Any questions from prospects or lookers from real Watkins and Shepard drivers?

It would be really great if some of the teams (I'm thinking 2 person teams) would jump in with some comments. Or maybe there is a W/S team thread going that I haven't found yet? I admit I have not been looking on the Trucker's Report forum for a few months but my husband and I are still very interested in learning more form the team perspective. BTW, I know of hobotruckers and their blog...I am about to go there and check out what's new since Novemeber!

In the meantime, I do have a couple of general questions:
Are pets still welcome? If so, when can you bring them on board with you once you are hired? Our cat is long time part of our family so has to come with wherever we land.

Thanks a bunch everybody, I love all the info and advice i am seeing!

 

this is directly from the e-mail Sandy sent me

E. Pet Policy
Watkins and Shepard Trucking does have a pet policy in effect allowing drivers to carry pets with them in Company owned trucks. A driving school graduate must have completed the 90-day probationary period prior to being eligible and must get prior approval and written authorization from the Driver Safety Department in Missoula. A $500 damage and cleaning deposit must be paid prior to approval being granted. Other requirements and restrictions apply.

 

WannaOTR: Joe and I are /going/ to be team driving, but I'm still in school (two weeks to go). I can answer any questions that I've already had answered, but I think we might be the only W/S team currently on this forum. (I could be wrong)

Gonna go flip back through and see if there were any questions about teams I might know.

 

What does anyone suggest for GPS? I don't like the windshield mounted units. I have a laptop that I think will work just fine for it. So what does anyone think? Is this something I should worry about after I get on the road? My plan right now is to use the free services along with my Motor Carrier Atlas and QualComm unit.

 

I used a combination of tools...Motor Carrier's Atlas, my (windshield mounted) Cobra 7700 Pro GPS, and when I got near the pickup/delivery, my laptop with Google maps to check the approaches I would need to use, driveways, direction to come in from, etc...it all worked for me, but YMMV of course

 

I have the Rand McNally TND 700, best money ive ever spent! You can buy all kinds of aftermarket GPS mounts for any GPS so you can put it where ever you want...

Trust me GPS is worth 1000000 times its weight in gold!, Its not nessisary but it sure does make this job a whole lot easyer...


American Trucker

 

this is the way to do it. dont cheap out or be lame, once you get it down you will almost never get lost. those googles are awesome and will save you a lot of stupid hassle finding places. and address is one thing, but how many times will the gps takes you to the truck entrance? not always...it can be on a whole other street, and not always easy to spot without getting in a mess first.

overkill! i love it.

 

I'm looking real hard at W&S for multiple reasons. First and foremost, the opinions expressed by drivers on these forums are overwhelmingly positive. You guys don't get paid for every positive do you? Secondly, I like the 10 day orientation / trial by fire. I think one is more likely to pay attention if you know the training wheels are coming off right out of the gate. Not 30 thousand miles down the road with your trainer. This makes for a good challenge and I love that. And finally, the Conover terminal is only about 5 miles from my house.
Do you guys get a chance to run out west if you are out of the Conover terminal? How many days / weeks do you normally stay out?

 

At this stage, you are just too dam cute!!!