Profile For Coby M.

Averitt runs dedicated with Dollar General. They even offer us bonus $$ if we will volunteer to run a route for a week or two. Not this dude. Nothing against it, just not my flavor of trucking.

Yeah I think those Averitt guys got paid more too, LOL. I like the fact I didn't have to wear a uniform or shave though.

Hey Coby, Great job on this topic! and the pics are super. There have been so many wondering about these runs and now there is a great post thanks to you. Take care.

Thanks, I'm glad I can help. When I started out, I tried to find info like this online, and couldn't.

Does this pretty much apply to any dedicated stuff? Like for grocery chains and such?

Pretty much, yeah

So it works like this you do the training after the training with the mentor, then they put you on a dedicated?

You do the training, then you get put on the account you chose when hired. I chose to do the training on the Dollar General account, because that's the job I wanted with the company. I highly suggest training for the account you choose. When you get hired, they will ask you want you want to do. With Werner, I could have chose OVER THE ROAD, FAMILY DOLLAR, or DOLLAR GENERAL.

The Dollar General trailers are fairly maintained. When you pick up the trailer, there is an inspection sheet to fill out. You want to list every scratch, you don't want to be responsible for damage someone else caused. Sometimes lights and lift gates don't work, or you have flat tires. There is a shop on site. You drive to it and have them fix it. You want to check the charger, don't want a dead lift gate. Some trailers have the charger in front of the tandems and some have the chargers behind the lift gate. You want to fully operate the lift gate before you leave, to make sure it works. Especially the kick plates that stop the rolltainers from going off the edge. Now FAMILY DOLLAR and DOLLAR TREE, use rollers. They touch every package by hand.

Here's one where you gotta get the lift gate on a concrete slab. the gate extends about 7 feet.

Thank you to you all who responded means a lot guys. That's what I'm into something that you can get a ok work out from doing. I'm not sure if you mention it but do you still drive for werner & do you train new drivers? Make it a safe day

No, I don't drive for them anymore. I liked working for Werner and the Dollar General gig. It was my first trucking job. The hardest part was being in training for 2 months ( fresh out of driving school ). Once I got out there on my own, I loved it. I learned a lot along the way, but could never find enough info on it online, so I am happy to share what I learned.

Cool .. thanks! Another concern I'd have would be the ability to get a shower at the end of each day spent unloading a trailer. Is this an issue?

Oh boy, LOL. It depends, I usually got a shower every 2 to 3 days. So about 3 a week. I would shower at the Distribution Center. You will have your next trailer waiting on you when you get back. I would drop my empty, get a shower, pick up new one and take off. Depending on when my 11/14 ran out, determined where I was going to stop. Sometimes a rest stop down the road or stay at DC. Best thing to do is, make it to the store and sleep there, so you can unload in the morning with a fresh 14 hr clock. If you get a loyalty card at a truck stop, you can rack up free showers and merchandise when you fuel. I found it not very time efficient to shower at truck stops, due to not enough parking and long waiting for a shower.

A tip that helped me a lot, If there is a row of parking on each side of the side of the building, you can do a u turn. Granted there are no cars and you turn TOWARDS the building, avoiding tail swing into the wall. sometimes there might be something on the other side, you will want to avoid swinging into. Like a planted tree.

U TURN POSSIBLE ( You would pull in on the side the pic of the truck is on, turn right towards the building, and straighten out. Then back up, close to the building.)

NOT POSSIBLE

Funny you ask about the age. Most people are older. I'm 39 and have no problems doing the work. I'm in good shape, but I see a lot of drivers who are not, that have been doing it a long time. The job keeps you fit, that's what I like about it. I wouldn't worry about the physical part. To do this job, you want to be good at backing up LOL!