Western express

recruitr1 what can you tell me about the dedicated runs for target? I have been approved and I can go anyday just have to make the call if I want to !! I just need some honest thoughts .
My biggest thing is being home on the weekends I have church and family things to do ! They tell me that I could get home more being I live in Newport News which is about 20 miles from the new Target DC in suffolk, va
Also are we aloud to take trucks home I have been trying get a answer on that part !!
thanks
BigBrett

 

Ive been with western for a little over 3 yrs now, the first thing you learn with any company is dont put any faith in what a recruiter tells you. All they care about is putting you in a seat. Second use western as a stepping stone too a better job. Ive had better offers or so I thought and left western for a different company. The grass was not greener, let me tell ya. All companies have the good and the bad, you deal with it or you simply move on. I trained at western for 2 and a half years, I will tell you they have some real winners walk in the door, but I have had some that have went on too be some of the best drivers out there, and at western thats far and few between. I was going too lease a truck with another company until the economy hit the toilet. Will ride it out here for now.

 

only thing I can tell you is if you can get on a dedicated account with Western Express then you'll be good to go. My x used to haul dedicated runs all the time for 2 years and was bringing home $1,000 a week. I had fun riding with him I learned alot about driving truck and precautions you have to take especially driving into NYC. Thats a nightmare during rush hour especially on the GW. lol.

 

Hello Gang, it looks like I will be heading off to orientation next week for Western Express. Just curious ot know what all I should expect in the orientation, as well as curious of the pay. I have read some negatives about people not getting paid in some threads on here, most of them though were outdated. I will be driving flatbed for them. Do they run all 48 states, or is it another company like JB Hunt where if you live in such and such place, you run east, and the other you run west? I am just curious. I would enjoy driving all 48 instead of being concentrated in one certain area too long. I am a youngster still. Dont like it when it gets to being that I dont even need to look at an Atlas, or get directions to where I am picking up or delivering to. No offense to the "elders" of the trucking industry. Any and all input appreciated. Thank you much truckin buds!

 

Alright this answers my other post on that other thread.... Again good luck to ya.... And i do not have any info on these guys and will be quite interested in how they treat you in and out of orientation!

 

I will keep you updated, everyone who wants to know. I got a good feeling about them. Seem big enough to get the freight, but small enough to care. Personally I think I like the smaller companies better than larger ones. They do tend to treat you better. Do more to retain the drivers they have. Instead of treating you like drivers are a dime a dozen. But, we will see soon. Will keep you posted.

 

Well Cactus, and whomever else may want to know. I just found the motel online that they put you up in for orientation. Recruiter said it was by marriot, I thought she meant by as in next to, but its a marriot hotel. This link http://www.marriott.com/search/findHotels.mi will take you to the page I just saw and it has 17 pictures you can browse through. Granted I am certain I will not be in a kitchenette or whatever, but they also have a 50/50 chance on being doubled up. I dont know about you, but its hard for me to sleep with someone I dont know in the same room, watching tv, talking on the phone all hours of the night, stuff like that. They obviously want their drivers to be comfortable. That motel to me is a big plus. Some companies, want to put you in places that smell like pure butt crack. Or, bass country inn, living up to its name, and smelling like dead bass. So I am certainly pleased with the motel. Only downside is you have to cover your own dinners. But for the nice motel, and possibly having my own room I dont mind paying for my own dinner. Breakfast provided by the motel, and lunch served in orientation. Orientation (the one I am attending anyway) is wednesday, thursday, and friday. Hopefully get my truck Friday there at the Birmingham terminal but if not have to go somewhere else to get it and be in it by Sunday. They even offered to cover the motel a day and a half early if I just wanted to show up Monday and hang out in the motel until Wednesday morning for orientation. Not too many companies offer that either. Most of them dont care if you get there at 3am the day of orientation. So far, very good impression by Western Express. Will continue updating as often as I can.

 

I drove flats for Western Express from September of 2008 until january of this year. I left for reasons that had nothing to do with the company. I dont know a terrible amount about how they treat the van side but i know on the flatbed side it wasnt as bad as people will lead you to believe. I happened to be with them right when the economy really starting going in the toilet so i didnt always get the miles I wanted but I did actually enjoy my time working with them for the most part. Just be a semi reasonable person and sont fuss over everything all the time and you will be fine. And yes they do run all 48. I ranged from New jersey all the way over to california with a good bit of Texas mixed in. It really wasnt an awful company. I thought Falcon was much worse when i worked for them.

 

Thank you Jagervbomber3.0 for your information. I appreciate it. And for everybody else so far this experience has been ok. Today was day 1 of orienation, paperwork, drug test, physical (with no fondling), road test. Fairly easy. I think I will like it here. Most of the drivers I have talked to today said they average about 2500 miles per week. And that it is gradually getting better. Of course that is for flatbeds. I am sure I will not get too much info on van besides from what I hear, "do not run van". We also did the Alabama Coil Certification, which was easy. All is well. Day 1 in the bag. Only thing I am worried about is where I will have to go for a truck. I hope wherever it is I will not have to take a bus. I hate riding those darn buses anywhere. Coming to birmingham was bad enough. Anyways, thats pretty much all I have for you guys now. Oh yeah and flatbedders get one of the three, a freightliner, peterbilt, or international. From what I hear they do not have volvos on flatbed. The blue trucks of course are the SMX trucks that western acquired when they bought SMX out. Write more when I can.

 

Thats great brandond keep us informed and it sounds like you like where you landed......
I am sure you will learn alot more today.... Let us know!