Werner Walmart dedicated or A.B. dedicated? Need Input

I ran the Anheuser route for a while before I left Werner (Also did the Dollar General Dedicated). And I can tell you that the place is terrible. Some of the most awkward pickup/delivery times. The loads are also frequently overweight or require reworking (They're bad about making trailers so tail-heavy you can't get them right without putting the tandems all the way to the rear of the trailer). Getting a trailer reworked can take multiple hours. The loads themselves aren't terrible to haul except for the barrels, or kegs. Those shift easily and aren't restrained in any way. In addition to that the line into the place is generally ridiculous.

I hauled Walmart Dedicated for a few months for a different company, dunno how Werner gets treated but: When I was doing it we had iron clad pickup/delivery times. I never actually hauled to a Walmart store, I would go to some place and pick up a loaded trailer (Water, Pet Food, Toys etc) then take it to a distribution center.

I had to pay to have the Trailer Unloaded if it wasn't a drop and hook (usually about 40/60 in favor of dropping). Getting unloaded at Walmart took a ghastly amount of time. The facilities themselves were usually not so bad, wide open lots of room to drop. Friendly people (unless you were on the dock) and clean restrooms at all the ones I went to. In addition the process is smooth, though slow.

If you are getting payed per mile on them I'd be wary, because I only averaged around 2k miles a week while doing the A.B loads, though I got payed per trailer to. And the Walmart account I did get 2,500+ doing but it was absolutely devastating on my sleep schedule (I got used to sleeping 3-4 hours at a time so I'd be tired enough to go take a nap when I got to the next part of the load.)

 

I'd rather do the Walmart dedicated. Good chance of a drop and hook or a priority live load/unload.

At AB you'll be able to drop and hook but you run into the problems described above regularly.

 

I'm not sure how Werner's dedicated account works, but I work one for a Walmart with Prime. We run out of one of their grocery DC's and deliver to stores. Dryvans and reefers. Runs are anywhere from 150-550 miles roundtrip. Average 2-3 stops. We have dockout times that we need to get the load out of the DC gate by, and store-wide drop-dead times to deliver by. Freight is all no-touch - the store associates unload it. Once we've unloaded, send an empty call and look for a place to take our 10. Some drivers head back to the DC and sleep there. I park at the Wal-marts after my trailer is empty and head back the next day. Sometimes I'll take two loads if my 14 allows it and there are some available. Very easy work, consistent miles. Don't make as much as I could OTR, but it's more than enough for me to live comfortably. Occasionally we'll get a backhaul from a warehouse like Tyson or Gatorade. Treat those like any other grocery warehouse.

I stay in the Midwest. Only run a few states. Keeps me close to home, and I usually am able to get by the house every couple of weeks. Predictable freight schedules also makes taking hometime much easier.

Again, I don't know if Werner does it differently. This is my experience running Walmart dedicated with Prime. I would talk to your recruiter/dispatcher and ask them for the specifics. Best of luck whatever you choose.

 

Go with Walmart. Doing beer is a pain. We had a few of them and it wasn't ever simple.

 

I've done AB out of St. Louis, MO and Williamsburg, VA. They love to overload your trailers and you MUST have two loadlocks or straps on the truck at all times. Kind of hard to do when it's a drop n hook at the other end. Something to consider. I'd go with Wal-Mart if I were u!