Werner Drivers - Is This True????

I am looking at moving to the 48 State OTR Dry Van division at Werner. I've had a great year at Roehl, but I want to cover all 48 states, and Roehl doesn't really do that (dry van).

I sent some questions to a Werner recruiter. The questions and his answers are below. The responses seem pretty good, but I would really love for a Werner driver to provide feedback. The guy I'm talking with at Werner seems like a stand-up guy, but I know that some recruiters can sometimes be 'creative' with the truth.

1. 48-state coverage for Dallas-based driver?: >>Yes

2. What trucks do you use?: >>Freightliner Cascadia, KW T680

3. Can I be assigned a Cascadia 'condo roof'? Works for my 6'6" height: >>All trucks are Condos

4. Are high capacity (1000 watts or more) battery-connected inverters provided or allowed?: >>Not provided, but you can use them.

5. APUs provided for bunk area?: >>Bunk heaters. Idle truck for A/C. Truck will idle continuously when temp > 70 degrees. No penalty to driver for idle-time.

6. What is the percentage of drop-and-hook?: >>90% or greater

7. What is the percentage of driver load/unload?: 0

8. Avg miles per week OTR dry van?:>>2800

9. How is home time assigned? Is it a strict rule, or basic guideline? >>6 days out, 1 day home. There is flexibility to work out home-time with your Fleet Manager as long as you're pulling your loads.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Fleet Manager:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

Drop-and-hook:

Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.

In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Can't answer you being that I work for Swift, if you want to see a lot of the country I would recommend running reefer for Werner, Prime, Knight or just a reefer company in general. You have a year of experience so if I were you I would look at companies that pay a bit more or only hire people with a year experience etc, not trying to put down any company, just my thought being that you are worth more now because of your experience and your record is clean (no overweight tickets, accidents, etc)?

I am looking at moving to the 48 State OTR Dry Van division at Werner. I've had a great year at Roehl, but I want to cover all 48 states, and Roehl doesn't really do that (dry van).

I sent some questions to a Werner recruiter. The questions and his answers are below. The responses seem pretty good, but I would really love for a Werner driver to provide feedback. The guy I'm talking with at Werner seems like a stand-up guy, but I know that some recruiters can sometimes be 'creative' with the truth.

1. 48-state coverage for Dallas-based driver?: >>Yes

2. What trucks do you use?: >>Freightliner Cascadia, KW T680

3. Can I be assigned a Cascadia 'condo roof'? Works for my 6'6" height: >>All trucks are Condos

4. Are high capacity (1000 watts or more) battery-connected inverters provided or allowed?: >>Not provided, but you can use them.

5. APUs provided for bunk area?: >>Bunk heaters. Idle truck for A/C. Truck will idle continuously when temp > 70 degrees. No penalty to driver for idle-time.

6. What is the percentage of drop-and-hook?: >>90% or greater

7. What is the percentage of driver load/unload?: 0

8. Avg miles per week OTR dry van?:>>2800

9. How is home time assigned? Is it a strict rule, or basic guideline? >>6 days out, 1 day home. There is flexibility to work out home-time with your Fleet Manager as long as you're pulling your loads.

#1 true

#2 partially true, they also have Pete's and Volvos in the fleet

#3 for otr pretty much all trucks are condo yes. They did habe done baby bunks for certain accounts.

#4 not accurate. They do not allow battery connected inverters except under certain situations. Inverters that plug into the 12v plug are allowed.

#5 true

#6 I couldn't give you an exact percentage, but mostly drop and hook. Though you will go through periods that seem to be all live load.

#7 I've never unloaded a trailer. If you go to certain accounts they are 100% driver unload

#8 I usually average about 3k. The miles are there if you show them you can run them

#9 true

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Fleet Manager:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

Drop And Hook:

Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.

In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.

Drop-and-hook:

Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.

In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I suspected that #4 was false. Roehl seems to be an exception among large companies in providing (for purchase) a nice inverter. It really makes a difference in the quality-of-life on the road. It shows a company is serious about the welfare of their drivers.

I am looking at moving to the 48 State OTR Dry Van division at Werner. I've had a great year at Roehl, but I want to cover all 48 states, and Roehl doesn't really do that (dry van).

I sent some questions to a Werner recruiter. The questions and his answers are below. The responses seem pretty good, but I would really love for a Werner driver to provide feedback. The guy I'm talking with at Werner seems like a stand-up guy, but I know that some recruiters can sometimes be 'creative' with the truth.

1. 48-state coverage for Dallas-based driver?: >>Yes

2. What trucks do you use?: >>Freightliner Cascadia, KW T680

3. Can I be assigned a Cascadia 'condo roof'? Works for my 6'6" height: >>All trucks are Condos

4. Are high capacity (1000 watts or more) battery-connected inverters provided or allowed?: >>Not provided, but you can use them.

5. APUs provided for bunk area?: >>Bunk heaters. Idle truck for A/C. Truck will idle continuously when temp > 70 degrees. No penalty to driver for idle-time.

6. What is the percentage of drop-and-hook?: >>90% or greater

7. What is the percentage of driver load/unload?: 0

8. Avg miles per week OTR dry van?:>>2800

9. How is home time assigned? Is it a strict rule, or basic guideline? >>6 days out, 1 day home. There is flexibility to work out home-time with your Fleet Manager as long as you're pulling your loads.

#1 true

#2 partially true, they also have Pete's and Volvos in the fleet

#3 for otr pretty much all trucks are condo yes. They did habe done baby bunks for certain accounts.

#4 not accurate. They do not allow battery connected inverters except under certain situations. Inverters that plug into the 12v plug are allowed.

#5 true

#6 I couldn't give you an exact percentage, but mostly drop and hook. Though you will go through periods that seem to be all live load.

#7 I've never unloaded a trailer. If you go to certain accounts they are 100% driver unload

#8 I usually average about 3k. The miles are there if you show them you can run them

#9 true

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Fleet Manager:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

Drop And Hook:

Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.

In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.

Drop-and-hook:

Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.

In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

With H O Wolding you can have an inverter installed, but they require you to have 4 months with them first. You can either buy your own or buy the one they sell, but the one they sell is on a timer :(

I work for werner, and some accounts are 100% driver unload, like all the dollar (family,general,etc...) accounts... some are assist unload. the account i'm on, I only unload special order items, but when you do unload you get paid for it, depending on how much, and each account is differant on what they pay... but I would say 70-80% or more is drop and hook....

we have kw's, freightliners, and petes in the fleet, and they have/are going away from volvo's....

the downside is, for 48 staters, the pay is less than Roehl, last I checked it was .27/mile.... best would be looking at a dedicated account that is hiring from your area, they usually pay more.....

If you have any other questions that I might be able to answer, feel free to pm me....

Pay for 48 states drivers at Werner is .35a mile.

I didn't mention certain accounts like the dollar General ones because he specifically asked about otr.

When they bought their 2017 trucks they bought freighters, he's, and Volvos. They didn't but any new Petes. I'm not sure about the upcoming 2018 purchases yet.

Oh, and the pm feature has been disabled in this site for a little while now.

I work for werner, and some accounts are 100% driver unload, like all the dollar (family,general,etc...) accounts... some are assist unload. the account i'm on, I only unload special order items, but when you do unload you get paid for it, depending on how much, and each account is differant on what they pay... but I would say 70-80% or more is drop and hook....

we have kw's, freightliners, and petes in the fleet, and they have/are going away from volvo's....

the downside is, for 48 staters, the pay is less than Roehl, last I checked it was .27/mile.... best would be looking at a dedicated account that is hiring from your area, they usually pay more.....

If you have any other questions that I might be able to answer, feel free to pm me....

I looked at the H O Wolding web site, and it says they do 48-state OTR. Do you work for them? How much of their freight goes/comes from the western states? I see there are drop-yards in Phoenix, Southern Cal and Washington.

I sent a note to H O Wolding recruiting asking about this and got a generic response of "OTR drivers cover east and west, but it depends on customers". I'm trying to get a sense of west/east: 10/90? 40/60? 50/50?

Not a good fit for me if it's 10/90.

With H O Wolding you can have an inverter installed, but they require you to have 4 months with them first. You can either buy your own or buy the one they sell, but the one they sell is on a timer :(

I do work for them. I am not one of the OTR guys. I started out Regional and now run extended Regional. I stay basically in the Midwest and Southeast regions. I know a majority of their freight is in the Eastern half of the U.S. They do have a decent amount of freight that goes to Arizona and California. I have a buddy that does OTR. I can ask him for a more definite answer.

Taking a guess off the top of my head I would say 70/30 (east/west). Of the "west" freight I would say at least 75% is heading towards Arizona and California. Again, those numbers are just the impression I get from chatting with other drivers at our terminal. Deb R. Is another TT member that drives for Wolding. She has been driving for them a LOT longer than I have. Maybe she will hop on and give you a better answer.

Thanks for the feedback.

I do work for them. I am not one of the OTR guys. I started out Regional and now run extended Regional. I stay basically in the Midwest and Southeast regions. I know a majority of their freight is in the Eastern half of the U.S. They do have a decent amount of freight that goes to Arizona and California. I have a buddy that does OTR. I can ask him for a more definite answer.

Taking a guess off the top of my head I would say 70/30 (east/west). Of the "west" freight I would say at least 75% is heading towards Arizona and California. Again, those numbers are just the impression I get from chatting with other drivers at our terminal. Deb R. Is another TT member that drives for Wolding. She has been driving for them a LOT longer than I have. Maybe she will hop on and give you a better answer.