knight trucking
- Thread starter bigrobdog
- Start date
they dont even have a phone # an till u fill out the application .the only reason i ask is because I'm thinking of going with them .for only one reason and that's because they got this position called casual driver , i would drive 6 western 14 days out 7 days off .Ive got a family and i need that time off.2 weeks 3 weeks with 2 are 3 day off don't cut it for me. I'm sick of never having time to do any thing.are trying to shove every thing u have to do in 2 day.and get enough rest to drive again.usually more tired when i leave the house.really need those extra days to enjoy trucking.
The Professor
New Member
My father worked for them for a while out of Charlotte, NC. He says they have good equipment, the dispatcher knows everyones name, and you get home pretty often. They are more personal than most companies. He also thinks they have pretty competative pay. Only left because he got a job offer from Boral Brick. Hope this helps!
--Professor--
--Professor--
greybeard
Well-Known Member
I honestly dont know much about them, but back in May when I was looking for work, their reqruter ( I cant spell for #&#@) called me on a Friday. She didnt ask any questions of me, just said for me to come to orientation on Monday. Seemed suspicious to me, so I said "some other time hun".
misterbreeze
Well-Known Member
Casual drivers at Knight usually do the local and short regional runs. Each terminal is run as a seperate small company so that if company gets sued, only that terminal is held responsible. Good for company, bad for employees. Another downfall is when you run OTR and you are in another terminals "jurisdiction", that terminals drivers tend to get the good runs and you get stuck running the leftovers. As for equipment, cant say what other drivers got but when I got my truck it was filthy and needed repairs. Cracked fenders, spot wirror wobbleing. First run my fifth wheel wouldn't latch. When I got to Indy term, it wouldn't un-latch. That was just the beggining of a four week, in the shop for 14 different repairs stretch. The only thing they were worried about was my fuel mileage. The 3 fuel guage replacements, fuel pump, alternator, EGR valve, broken left front leaf spring, and out of service bunk heater that blew exhaust into truck didn't matter. They just wanted thier 6.5mpg. even though the Volvo mechanic told me that the only way my truck was gonna get 6.5 was behind a tow truck. But that was just my experience with my home terminal.
patriciajnsn
Steering Wheel Holder
Never drove for them but I did meet a driver not too long ago that was driving for them and he calls them knightmare.
lI drive casual for knight refrigerated out of Phoenix. It's not a bad deal. You can run it how you want all you need to do is run one local every 30 days to keep active. With that being said you can run two weeks three weeks four weeks one day three days however you want to. The only bad thing about it is you have to slip seat trucks. But not a bad trade-off for good quality home time you will receive.
Chae Transport
Well-Known Member
If you are just getting started in the industry and need to get some time under your belt. They are worth the ride as long as you are able to deal with fluxiating mileage and mis-information. If you want to get a better knowledge of them, read up on Swift Transportation and you will basically be reading up on how Knight Transportation is, they are run no different then any other large outfit. The 2 gentleman that started Knight use to be Owner/Operators for Swift Transportation; henze building their empire to shadow that in which bread them to the industry
Chae Transport
Well-Known Member
I have not heard anything on Knight, But I know Jerry is trying to get out from under Swift once again
well chas tranport you're half right actually there were four knight brothers who worked in the office at swift. Then one of the brothers decided to open his own trucking company and then the other three brothers joined him. I have never worked at swift but since you know how both companies run you must have worked at swift and knight. Otherwise there is no way to know for sure. I've driven a truck for 20 years and I work at night . There is a lot of senior drivers working there. I run all the miles I want and have a very good driver manager. driven for Knight since 2005. They're not perfect but they try hard. They know you by name not a number. One good thing is they have dailypay when you're done with a trip you can go to any pilot or loves and fax your bills in by 10 AM and you're paid that day before 5 PM. I don't know any other big trucking company that has that benefit.
Chae Transport
Well-Known Member
I actually at one time was a trainer for Swift out of Phoenix and have done some work for Knight. As for right or wrong I can not tell you, but I do know for fact that 2 of those gentleman use to be owner/operators for Swift and the broke away to run for brokers a while before starting their own company. As for whom worked in the Swift office, it takes a little more knowledge then office knowledge to survive in this industry, cause if it did not then anybody could do it.
Chae Transport
Well-Known Member
I personal have not spoken ill of Knight, just passed on my thoughts for new driver to the industry. Any company that large will turn out alright, once you spend your time and pay your dues just like everybody else. As for an owners demeanor in that large of a company setting, they did not get that big by showing a lot of compassion and consideration for those that work for them
Chae Transport
Well-Known Member
Actually there are a few companies that are paying as soon as your BOL's clear, its not just Knight Transportation
no o.o just office.I know this for fact because two different drivers that started at KNIGHT from day one and Tony Knight told me so. Tony is the son of Jerry Knight one of the founders and he used to be my driver manager. So I would say the information is true. No big deal driver just getting the truth out there:usaflag:
daily pay is very nice no waiting a week or two for a paycheck. And they do not hold back a week or two of your pay. Their first trip out paid in full that day that's a nice benefit! Just out of curiosity what other large companies pay you the same day you fax your bills. This would be a good thing for all drivers to know because getting paid is half the battle you know if you get paid weekly or twice a month and you're on a trip and you miss the deadline to turn in their bills it maybe three or four weeks before you get paid. Let me know man:holdflag:
Rob..try getting a day cab job if being home means that much to you. YOu can go over the road later when the kids grow up.
I drove for Knight Transportation in 2007 for approximately 2 months. I will start from day one. I recieved my truck at the Fontana yard where I did their inspection and filled out the proper forms. I had engine oil leaks, bald tires, one of the fairings was on the verge of falling off, the high/low selector would get stuck making it difficult to get into gears. Well, fontana at the time did not have a maintenance facility so they advised I would have to get it fixed while OTR. I was dispatched on my first load to Pheonix to meet my dispacther where I had some of the problems fixed on the truck and also discovered new issues on my way such as the truck was overheating climbing grades and the jake brake wasnt working. These were the minor problems I had with the company.
I picked up a load in Idaho headed to salt lake city upon delivery I went to the Salt Lake City operating center where I checked my truck in for service for some of the issues Pheonix did not fix. They refused to pay for a hotel room, I couldn't stay in the truck cause they were putting it in the shop. I had to rent a car and luckily I had a friend who lived in Salt Lake city that allowed me to stay with him. Knight refused to reimburse me for any of my costs (I had to rent the car cause my friend had no means of transportation). 4 days later my truck was done knight then refused to pay me any break down pay. I told them I had been on the road for 3 weeks my dispatcher advised me that the time my truck was in the shop was considered my time at home. I was then dispatched to Portland, Oregon where when I delivered I sat at the operating center for 3 days where I was refused layover pay due to me expressing I wanted to go home they told me they had loads heading to Washington, but decided since I wanted to go home there were loads available and that means I do not recieve layover pay.
On another trip I had delivered in Los Angeles and then I headed to Fontana to pick up my next load in the macro it said it was supposed to take 2 hours to load my 8 hours later I was finally released it was headed to Portland, Oregon. With my hours up in 45 minutes I headed to the OC and took my ten hour restart. Heading to portland there was an accident on the 5 freeway in southern Oregon. I contacted my dispatcher and advised him between the hold up at the shipper and the accident on the freeway I would be on my 10 hour break when the load was supposed to deliver he advised me "You will make that delivery on your break or you will be service failed". Being a new driver I made the delivery never logging it.
Another issue I had I was picking up a load of dog food headed from Los Angeles to Riverside. When I recieved the bills of lading the load weighed 57,000 lbs. I contacted my dispatcher and told him it was overweight I don't even have to scale it to tell him that. He advised that I will take that load and deliver it or I would be service failed.
Well, this is my experience with Knight Transportation it only lasted 2 months and that was enough.
I picked up a load in Idaho headed to salt lake city upon delivery I went to the Salt Lake City operating center where I checked my truck in for service for some of the issues Pheonix did not fix. They refused to pay for a hotel room, I couldn't stay in the truck cause they were putting it in the shop. I had to rent a car and luckily I had a friend who lived in Salt Lake city that allowed me to stay with him. Knight refused to reimburse me for any of my costs (I had to rent the car cause my friend had no means of transportation). 4 days later my truck was done knight then refused to pay me any break down pay. I told them I had been on the road for 3 weeks my dispatcher advised me that the time my truck was in the shop was considered my time at home. I was then dispatched to Portland, Oregon where when I delivered I sat at the operating center for 3 days where I was refused layover pay due to me expressing I wanted to go home they told me they had loads heading to Washington, but decided since I wanted to go home there were loads available and that means I do not recieve layover pay.
On another trip I had delivered in Los Angeles and then I headed to Fontana to pick up my next load in the macro it said it was supposed to take 2 hours to load my 8 hours later I was finally released it was headed to Portland, Oregon. With my hours up in 45 minutes I headed to the OC and took my ten hour restart. Heading to portland there was an accident on the 5 freeway in southern Oregon. I contacted my dispatcher and advised him between the hold up at the shipper and the accident on the freeway I would be on my 10 hour break when the load was supposed to deliver he advised me "You will make that delivery on your break or you will be service failed". Being a new driver I made the delivery never logging it.
Another issue I had I was picking up a load of dog food headed from Los Angeles to Riverside. When I recieved the bills of lading the load weighed 57,000 lbs. I contacted my dispatcher and told him it was overweight I don't even have to scale it to tell him that. He advised that I will take that load and deliver it or I would be service failed.
Well, this is my experience with Knight Transportation it only lasted 2 months and that was enough.
R
Racer X 69
Guest
So, have you found a better place to drive for?
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