Guyjax , Hows The New Truck Color Treating You ?

Do you have any intentions of doing a comparative review of Werner ? Understandably your Solo time at JB is going to decisively different than your Team at Werner but folks here know you would give an honest unbiased review of critical issues like communication , maintenance , miles , accessory pays etc .

~S~

Yeah. Was going to do that at the end of January when I get a week off and i had a straight 30 days of running done. But here it is so far....

I want to preface this by saying I don't know what the solo drivers do or their miles. To busy running my own miles.

I run a team truck ,my brother and myself, with both of us are experienced drivers. 16 years myself and 4 years for him. This is important as you will see at the end.

Started last week of November. First two weeks was to get us used to the way things were at Werner. Learning Qualcomm which I already knew and learning about the Just In Time fleet. Just basic break in time so I could get to know my FM and for Jim to get to know us. Took Dec 6th Thur the 9th off for Xmas. We have it early that way the rest of the family can return home and have there xmas with their immediate family.

We returned to work on Dec 10th and hit the road running. Today is the 24th so as of now in 14 day time period we have done 12000 miles. This current trip he have drop in the Columbus Oh yard at 05:00 on the 25th and will have roughly 12600 miles in. On track to hit around 24k to 25k miles at the 30 day time frame I have set for this eval. Going to the TA Columbus West in London Oh (just outside Culumbus OH) to do laundry and eat Xmas dinner then grab another load around 6 pm the 25th. BTW for running during the holidays there are a few bonuses we getting for working Xmas and New Years. $400 for holiday pay plus 2 cpm extra on all trips ran between Dec 23rd and Jan 2nd.

Communication is pretty good. You get answers fast through Qualcomm but takes 3 to 5 minutes to get answers by phone. Qualcomm route planning can take a bit of getting used to cause some of it is in shorthand. Just a little learning curve. But all the info is there that you need to do your job.

Trucks are governed at 65 mph but that is fast enough IMHO. You might be surprised at the amount of trucks I pass at 65. The trucks go into the shop every 60 days weather they need it or not for a complete bumper to bumper check. The mechanics have to lay there hands on every part of the truck and check each part. If it needs replacing then it gets done. Trailers are in pretty good shape except for the abuse the drivers inflict on the trailers. Never had a trailer yet that had a problem ,and believe me I handle a lot of trailers, that was not the previous drivers fault. Flat tires,missing mud flaps or lights burnt out. Over all the equipment is in very good shape.

Lots of freight. Have not sat somewhere yet. Literally 30 secs after I send in my empty call I have my next trip. Now granted I am a team truck and do JIT freight but there must be a lot of people in a hurry for stuff cause must of our loads are 1000 to 1200 miles and we get it there over night. Fed Ex and UPS would be hard pressed to keep up. Speaking of which just ran a solid week of UPS loads. OMG the amount of stuff coming from Amazom.com was stupid.

When I say Just In Time freight I mean exactly that. A 15 hour trip we get 18 hours to do it in. That includes fueling and breaks and switching out drivers. Requires you to be super efficient.

Not sure what else to say. If your an experienced team that wants miles then I would be hard pressed to say go any where else. I really cant talk much about the solo side of things but in the JIT or JT fleet they know we are experienced drivers and we know how to our job and they expect us to act like adults and do our jobs.

First day we talked to Jim our FM i straight up told him we are not here to sit around holding hands. We are here to run miles. I think I may have stuck my foot in my mouth cause our truck moves 24/7 except when its with us on home time. I guess to many miles is a good problem to have.

If there are any specific questions anyone wants answered then feel free to ask. You'll get the answer...good,bad or indifferent.

Hey guy, I like all of your posts they seem really honest and factual. I am hopefully going to begin Werner orientation next week, I have a few questions to ask you if you don't mind. I see that you drove over 12,000 miles in your first two weeks, wow that seems like a lot. Is that normal for team drivers, I will be a team driver can I expect that many miles starting out? how many miles would you guesstimate a newb team driver would pull in a couple of weeks? Would you mind saying how much you earned for 6,000 miles in one week? That would help encourage me knowing that there is decent money to be made team driving. The Recruiter said on the phone that team drivers could earn from 70k to 80k a year does this sound right to you?

I know I have read threads on what to bring to orientation here before, but since I have one week to go I wanted to ask should I bring my laptop computer with me? When you say you had to get to know your FM , what is a FM? sorry if these sound like silly questions I have just recently graduated trucking school and got my cdl. Is there anything that has not been mentioned much about what to bring to orientation/training. I am very excited to begin this new adventure/career in my life and I am trying to make it be as much of a smooth transition as possible.

When I do start trucking I am worried that since both of my parents are very old something may happen while I am gone. As of now I have been looking out for them for the last couple of years. If something happens to them while I am on the road, do you know if Werner is good about giving emergency home time if needed. Hopefully nothing will happen but I am still concerned about leaving them alone they can barely figure out how to use the remote control much less the phone. Sorry for so many questions I have many more but I will stop now as I know this has been a lot already. Thank you for all the helpful information you post on these forums it really does take some of the stress away knowing what to expect in this new career starting out.

Ok let's start at the beginning. Depending on the account you are assigned to during training orientation can last 3 to 4 days. It's pretty relaxed. Lunch is provided or if at the main HQ a free meal ticket for the cafeteria grill.

First day will be paperwork and more paperwork. Also Dot physicals and drug test. UA test only though they are talking about doing hair drug test in the future. I like that idea btw. 2nd day will be more paperwork and ALOT of videos to watch and quarterly safety videos. Some will be on the overhead and some on the CBT (computer based training). End of 2nd day driving test. 3rd day you complete all that and start getting truck assignments. Experienced drivers get their trucks at the end of the 3rd day. Trainees and those that will be doing dedicated accounts stick around an extra day for more training in the classroom.

Supplies should be kept to a minimum. 2 weeks(maybe 3 weeks) worth of clothes. I would hold off on the laptop. You won't have much time to use it but you could bring it. Just something else to store away. You will find a smart phone the best way to browse the Internet and come to the forums here. I almost exclusively use my phone for the forums here. I highly recommend the Note 3. Sleeping bag is a must cause you will be sleeping in the bottom bunk while the truck is moving which means in your trainers bed. Not as creepy as it sounds. Not sure how the training goes since I did not have to go through that part. Pair of gloves if you wish but generally both of you will use the same gloves for fueling and working around the truck. Good shoes. Does not have to be steel toed but you would a solid pair. And a freaking jacket. It's 16 degrees in Nebraska right now as I write this.

Basically limit the stuff you bring to the basics. You have got to remember that your trainer lives in that truck and most of the space will be filled with their stuff. There will be some room for your stuff but not alot.

FM (fleet manager) is the same thing as a DM(driver manager). They are your dispatcher. Once you get your own FM they become the most important part of your life while out on the road. They can make or break you. Be extra nice to them.

Now on to pay. 70k to 80k is really high. Once you have a bit of experience and become efficient at your job, you did mention you would be going teams, you can make in the mid 50's. Right now I am on track to gross right around 56k to 57k by the end of the year. Now ALOT of factors go into allowing me to make that type of money but the main thing is experience. Expect your first full year to be in the range of 30k to 34k. Could be more depending on how smoothly your first year goes. Your first 6 to 9 months will be your roughest. Mainly due to inexperience. Your moods will go for extreme highs to extreme lows. Don't worry it's normal. You will be doing and learning an incredible amount of stuff and it can be overwhelming at times. You will wonder a million times if you made the right decision. Everyone goes through that. Those that truly belong in trucking and enjoy it will make it through the tough times. Those that don't, quit and go home.

12k miles in 14 days is alot. Most good and experienced driver do between 11k and 13k a month. Experienced teams do about 24k to 26k miles a month. Inexperienced teams/drivers will be closer to 18 to 22k a month. As you become more efficient with your job your miles will increase.

Wow that was alot of words. Lol. Anymore questions feel free to ask. It's why we are here. We like to help people and what better way to do so than with a topic we all share a common interest in.

Oh I forgot about the emergency hometime. All the stories I have heard are positive but never having to ask for it I could not tell you for sure. But like most companies if there is a need for you to get home asap then of course the truck and load still needs to be taken care of. Most companies will get you home with in a day or two of your emergency request. Just remember it's a big surprise when something comes up and it takes a little while to get arrangements made to have your load taken care of.

Thanks for replying to my questions. I am really looking forward to driving for Werner. I am a little apprehensive after making the mistake of reading the truckers report. But I am still going to stick with Werner despite what I have read. It seems like a lot of the posts were from disgruntled employees, so hopefully I will have a better experience than they did. Thanks again for your advice.

best regards-Joe S.