Werner Vs CRST

I don't understand what the issue is with that. I've heard good things about Werner from drivers from Werner

The issue is that no one should be giving career advice if all they know is what they've heard. People need to make decisions based on facts, not based on a handful of opinions from random strangers.

If you go to any trucking company in the nation you're going to find drivers who love the company, and drivers who hate the company. You're going to find drivers getting 3,000 miles per week, and some barely getting 2,000 per week. Why? Because trucking is performance based. The drivers who perform get the bulk of the miles and the special favors, while those who don't perform get what's left over, which often isn't very much.

If you had stumbled upon a nest of terminal rats you would have heard that Werner doesn't care about their drivers and they don't have any miles available. Then you would be on here telling people you heard Werner is a terrible company that doesn't have the miles available.

I'm going to republish two comments from another version of this same conversation we were having yesterday, "How good is Danny Herman Trucking?"

This came from Old School:

Adrian, almost everybody puts way too much thought into whether the company they're going to work for is "good" or "bad." You mentioned several times how most of what you've read about Danny Herman wasn't bad. Here's just one example...

Pretty much everything I've read has been positive too. That's unusual for a trucking company! Mainly seems when it comes to trucking companies you mainly hear a lot of bad!

We don't put much stock in that form of evaluation. The truth in trucking is that a lot of people try to make a go of it and never catch on to the ways it takes to be successful at it. They fall flat on their face, and then go straight to the internet to rage about how bad the company was.

It doesn't really matter what company you go with, basically they're all trucking companies and they all are moving a lot of freight. There's no such thing as a trucking company that doesn't have plenty of freight - they would cease to be a company fast if that were the case. You can be successful at Danny Herman the same way you'd be successful at any trucking company. It always boils down to the driver's performance.

I don't have the time right now to lay it all out, but take the time to read these four articles. They should help you get the right idea about how to approach this whole thing.

What It Takes

Trucking Is A Competition

Do I Have What It Takes?

Show Me The Money!

This was from me:

You can be successful at Danny Herman the same way you'd be successful at any trucking company. It always boils down to the driver's performance.

If I had to boil down our philosophy and our approach here at Trucking Truth to one statement, that would be it. That is the essence of what we teach. If you read through our forum and our articles you'll find that maybe 5% of our materials focus on helping you choose a company that matches your needs well, and at least 95% of it focuses on teaching you what it takes to be a Top Tier Driver.

None of it will make reference to "bad companies".

Look at the moderators and experienced drivers here in our forum and almost all of them work for different companies, yet they're all making top wage and very happy with where they work.

When I hear a driver give a review about a major company with a long track record of success, I don't consider that a review of the company at all. I consider that a review of their own performance, because in the end you're going to get the miles and the treatment you deserve. Top Tier Drivers that can handle the big miles and develop great relationships within their company will get the big miles and special favors. The average drivers will get average miles and a favor once in a while, and the low level drivers will get the leftover scraps, if there are any, and shouldn't expect anyone to really go out of their way to do them any special favors.

So when a driver says, "I love this company. I get a ton of miles and they treat me great." then I know they're performing at a high level and getting along well with people.

When I hear terminal rats bashing a large, successful carrier for not having enough freight or not caring about their employees then I know that driver simply isn't performing and likely isn't getting along with the people within the company.

There is no such thing as a major carrier that can not provide you great miles and a fantastic work environment. Whether they choose to do so or not will depend on your abilities and your attitude.

Go out there and be a Top Tier Driver and you'll be happy and successful. Go out there and be a jerk or perform at a low level and you'll find yourself in agreement with the Terminal Rats on YouTube, Facebook, and the trucker's lounges across the country.

Lousy drivers believe there are a lot of bad companies out there. Great drivers believe there are a lot of great companies with great opportunities out there.

So in the end, we go back to the beginning where Old School gave the most pertinent information regarding CRST vs Werner - CRST is almost exclusively a team operation, Werner is not. That's the biggest difference between the two and it will have a major impact on your experience there. Some people love running team, some hate it.

They're both excellent companies with a long track record of success. They're elite companies, no question about it. In this case the team vs solo operation should be one of the key deciding factors when choosing between these two companies.

Home time is an important factor to many drivers. If home time is important to you then you'll have to find out how much home time will be available from each company based upon where you live. The home time options will often vary based upon your location because a company can get you home more often if you live in their heaviest freight lanes, but you may get home less often if you live in an area where they don't have as much freight to get you there.

We also have a ton of information on how to choose the right company:

• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
• Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
• Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"

The biggest difference between the two is that CRST is a team driving operation while Werner is solo. Team driving has benefits and liabilities. No short runs. CRST has the longest average length of haul in the industry. Period. Why pay two drivers to haul a load <600 miles if a solo driver will get it there in the same amount of time? CRST can get a load from anywhere to anywhere in the lower 48 in 2.5 days or less. The only way to get the freight there faster is on a plane.

Finding a good co-driver is key since you're trusting that person with your LIFE! My first co-driver hit another truck parked on the side of the road at 65 mph in west Texas, drug the other truck 20', totaled our trailer and put the truck out of service for a week. Under load the truck stops for fuel, driver changeovers and 30 minute breaks - that's it. The truck's usually moving 22+ hours a day. That means you're sleeping on a moving truck most of the time. Of course, it's not just your safety you have to worry about with a co-driver your income also takes a hit if they have a bad work ethic, quit or get fired. With the right partner you can cover a lot of miles and make a lot of money. Some teams have driven together for years.

CRST is very well run overall, maintenance is top-notch. If you do your job they leave you alone. I can go weeks at a time without talking to my FM and then it's usually just figuring out where to pick up my next trainee. I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have about CRST.

I am a student driver still with Werner. I have nothing to compare them too, but I think I made the right decision for myself. I was told yesterday by my student advisor that my trainer thinks I am a good driver and I am grasping and retaining all the concepts he is teaching me very well. Although, My backing on a 45 still isn’t very good. I was told that I will be exiting the training phase early and start preparing to get my own truck pretty soon.

I can answer some Werner questions for you when I have time. We run very hard. All I do is run out my clock and sleep. Lol

To all of you that repplied I thank you so very much for your help for your thoughts I appreciate ins-and-outs good and the bad Mr Brett I really appreciate you and your knowledge and your understanding and getting it back on track it was very helpful. To those of you who did not reply but I appreciate you as well, sometimes our days are so busy that we say we'll get back to it and we never do but it's okay I understand. I am hopeful that I am in a freight Lane I live 25 minutes off of I95 in Fernandina Beach Florida. Roehl has a terminal in Jacksonville but I do just live north of the Jacksonville port a lot of freight goes in and out there, I feel confident that there are more companies then that particular one that will drop and hook. I do understand the difference between CRST and Warner now whereas before I did not. I have investigated a lot of companies I am currently looking t FFE Trucking as well as Swift, and USA trucking. I believe I am leaning more towards FFE they are southeast to Texas and back. They have a layover rate and that got my attention. I understand how you're sitting there it's using your time and I realize if the wheels are not rolling money is not being made, but at least they have a layover payment that you'll get something. Between the three of those companies I see there's only a $0.04 difference in a year down the line. Brett you said to make sure you stick with the company at least for a year with your Driving Experience I will trust your judgement, again thank you all very very much. As always any thoughts or ideas are always welcomed. Have a fabulous drive an be safe. P.S.. OMG, thank you for that beautiful profile one day that's what I want, but I love K whoppers 😎

Hey Stella, we're glad your back! I thought maybe you'd disappeared.

I wouldn't concern myself with any sort of layover rate. I understand how it sounds appealing at this point, but what you're going to find out is that professional drivers are focused way more on what they can get accomplished, as opposed to getting a little something for nothing.

The top earners out here have figured out how to avoid excessive layovers or to take advantage of those times to manage their clock in a way that helps them be more productive. These are things you will learn and practices you will develop as you get better at this. Accurate communications with dispatch and customers will almost always help you keep those wheels turning. It's usually just the rookies that I hear moaning and groaning about sitting and waiting, and there's a reason that is so.

Just find the company that seems to fit your needs as far as type of freight you want, and the potential to get you home when needed. Dry Van will be most likely to have the most drop & hook freight. The rest of that other stuff like advertising that they pay for layover time is really just recruiting talk for people who don't get What It Takes To Be A Top Tier Driver.

I totally agree with Old School - layover pay is of no concern. Top earners in this industry make their money by keeping those wheels turning. Way less than 5% of what you make will come from layover pay.

Also, have you actually Applied For Truck Driving Jobs yet, or are you just doing research? If you haven't applied yet I wouldn't waste your time on all of this research. You have no idea who is going to offer you a job, and who won't. People hear that truckers are in demand so they think they can work anywhere they want. You're going to find that quite a few companies are going to turn you down, even though you qualify to work there. They tend to get far more applications than they need and they try to pick the right candidates from those.

We've watched a lot of people waste a ton of time and lose a ton of money doing weeks or months of research just to find out that the top companies they picked won't hire them right now anyhow.

Not only that, but people worry way too much about it. These companies are all great companies. Old School nailed it - figure out what type of freight you want to haul and how often you want to get home. That's all you really have to worry about. You're not going to dig up some golden nugget by doing weeks of research that's going to help you find a diamond in the rough. The major carriers are all diamonds. They're the elite carriers in this nation. So just start applying, see who offers you a position, then choose the one you feel suits you best. It really is that simple.

I am in agreement with Brett and OS. Do not concern yourself with layover, Detention, or those other accessorial pays! Trust me when I say a top tier driver WILL be compensated for their time.

As an example, I was talking to another driver with the exact same DM as me. He is an average performer. He made the comment that sometimes he has to fight to get an accessorial pay of one nature or another. I do not have that problem. To be perfectly honest, I get accessorial pay on things without so much as a peep. Even negligible amounts that I truly can care less about. I always get them. If you work hard for your Dispatcher (driver manager, fleet manager , etc...) and have a good relationship with them, they WILL take care of you in return.

I have had my DM give me money for no reason than helping them out on a favor. Things like: 'Thank you for getting that load out to the other driver who wouldn't of made his/her appointment otherwise. Here is $50 zone pay.' A Dispatcher has some leeway in giving out accessorial pay. No one will question them why they gave one of their best drivers extra money. As Brett and the others always state, those who perform are given the best pay and the best favors.

Drive Safe and God Speed