Watkins shepard

Hey all!!! I just wanted to let you know how it was going for Anthony and me. We haven't had any slow down on runs as of yet. We are finally getting our schedule to work for us and we are starting to sleep pretty good. We purchased one of those memory foam matress covers from Costco, $119 and worth every penny..and then we started blowing inverters.. well we found the problem last night... the cord runs up and through the floorboard under the bed... well as Anthony was installing the new one.. he grabbed the wires and low and behold.. sparks and noise..... all the vibration had cut throught the rubber gomlet (?) and wire covering and almost all the way thru the wire itself.. watch for this everyone.. dont want anyone getting hurt out there.. besides that.. things are going pretty good.. But in repsonse to slow loads.. or waiting for a load. I am sure the intire industry is feeling the squeeze. Fuel prices are outrageous. One thing to keep in mind is .. where else can you start a brand new career and make the same if not more than you were making before at a job you had been at for years. This is a good career and just hang in there, america needs you!

Alright everyone.. one last thing.. and this got me the other day when we were driving and a driver had a heart attack and went into the other side of the highway and flipped his truck and trailer. He did not survive, they think he died before the actual crash. Listen.. your familiy needs you.. so please be healthy out there.. keep hydrated and eat healthy at least when you can.. if you feel sick or unusual please stop and check w/somebody. and try to park in the back of the lot and walk all the way into the fuel station.. yes this sux.. but at least you will get some exercise.. It was just extrememly sad to think about the situation and I would hate to see any of you go thru that..

Ok I will stop preachin... But all of you have a good time out there.. and It truley can be a blast..

 

Does anyone know if Watkins/Shepard will hire their 30 days students over those that come for the 10 day training from another school, if things slow down and they cut back on hiring.

 

B-Rad that is a good question, but if W/S was financing your school you would be a less expensive employee since they would be paying you $0.28 per mile for the 1st 6 months. Also they may find it hard to recover your school cost. I would think that the 10 day guys would be the ones not running but what do I know. I will be there on Easter Sunday to start my 30 days I guess we will see.

 

Maggz and Anthony,Glad to hear things are going good for guys. Im here at SFS hoping to get a load by the house. Everything is going good for me as well, running hard and making miles. No complaints here. Have a good one.

 

WingRider,

I also live in Oregon (Eugene) and would like to know what your normal delivery territory covers in regards to states driven.

Thanks,

Brad

 

If you already have your CDL the orientation is only 10 days not two weeks +...unless you are going there to get your CDL and I mis-understood.

 

I assume that whether or not you go thru the 10 or 30 day programs you are hired as long as you pass. I don't think they put you thru the program, pass you, and then decide whether or not to hire you...it's either a pass or fail thing I believe.

 

Maggz and Anthony, glad to hear it's going well for you guys...and Wing!

I started out with a ton of miles and slowed down to a crawl my last two times out. Not due to lack of freight, but just getting really crappy loads, which is somewhat the luck of the draw.
Hopefully all the LTL crap will start going back to the local drivers, I guess most of them were laid off for January and Feb. Sal and a couple others I talked to are experiencing similar problems. I talked to my dispatcher though so hopefully things will pick up this time out.

Take care and drive safe.

 

You got it right.
I just need the 10 day orientaion.
The two weeks I've needed has been between now and then to get my personal life in order before leaving for a month or two at a shot.

 

Just to give you a heads up, .28 a mile or .37 a mile. If you have hours, you will run.

Now fuel may eventually play a factor in our miles. But, it hasn't yet. Thankfully, we aren't suffering as much as some appear to be. Although I know things are rough.

I spoke with one of our drivers this week, plainly stated he need 10k miles a month just to pay his bills. He wanted 14k or more. And stated he was getting them.

I got 11K last month. But I try to stay close to home, as much as possible. I've got about 9k so far this month..and don't care if I get another. But, that ain't gonna happen LOL. They called today (friday) to ask when I wanted to leave Hell, I just got in about 3am friday morning.

We've got miles, How far do you want to go???

Good luck with your training...have fun.