Celadon Trucking Services OTR Driver Reviews

Pros

Best company to work for

Cons

Still best company to work for

Pros

Only pros I have at this point are my DM's...nice guys...professional.....

Cons

NO MILES! I repeat NO MILES! You get punished for taking home time, sit for two or three days at a time, before and after your home time. If you go through the training, in any aspect, then good luck finding a trainer to get your 10,000 miles! I sat for about a month WITHOUT pay after being hired waiting for my trainer. Few other guys waited longer. This apparently was a great company at one time. But in my opinion it's not now. Take my words how you want. If you choose this company you'll be sorry....today is the day I clean out my truck....I've been hired since March, only seen 3 paychecks ABOVE $500.00! A far cry from the 800-1200 they promise....they also pay zip code miles, so plan on getting ripped off about 10% of your miles EVERY trip!

Pros

My experience wasn't too bad. My other previous trucking job was swift so anything after working for swift was heaven! I didn't make much per mile but they kept me rolling and I usually got home on time most of the time. My driver manager was a laid back dude that kept me with pre-plans for most weekends so that's always a plus. They had pretty good equipment when I worked there most of my orientation class got new trucks. Orientation was ok pretty standard trucking orientation. They flew me from Houston to Indy I stayed in the dorms and ate the free meals provided in the mini cafeteria. Food was ... well it was free I couldn't complain to much you can order food it's a few places that delivered or you can ask the van driver to give you a ride to a nearby store.

Cons

Low pay could offer more

Pros

All in all the company is not bad. I've had a couple things that had to get sorted out with payroll but it was corrected on the next check. One particular instance was caught by someone in the office and they called me about it. As with any trucking company the miles will not always be consistent but I have managed to make decent money at this company. The equipment is kept in wonderful condition but it's up to the driver to point out the issues. The DMs are usually really helpful if you have issues but there were a few times I was ready to quit because of issues I didn't have any control over. The main terminal is very nice with an on site clinic and cafeteria. Free showers and they are pretty clean. If there is anything a driver needs to find out it is available on the driver portal or in the employee handbook. It's rare to need to ask anyone much of anything. You can find what you need

Cons

There is currently a driver scorecard in place that is really difficult to keep in good standing. Your pay can increase if you keep good scores. It's impossible in the summer time. It is also not available to trainers, which I am. I didn't attend their driving school but I have encountered many students that seem oblivious to things that I learned at the driving school I attended. I'm not sure if it was the students not paying attention or if it was not covered such as logs, HOS, and trip planning. The pay is on the low side but it is also a training company and I assume that is the reason. The bonus programs for drivers seem to be a mystery to me. The score card has something to do with one but I'm not sure about the others.

Pros

Celadon is a good starter company and even for experienced drivers. I drove for Celadon for 5 months; first trucking company in my driving career. I now have 1 year experience. If you have any experience in driving with other companies, then you should all know that they are all the same. Some worst then others. Everyone says to go with a smaller company, and you will make money. Yes you do make more money, but they expect you to do more, slave even more for them because they do not have the man power to keep up with the freight, so they ask you to do more and more. Not only expect you to do more, most run on paper logs, so they expect you to only get 3-5 hours sleep and then keep rolling. Smaller companies are struggling as well to keep ahead of the game and they are gonna work you even harder to keep ahead. From what I am seeing, Celadon buying out all these companies, it looks to me like that eventually all or a better part of drivers out there will be working for Celadon in one form or another. I drove for them in the beginning of my driving career and I do not and did not have anything bad to say about them. I ventured out on my own away from Celadon to see what else was out there, and frankly, there's nothing better. They all have there pros and cons. The grass is not greener on the other side. So for those that complain alot about the pay, the home time, the sometimes disrespect from DM's, etc. etc., then do yourself a favor and get out of the trucking industry because it is not for the weak minded or kids at that. The pay is based upon the freight that is running for that day or week. They can't control that. If the DM's are disrespectful, well think about all the drivers they have to deal with on a daily bases that give them attitudes, drivers thinking they know more then the DM's. If you want full control, get a $100,000 loan, buy an old cheap truck, buy a dry van trailer, pay around $24,000 a year in insurance; Plates another $1600, IFTA, 2290, LLC or S Corp, DOT/MC # Registration fee and and any other fees and registrations, and let's not forget having some back up capital for break down costs, "Which I Have Experienced recently". So, if you cannot afford all of this, then STOP COMPLAINING. I currently am working on going back to Celadon. They are a good company to drive for. Sometimes I wish I never left them from the beginning.

Cons

I really do not have anything bad to say about them.

Pros

They really do get you running. Haven't ran less than 3,500 miles a week so far. They have a free health clinic at their main terminal.

Cons

I have been asked to violate HOS twice so far. I am on a load now that is 27,348lbs over the BOL weight coming from Mexico and the company doesn't know what the load is. DM is extremely rude and degrading. Pay is horrible!

Pros

Miles, I was new to truck driving and always was able to drive my legal clock every day.

Cons

Pay, it would not be a surprise to find if they are actually were the lowest for company drivers in the entire industry. Overall for the hours I actually clocked for driving plus on duty I only made about $10 per hour. Specifically they started me out at .25cpm for my training month then never raised me much above that. To make that worse I clocked nearly 30K miles on their truck but was only paid for 20K of them, and I stuck to their planned fuel stops and never went home. Finally, company communication is very poor overall and not just between me and my driver manager. I often found myself lost in abbreviated Qualcomm messages and when I sent messages or made a phone call I did not get a reply, on hold too long, or even hung up on.