What to expect, I start Werner on Monday

Don't get talked into ANY dollar store type of dedicated account. Every company with one of those type accounts ALWAYS vacancies because most veterans will not touch them. They don't do those loads because the stores are on tiny properties, with very little room for a truck and the store employees are rude. You won't be very good at backing and you will hit things. Eventually you will hit enough things that you get fired.

Generally, you can believe the trainer. You CANNOT believe the Recruiter. The recruiter will tell you anything and deny you ever had a conversation.
I don't know how Werner does a 34 reset with trainees. Hopefully you get a hotel room and not get stuck sitting in the truck for 34 hours. Ideally, with 2 of you, you shouldn't need a 34 hour reset.
Office time will be spent signing paperwork, watching videos or slides about company policies, pay and benefits, procedures etc. Bring a blank voided check so you can get direct deposit for your pay.

 

Hm.
kinda like joining the military.
If it moves, salute it, don’t volunteer for anything, and don’t screw up.

 

The name on the truck doesn’t matter. They are all the same at the end of the day. They all have their own bs you must tolerate and if you can’t, you won’t last. Werner isn’t bad, started there and still here 5yrs later with my truck just about paid for and I’m doing good. Don’t believe all the BS people say. After some safe miles werner has accounts that pay up to .80 cpm, but don’t let the higher pay fool you cause if the account or company doesn’t have the miles, your not making jack. Your partially wise to say you’ll stick it out for a year, need to stick out 3 yrs with safe driving. All the really good and high paying jobs require 3 years safe driving with current company or no more than 2 or 3 in the last 5 years. Fastest way to bigger pay, suck it up and ride it out for 3 years.

So, what to expect? Free lunch while in orientation. It’s 3 to 4 days of filling out paperwork and going over policy, very boring. After that depending which terminal you go to, you’ll have to show up to the morning meeting and sign in to get paid. You’ll also be given a bunch of cbts to complete, computer based training. Do them quickly and try to get into the simulator, backing class, smith system and tight maneuvering class before you get on the truck with the trainer if possible. Make sure you complete a couple ebts every day after you’ve completed those assigned to you so your guaranteed to get paid for the day.

Yay now that you’ve survived hell week, you get to wait on your trainer which can take some time sometimes. Back, back and back some more. Get out and look, don’t risk it. Watch your mirrors, watch your mirrors, watch your mirrors, watch your #### mirrors. I can not stress this enough, the moment you get complacent as a new driver is the moment your going to be famous as a star guest on bonehead truckers. Try to get into the big truck stops as much and as early as possible to shut down. Sit and watch all these old school drivers rolling in with the stretched trucks and split tandem axles. Pay close attention to how the set up to back in and how they maneuver that big bad boy. You’ll learn more about backing this way than any other way. Do not walk around in the truck with out flip flops or shoes on, you don’t know what kind of junk the trainer may have on their feet. If the trainer is not offering a shower at least every 2 or 3 days, report them to driver relations and ask for another trainer because they are nasty and not very hygienic. If the trainer wears a diaper and craps on themselves never going into the restroom, report their nasty ### to driver relations and get a new trainer (yes there was a female trainer here at one time who did just that, used a ##### diaper). If the trainer isn’t a nasty and disgusting mofu, try to stick it out and get it done, but if you don’t feel ready, tell safety or driver relations you don’t feel you’ve been fully or properly trained. Best advise i can give for training is try get a run across the 80 from east of Omaha all the way to California and hopefully when the wind is blowing. Another route that all trainees should take is the i5 from Seattle to LA, vise versa and 1 trip between Denver Salt Lake City. All of these will give you high wind and steep grade mountain pass experience. Plus if you can survive LA traffic in a truck, you should be ok going solo.

so a few more don’ts. No alcohol, do not go and get High after the hair follicle test, do not smell like dank. All of these will get you fired and if you fail a drug screen, bye bye cdl. Had one guy turn in his rental car smelling like dank, he was gone before the office staff went home. They are strict with drugs and alcohol. Don’t go banging anyone in your hotel room, they will fire you. Do not exceed 75 mph in a company truck, you’ll get in trouble and have to go see the principal, I mean safety rep.

Congrats, you survived all of that and make it solo, welcome to your first truck. Now the real learning begins and there isn’t no one to hold your hand. Your best truck stops for shutting down will be TA and Petro. They have the most spaces usually and more room in the isles for you to hopefully not end up on bonehead truckers. Anytime after 2000 hrs is going to be hard to find parking. Pick a truck stop chain to use for fuel for the points and save them up for cobra classic cb, you need a cb and to monitor it. It can save your butt and life. Channel 19 is the main one many use 17 on the west coast.

Now the money maker advice. Run in the dark. If you start your day at 8 pm you already have up to 9.5 hrs of driving and hopefully missed the am rush hour which gave you a great mph avg and you have 4 hrs to go until midnight (off of the time in Omaha Nebraska as that’s where your dot clock is based) giving you 13.5 hrs of driving with an avg speed above 60 mph or over 700 miles on a good day. You’ll reset every 5 to 6 days and should average close to 4k miles a week even though your right lane jockey not able to go over 65 or 68 mph. If you get stuck on days and are about to enter a city that notorious with traffic, pull over and do a split berth. Wait 3 or 7 hrs catching a nap and head off when traffic has died down. I figured these tricks out quickly and by my 3rd week solo I never averaged less than 3200 miles a week and when I did it was because of break down or home time. FYI stay away from the tcu account and my avg mileage was from running dryvan 48.

Think I covered all you need to know except the O/O side. That’s another topic and tread. Good luck and be safe.

 

Hope you get a decent and conciensiance trainer that wants to contribute to the industry and not doing it just for the cash.

Remember to keep your gratitude higher than your expectations.

 

That's not why the vets don't take them... most drivers are inherently lazy. Those accounts involve the driver unloading the freight. I would venture to guess about 75%+ of all drivers are classified as obese and couldn't unload a trailer if they wanted to.

 

I wouldn't unload a trailer either. None of the store clerks, even if they put their phone down, will help drive my truck overnight if I injure myself unloading their freight. I drive the truck, not unload the freight for $25 extra.

 

You’ll be fine. Don’t overthink things. And like somebody said , keep your expectations low. Do your year and vamanose !
Good Luck !

 

Pay me the 400 that they'll pay a lumper and I'll sweat it out no problem.
But that dollar a thousand just won't fly anymore.