Swift (Dollar General dedicated) or Western Express Flatbed

So Ive been trucking locally throughout North Carolina for the four years but most of the time it is not OTR, so I dont qualify to drive for most companies who want a certain amount of OTR experience. I have two options at this point but I really want some feedback from people who have tried either of these two options and get some good feedback from those who have done these jobs with these companies.

What is the Dedicated Dollar General accounts like for Swift? Is it back breaking work?, Home time schedule? Any feedback would be awesome!

Western Express Flatbed? Better then WE van Ive heard but whats it like? Home time? Is it regional or OTR etc (can you request one or the other). Do you get miles or is it an afterthought?

 

Wellllllll . . . . just my opinion - no personal experience, but what I gather the general consensus here is -

If those are your two options, go with Swift. Family member did the WE thing, I wasnt impressed at his experience.

DG accounts - knowing the location, size of stores, recieving hours, might be better for home time but in my opinion - a lot of work for free. I'd run food service if that was your cup of tea.

Everybody has different motivations, so that's just my my cheap 2 cents worth.

 

Pick your poison. All signs point to Western Express being a crappy outfit. I've never heard a single good thing about that company. On the other hand, I've worked for Swift in the past and they're no picnic either. Only dedicated accounts I did at Swift were Walmart (in WA/OR for a year and AZ for 6 months) and Target (in AZ for a few months). At one point I was a trainer with Swift and one of my students got on a DG account. He's home every night or every other night depending on the week. He also pointed out that you shouldn't even consider DG unless (a.) you're in good shape and (b.) you're willing to unload a floor loaded van trailer every day. The folks at the stores supposedly provide the absolute minimum amount of help. Sounds like a crappy gig.

IMHO I'd look elsewhere or consider just running OTR with Swift. It's not he greatest company out there and certainly not the best paying but it's a decent place to get your foot in the door of the industry.

 

That seems to be the general consensus about both companies... I heard that WE flatbed is alot better if you get a dedicated run but I havent been able to talk to anyone who does it so I can be even remotely sure that the info I heard is good or not, but ty both for your insight...

 

Keep looking and submit applications before phone calls; ignore "OTR experience required" :

Howard Transportation-one of their terminals is in Kenly, NC
Decker Truck Line
Roehl Transport
Tribe Transport - Tri-Pac APU's
Cargo Transporters
South East Carriers
Ozark Motor Lines
Millis Transfer-excellent reputation and new terminal in NC
Epes Transport
Pride Transport
Shaffer Trucking
Cardinal Logistics
HO Wolding
Paschall Truck Lines
Watkins Shepard
A&R Transport - ad says no endorsements needed & avg $65K

I highly recommend submitting several job applications before making a decision. Some companies listed above run 48 states and some Eastern half of USA.

 

i did one dollar tree load at one store. took me just under 5 hours to unload the whole trailer there. and had a store worker help me the last hour. got paid 120.00 xtra for unloading. my back was sore for a week. dm in charged asked if i wanted to stay, replied heck no!! lol. dont know the home schedule since i knew i wasnt going to take it. if you*'re not in shape, you will be doing this job.good luck. also, its a regional gig. the acct here in so. cal covers calif,utah,neveda,and arizona

 

Many of these Dollar General stores in my area are in older strip type malls built before and not meant for 53' trailers and don't have docks. But with your LOCAL experience it may not be and issue.

 

I really do appreciate all the feedback! After looking into both of these companies ALOT more in depth, Im just gonna stay away from both!