Might be going to Werner!

Honestly, you're probably in the situation I was in until I started with werner.. hehe. I work for Werner, and well...I also did the 140 hrs training, took about 3 weeks (and we were broken down for 3 days, fan fell off the motor!). been solo for 3 weeks now and just started making big money...but you'll have to work hard for it. To make the $800 to $900 a week they probably promised you on the phone, you'll need to run 3000+ miles a week....100% totally legally Multiple stop palletized loads and canadian loads can get you serious money here.


But...they are a starter company. Face it, why do they need to hire people with your experience? Now, if you could get on a dedicated account, it could turn out to be a great job....as soon as you get hired, you can call the recruiting line and push the button for "already a werner driver needing placement"...ask them if theres any dedicated openings in your area, they will definitely say no. tell them to put you on the waiting lists. they might call you back in a couple years. heh.

Anyway, before I got on with werner, nobody wanted me. Covenant did but theyre still a big starter company. Plus i know a few of there drivers and they have to wait on hold forever to call the company on day shift. You only get that at werner on nightshift.


Also, atleast if you live in a small town, look in your yellow pages under categories like "trucking - light hauling", "trucking - heavy hauling", "trucking", "transportation". there are a lot of smaller companies that run OTR, and most of them are a lot better places to work than the big guys. but most will want a lot more experience than you have. But not all.

 

Werner is about like all of the other training companies. I'm off to their orientation tomorrow, so we'll see...

 

Theres a LOT worse companies to work for than werner. Like CRST. Im making a lot of money with werner. What you need to do here is run. run hard. run until you are out of hours and must park. If you shut down before you're out of hours, send a message telling why. I send a lot of "shutting down because running out of hours in an area without many truck stops". They understand. If youre on a super loosely scheduled load, if your dispatcher is good like mine, you'll be set up to drop the load at a yard, swap it with another driver at a truckstop, or even get the appointment bumped up early. I prefer splits because I just dump it off and get the hell out. No waiting for anyone. Especially if it still leaves me with most of the miles from the load.

Paperless logs let dispatch know what you can and cannot legally do. Saves a lot of headaches.

I have a laptop now and will attempt to get an air card on monday when I get back on the road. If you guys want, you can PM me. I'll have the interwebs. I run 450-650 miles a day but i dont sleep that much so I'll be around. hehe.

 

anyone know what kind of truck theyll give experienced drivers?

 

Ron, I came in with 5 months experience and as far as I know the truck I recieved is pretty typical for new hires.

I had to relocate a daycab from Omaha to OKC where this truck had been dropped (by a daycab driver who was hired in omaha..beats me), and was dicked around all weekend before i could get the keys.

Also, remember that trucks are almost always made the year before the model year. 08s were first built in May 07...seriously.

I have a 2008 Freightliner Cascadia with a Carrier ComfortPro APU and a Detroit Diesel Series 60 515HP engine and an Eaton 9 speed top 2 (i call it "mostly manual" lol) transmission. Truck is mostly in good condition but the airhorn had fallen off, and one of the fairings is ready to fall off the side. And it was not clean and had pet hair in it. But it is a great truck and it has made me a lot of money. The APU lets me keep a 0% idle which helps my relations with my dispatcher.

If you refuse to go to canada you will be given a long nose truck. They arent allowed to cross the border for some reason.

 

so ccolvin, you have been with werner just over a month. how you liking it over there? have you gone solo otr yet? hope all goes well! keep us updated!!

 

What type of tranny is that? A manual or auto selection on the top 2 gears?

I'll bet that HP rating is what the the engine is capable of. Probably turned down to a 430HP.

Glad to read you have an APU. I hope I get one on my truck too.

Those XL Classics might be too long on wheel base to go to Canada? All the canadians I see doen here in TN look pretty long. With the Caribou/moose deflectors on them

 

What kind and how old of a truck do I expect as a new driver with Werner