Walmart Journey, Take 2

The 5/2-5/3 is what I ran from day 1 up to a week ago when we "realigned" the annual schedule. It's a good schedule, allowing for that 3-day weekend every other week. But the "weekend" doesn't always include Saturdays or Sundays. In fact, a full Sat/Sun wknd only comes along every couple of months. If you can get comfortable with your weekend falling on different days every two weeks, you'll love the schedule.

The downside is sharing 2 trucks between 3 drivers. You'll have to take your stuff out each week and hop into the other truck next week. Cleanliness is top priority. You will all depend on each other to leave the truck spotless for the next guy. WM pays for all cleaning supplies. If you get together with the other 2 drivers, you can coordinate things like scheduling a PM on the truck, and agree to leave things on the truck full time for the other guys to use, like a coffeepot, microwave, CB, etc. This will keep each of you from having to lug those things from truck to truck.

Now for the issue of sharing the bunk. That was my biggest hangup when I first realized it was necessary in this schedule. I'm not a germaphobe at all, but let's face it, crawling into a bed that some other dude slept in last week isn't something I particularly enjoy. Here at Johnstown, we are given a mattress liner to put on before our bedding. This will keep your funk confined to yourself, and more importantly, everyone else's funk away from you. As a result, after 2 1/2 years the mattresses are still like brand new. If your DC doesn't issue liners, I highly recommend you get one for yourself.

I myself have reached the point where I would like to at least have every Saturday off, so that I can attend family functions, parties and such without having to burn a day off. That and my grandchildren will soon start school, fall ball, etc., so I want to be around for Saturday visits and games. At our last realignment, I bid on and received a normal 5 day schedule Sun thru Thur with an assigned truck. Now I'll have every Fri and Sat off, and can leave my stuff on my truck each week. I'll miss that 3-day wknd, though. Of course, with the crazy amount of paid days off they give us, I can make my own 3 day weekends whenever I want. Eventually I'll have enough seniority to get the coveted Mon thru Fri run, but it'll probably take 10 years or so lol.

We deliver primarily to stores and return empty back to the DC for the next load. The vast majority of vendor backhauls are covered by third-party carriers, keeping us away from the inevitable delays associated with vendors. Nevertheless, I still average 1-3 backhauls per week. But those are typically drop/hook.

I guess I got a little long winded lol. But I'm happy for you and want to see you succeed. I'll be happy to answer any questions when they come up.

Start getting that ADP up (average daily pay). That's how you get paid for days off. Maximizing your days now will pay off later, big time.

Ok I'm out. Good luck!

My mom was born in Brandon, Wi. Totally random fact. Just what I think about when I hear BRANDON. And STACY actually is too hot for you! That comment made my day, too funny!

Thanks. I had read that and shared with Michael previously but wondered if the new drivers had a different type of assignment. Turtle had explained how company drivers typically had different types of loads than outside dedicated drivers. As I recall, the dedicated drivers did most of the reefer loads. I read something that lead me to believe that the big hiring push was to replace some of the dedicated fleet. Is that correct?

Michael's former team driver at CRE came on to Marten a few months ago on a dedicated Walmart fleet so Michael is familiar with his schedule since they talk frequently.

Harvey here is a link to Turtle’s WMPF diary:

Turtle’s WMPF Diary

Search on “Walmart”; there is a ton of info on running Walmart stores and Sam’s Club.

Brandon, congrats!

Michael was home for a couple of days and just left this morning. He loves his work at Marten and may just stay there but I told him about the expansion of WalMart's private fleet and shared with him local postings by WalMart. What type of schedule are you expected to run? Home daily, weekly, or ? Michael is happy to be on the road for 12 days and home for about 2 or 2.5 days but at some point hopes to get married, start a family, etc. and being home more often might be a good idea for that. He's not yet got the 30 months either but just something for him to think about.

He delivers to WalMart DCs sometimes and I'm wondering if you will mostly deliver to stores or run between vendors and DCs since that has been something previously done by outside drivers.

Harvey I ran just as many dry loads as I did Reefer. I had the same runs as the WMPF drivers…2000-2200 miles, 24-26 stops for a 6 day week. The primary differences; I rarely did any deliveries for other DCs and never a GM (general merchandise) load, only grocery.

I’m not doing that any more so I’ll defer to Turtle for current events. I can tell you in the 8 years of running dedicated out of 7030 in Pottsville PA, I heard every year how they wanted to replace the transportation partners with the Private Fleet.

Drivers do leave the Private Fleet though. It’s the type of work you either love or hate, entirely different mindset. Hustle…hustle… hustle. I loved it.

Thanks. I had read that and shared with Michael previously but wondered if the new drivers had a different type of assignment. Turtle had explained how company drivers typically had different types of loads than outside dedicated drivers. As I recall, the dedicated drivers did most of the reefer loads. I read something that lead me to believe that the big hiring push was to replace some of the dedicated fleet. Is that correct?

Michael's former team driver at CRE came on to Marten a few months ago on a dedicated Walmart fleet so Michael is familiar with his schedule since they talk frequently.

Harvey here is a link to Turtle’s WMPF diary:

Turtle’s WMPF Diary

Search on “Walmart”; there is a ton of info on running Walmart stores and Sam’s Club.

Brandon, congrats!

Michael was home for a couple of days and just left this morning. He loves his work at Marten and may just stay there but I told him about the expansion of WalMart's private fleet and shared with him local postings by WalMart. What type of schedule are you expected to run? Home daily, weekly, or ? Michael is happy to be on the road for 12 days and home for about 2 or 2.5 days but at some point hopes to get married, start a family, etc. and being home more often might be a good idea for that. He's not yet got the 30 months either but just something for him to think about.

He delivers to WalMart DCs sometimes and I'm wondering if you will mostly deliver to stores or run between vendors and DCs since that has been something previously done by outside drivers.

Well I appreciate the compliment 😊

My mom was born in Brandon, Wi. Totally random fact. Just what I think about when I hear BRANDON. And STACY actually is too hot for you! That comment made my day, too funny!

That’s ok, you can get long winded lol. I appreciate the information and the tips. I’ll definitely get the mattress pad. I think I’ll enjoy 5-2 5-3, but getting your own truck is great. First chance I get I’ll do that too. I just got home from onboarding, will be going to orientation Monday in Sutherland. I’ll be working in Gordonsville but have orientation there. I’m excited and ready to get started.

The 5/2-5/3 is what I ran from day 1 up to a week ago when we "realigned" the annual schedule. It's a good schedule, allowing for that 3-day weekend every other week. But the "weekend" doesn't always include Saturdays or Sundays. In fact, a full Sat/Sun wknd only comes along every couple of months. If you can get comfortable with your weekend falling on different days every two weeks, you'll love the schedule.

The downside is sharing 2 trucks between 3 drivers. You'll have to take your stuff out each week and hop into the other truck next week. Cleanliness is top priority. You will all depend on each other to leave the truck spotless for the next guy. WM pays for all cleaning supplies. If you get together with the other 2 drivers, you can coordinate things like scheduling a PM on the truck, and agree to leave things on the truck full time for the other guys to use, like a coffeepot, microwave, CB, etc. This will keep each of you from having to lug those things from truck to truck.

Now for the issue of sharing the bunk. That was my biggest hangup when I first realized it was necessary in this schedule. I'm not a germaphobe at all, but let's face it, crawling into a bed that some other dude slept in last week isn't something I particularly enjoy. Here at Johnstown, we are given a mattress liner to put on before our bedding. This will keep your funk confined to yourself, and more importantly, everyone else's funk away from you. As a result, after 2 1/2 years the mattresses are still like brand new. If your DC doesn't issue liners, I highly recommend you get one for yourself.

I myself have reached the point where I would like to at least have every Saturday off, so that I can attend family functions, parties and such without having to burn a day off. That and my grandchildren will soon start school, fall ball, etc., so I want to be around for Saturday visits and games. At our last realignment, I bid on and received a normal 5 day schedule Sun thru Thur with an assigned truck. Now I'll have every Fri and Sat off, and can leave my stuff on my truck each week. I'll miss that 3-day wknd, though. Of course, with the crazy amount of paid days off they give us, I can make my own 3 day weekends whenever I want. Eventually I'll have enough seniority to get the coveted Mon thru Fri run, but it'll probably take 10 years or so lol.

We deliver primarily to stores and return empty back to the DC for the next load. The vast majority of vendor backhauls are covered by third-party carriers, keeping us away from the inevitable delays associated with vendors. Nevertheless, I still average 1-3 backhauls per week. But those are typically drop/hook.

I guess I got a little long winded lol. But I'm happy for you and want to see you succeed. I'll be happy to answer any questions when they come up.

Start getting that ADP up (average daily pay). That's how you get paid for days off. Maximizing your days now will pay off later, big time.

Ok I'm out. Good luck!

Harvey I ran just as many dry loads as I did Reefer. I had the same runs as the WMPF drivers…2000-2200 miles, 24-26 stops for a 6 day week.

Speaking strictly of my DC, dedicated carriers do run the vast majority of reefer loads. This is fact. At least 97% of the loads I pull are dry. Rarely do I pull a reefer, and I mean like once a month rarely.

I have no idea what kind of miles the Swift drivers at my DC are running, but I personally average 2500-2700 per 5 day week, with lows and highs of 2300-2800. This is fact. I've never counted my stops, so I have no comparison there.

I heard every year how they wanted to replace the transportation partners with the Private Fleet.

Disbelieving it doesn't make it any less true. It is 100% fact that WM wants to expand the private fleet in an effort to reduce the dedicated presence. This comes straight from Bentonville through fleet messages, and is echoed on a near weekly basis through our GTM.

They wanted PF drivers so bad at Pottsville that they were offering a 10k bonus and relocation package to drivers such as myself to switch terminals. This was a year ago.

More recently, the pay has been upped fleet-wide, and a 5k referral bonus has been added to entice recruitment.

So yeah, just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it isn't desired. WM, like any other carrier, really really wants to expand their fleet in-house to keep up with demand while maintaining some quality control over their drivers.

HiThe 5/2-5/3 is what I ran from day 1 up to a week ago when we "realigned" the annual schedule. It's a good schedule, allowing for that 3-day weekend every other week. But the "weekend" doesn't always include Saturdays or Sundays. In fact, a full Sat/Sun wknd only comes along every couple of months. If you can get comfortable with your weekend falling on different days every two weeks, you'll love the schedule.

I think I’ll like this schedule. I’ll get some weekends off, and some weekdays is good for going to doctors and dentist and such. Seems like a good variety.

The downside is sharing 2 trucks between 3 drivers. You'll have to take your stuff out each week and hop into the other truck next week. Cleanliness is top priority. You will all depend on each other to leave the truck spotless for the next guy. WM pays for all cleaning supplies. If you get together with the other 2 drivers, you can coordinate things like scheduling a PM on the truck, and agree to leave things on the truck full time for the other guys to use, like a coffeepot, microwave, CB, etc. This will keep each of you from having to lug those things from truck to truck.

Im glad Walmart has a policy to keep trucks clean. My last company didn’t and the trucks were always filthy.

Now for the issue of sharing the bunk. That was my biggest hangup when I first realized it was necessary in this schedule. I'm not a germaphobe at all, but let's face it, crawling into a bed that some other dude slept in last week isn't something I particularly enjoy. Here at Johnstown, we are given a mattress liner to put on before our bedding. This will keep your funk confined to yourself, and more importantly, everyone else's funk away from you. As a result, after 2 1/2 years the mattresses are still like brand new. If your DC doesn't issue liners, I highly recommend you get one for yourself.

Really though, when we go to a hotel we don’t know who or what was in the bed last night. But you’re right I am getting the mattress cover.

I myself have reached the point where I would like to at least have every Saturday off, so that I can attend family functions, parties and such without having to burn a day off. That and my grandchildren will soon start school, fall ball, etc., so I want to be around for Saturday visits and games. At our last realignment, I bid on and received a normal 5 day schedule Sun thru Thur with an assigned truck. Now I'll have every Fri and Sat off, and can leave my stuff on my truck each week. I'll miss that 3-day wknd, though. Of course, with the crazy amount of paid days off they give us, I can make my own 3 day weekends whenever I want. Eventually I'll have enough seniority to get the coveted Mon thru Fri run, but it'll probably take 10 years or so lol.

Im happy for you. I have grandkids too. Enjoy that time. I hope someday I’ll be there long enough to do the same thing.

We deliver primarily to stores and return empty back to the DC for the next load. The vast majority of vendor backhauls are covered by third-party carriers, keeping us away from the inevitable delays associated with vendors. Nevertheless, I still average 1-3 backhauls per week. But those are typically drop/hook.

Are you running mostly nights or days?

I guess I got a little long winded lol. But I'm happy for you and want to see you succeed. I'll be happy to answer any questions when they come up.

Start getting that ADP up (average daily pay). That's how you get paid for days off. Maximizing your days now will pay off later, big time.

Ok I'm out. Good luck!

Sorry I didn’t format that right. The questions are in the quote. I’m still new at this lol

I only saw one question:

Are you running mostly nights or days?

I start my week at 6am. By only taking 10hr breaks each night, I'm usually able to back up my hours enough each day so that on go-home day I'm usually starting at 0230 or so. This is by choice, and only if I run out my 11 before my 14. I could take longer breaks and continue starting at 6 each day if I chose, but I like getting home by noonish on go-home day. It's almost like getting an extra day off each week.