Werner Enterprises NOT completely truthful Omaha Nebraska

You shouldn't have to get on a dedicated run in order to make money as a truck driver. Even at 32 cents a mile, you can do 4,000 miles and still come home with around a grand a week. That's what I tried to do.

If you run hard, you get the long trips where you can make the big bucks. Those 2700 mile Mexican border to east coast Virginia loads. I do those in 3.5 days. And then it's drop and grab an empty.

That's another thing you want. Long length of trip. Plus, mostly drop and hook. Deborah's right. Reefers run all year long. But, there is the grocery warehouses to hold you back. Between counting and breakdown and restack, you spend hours every morning with reefers. I can only count a handful of loads where you could drop the loaded trailer. Dry vans have more drop and hook.

Companies are trying to move away from live load and unload. Plus, more companies are charging detention for anything over 2 hours. You can't afford to tie the truck up all day while some idiot is finishing up getting the load palletized.

Promises really don't mean much. There is no guarantee in trucking. But, you can certainly do better than the numbers that you mentioned. A grand a week, in my pocket. That's what I try to shoot for when I'm out.

And, I grab it all. Hot loads, hi-value. Priority freight. Air freight. Hell, I'll even roll on a team load if it's 1500 miles or less. You need to be aggressive. Always deliver a day early whenever possible.

You need to stay in the lanes too. After a while with a company, you know what they have and where it comes and goes. You don't take a trip out of the freight lanes until you have some idea of what you're going to do to get out of there.

It's kind of a gamble really. You never know what's available when your send in your empty call. Some weeks you get all 400 mile trips. That's just the luck of the draw.

As for bad direction, driver, wake up here. Get yourself Delorme earthmate GPS. The box has everything you need except the laptop. An el cheapo laptop for $200 is all it takes. Once you get into a Century, you mount the thing right on the dash. Right above the air valves. Position it so that you can still see the fender spot mirror.

You got the GPS. It shows you exactly where you're at every second of the day. The software makes a little green arrow on the orange interstate highway line. Your next turn is in 1.2 miles, and it'll be a right. How can you miss that? You don't even read the road signs anymore. When the thing says turn, you turn. Hell, in the fog or the dark, you can't even see the road. But, it's out there and the GPS will tell you when to hit the jakes. Plus, it's great for trip planning. How far to the next Petro buffet-to-go? Just look on the computer. Oh yeah, little steaks tonight! Will you make Armadillo before you have to shut down? The software will tell you. Hell, if you're running flats and you're delivering to a field out in the middle of nowhere, the software will find it. That's North Platte to the middle of nowhere in Wyoming, 318 miles, 4 hours, 36 minutes. Right there on the screen telling you. All that for less than $150 plus your laptop.

Never get lost ever again. One out of the way turnaround a week saved and the whole package will be worth it. You go point to point. No missed exits. No lost driving around and asking people where the drop yard is. Make every mile a paid mile. Delorme. Look on the internet. You'll see.

I am assuming your husband is either in the dry van or flat bed division, not the refrigerated. Winter time is very bad for dry van and flat bed loads due to the cold temperatures and the requirement to keep most products from freezing.

Having worked for Werner, as well as England, Apex, and Dart, only "reefer" loads appear to run regular year round. Winter is a generally bad for most trucking operations due to fuel costs, holiday schedules, weather problems, and such.

If your husband wants Western 11 or Southwest Regional, the best way to get into that is to get a run out to Phoenix and talk with the dispatchers there. I believe they still have Sears and CSK accounts, as well as Purina, which is mostly out that way. However, these regional runs are much harder, more time restrictive, and don't pay as well. I did them because I wanted the home time, and eventually worked my way into a dedicated regional run up and down the Left Coast that got me home every weekend. The Sears run is also good, but it's driver assist and you must lift at least 70 lbs regularly (Sears employees work with the driver just as hard). I believe they still have dispatchers in Fontana, and may have some by now in Dallas as well, so those terminals are resources as well.

Avoid the Dollar General run, no matter what. You may also want to ask him to look into doing local work, which is a set schedule with set time off, hourly pay, and the same benefits he gets now.

The regional, dedicated, and local positions at Werner are hard work and harder to get into. I literally got my West Coast dedicated run because someone quit, and my local position because someone died.

If he doesn't get the run he wants within a year of working for Werner and he's still unhappy with them, then he should seriously explore other employers. Trucking companies may think the drivers are a dime a dozen, but it is they who are. It is one of the few jobs that really are in high demand.

And yes, always get everything in writing.