Question:
Subject to passing DOT physical and drug screen as well as clear MVR I have a position with Schneider. I would start 6/14 in Dallas for training. I also have talked to CRST and although I don't have a formal app with them the recruiter has said he wants me to work for them and "knows I have the brains and communication skills" to make a good driver for someone. I don't doubt that part and believe the mechanics of driving etc. are not beyond my capabilities either.
One big difference is Schneider is solo and CRST is all team driving. I can see advantages to both as well as disadvantages. I'd appreciate any and all comments on solo vs team as well as specifics on the companies. Thanks to all who can and will reply.

Answer:
It takes a very special type of person to be able to run teams. Essentially what you are doing is living and working with someone in a space the size of a walk in closet. If the company you are working for has its act together you will have very little time to stop, maybe once a day for an hour or two so you can eat a hot meal and grab a fast shower, other than that you are either on the road or at the dock. You will need to be able to sleep in a rolling vehicle and you will also need to be the type who can trust someone enough to place your life and well being in their hands for roughly 11 hours a day.
Answer:

"SPECIAL"being "nuts". You will get your experience in
"teaming"while training at any Carrier you go with. IMO the claimed
extra earnings is not worth the sacrifice of "teaming".
Answer:
I Totally Agree with, Rabelam & uturn, on this one.
You'll get More than your share of "TEAMING" when you do your TRAINING at Any carrier.(since you have to go out with a trainer for 4-8 wks depending on the carrier, you will then see if Teaming is for you or not)

Answer:
From what I've been able to pick up out here, the pumkin is at least a legit company with an adaquate training program and will give yyou a real job eventually. CRST I've been led to believe will try to sell u a truck. Very bad idea for newbie imho. Good luck

Answer:
Stay away from Crst. I learned the hard way.

Answer:
LDB, if you haven't already, mosey on over to Pumpkindriver.com. While it is mainly a SNI driver's site, plenty of former- and non-SNI drivers post there as well. Also, there are a couple of good driver's journals out there. Try Rafting Bear's Truckin' Journal and Falcon's Travels. They will give you a couple of different views of life on the road from a Schneider driver's viewpoint. Good luck on your decision.

Answer:
I've been reading both of those actually. Rafting Bear paints a fairly discouraging picture while Falcon doesn't really give any picture of Schneider but a very good picture of being on the road. I haven't been able to go completely through Falcon's writings yet, and only read about 1/3 of RB by reading every 3rd or 4th entry. I got enough from RB to know his Schneider experience was a bad one.
I've decided to go to a PTDI sanctioned course at Houston Community College and then find a carrier to work with. I know there are several who hire grads of PTDI programs and will reimburse tuition over time. My plan is to go that route and when I've been there long enough to be fully reimbursed then to consider buying a truck of my own.
By the time I get that far I'll have enough experience to know if it's what I want to do and if it's a good plan. I will have enough money to purchase a tractor outright if I choose to. If I go that way and don't have a payment to worry about I believe I could make some pretty good money. I'd set aside about 1/3 of the amount of a payment every month so that when it came time to trade in for a new truck I'd have enough money plus trade in value to cover most if not all of the next truck.
Then again, by the time I get fully reimbursed for my tuition I may know I don't want to continue driving. Either way I'll have seen a lot of this beautiful country I wouldn't get to otherwise. Maybe I'll even make my own online diary as I go along.

Answer:

You must be thinking of Prime or England. You have to be with CRST at least 1 year in order to get on the list to buy a truck.
Again, the stuff I read on here about most of the companies originates from malcontents.

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or Newbies like yourself that have no experience with "stuff".
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If you read RAFTING BEARS journal along with the posts on PUMPKIN DRIVER you will notice that when he started getting questioned on things by other posters ( his out of routes to the HOT SPRINGS ) he suddenly was FRAMED by SNI ( his words ) and he QUIT?
Sounded kinda bogus.
SNI will give you a good taste of trucking and if you put in your 1 year you get the free training and then can move on.

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Newbie? Hardly...At the ripe old age I have achieved and experiences enjoyed I no longer qualify for that noble entitlement.

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i had to laugh when i read the comments pertaining to the team driving. i tried it once.......for a month.........i was just out of training and this "driver", who by his own admission forgot more about truck driving than i will ever learn, couldn't read a map, and couldn't drive on the interstate, on flat pavement, without the jakes on. so imagine my problem trying to sleep while he was speeding up and slowing down all the way thru construction on I40. by the time we went from connecticut to oklahoma city i hated him, the truck, the trucking business, and all things associated with trucking. then we got stuck in oklahoma city at the petro for 3 1/2 days. i will NEVER team again....lol.....just my thoughts on the subject.

Answer:
Just on the sole basis that their equiptment is much nicer.
Yeah I know people will say it's stupid... but I'm not talking about a bigger flashier truck... Go to a truckstop and look at the different company trucks and talk to the drivers in person... Of all the CRST trucks and Schneider trucks I've seen, the Pumpkins are much cleaner and seem to be better serviced than the CRST trucks. Safety is a big issue, I'm sure that if a DOT Bear sees 1000's of trucks a week he has an idea which trucks are better maintained and will in return let those trucks slide more often.