company down. If you can't say something positive, keep your face shut.

Because, as you may (or may not) have heard, all things come back to you. if you put out only negative, guess what you get back???