Question:
After obtaining cdl and finishing training I hope to be hired on a dedicated account by one of these training companies: Werner(dollar general) Schneider(walmart), or Swift(kmart). They all said they have dedicated runs in my area. That way if for whatever reason things do not work out I can transfer to drive 48 states. I accept any comments.

Answer:
few who do the Dollar General accounts and they bust their azzez. Usually floor loads and all comes off by hand.
Go to the search feature and type in Dollar General. However these guys also get home somewhat regularly and said they made pretty good money.

Answer:
Thanks 172_Pilot,
That's the plan to bust azz at least a yr, whether dedicated or 48 states. My wife's income will cover the monthly bills. Boy, it feels good just to say that. A yr ago I couldn't say those words. While trucking I plan on saving a portion of my monthly income ($800-$1,000). And if I keep the financial discipline is it safe to say I'll have about 8k-10k saved after a yr of trucking. If so, then that's my barber shop money. There's one thing I've found out money isn't everything but it makes life a hell of lot easier. I think Choclit Snda mentions financial management a lot here.

Answer:
JP,
Try to talk to some drivers that actually do the Dollar General thing.
Some good things:
Lots of interesting backing manuvers in all types of areas, most stores do not have real docks.
Home on weekends, mostly.
Paid for miles traveled and cases unloaded.
Trailers are preloaded.
Bad things:
Very physical work, fingerprint each case, at least to tailgate.
Heaviest case to handle: 60 pounds of birdseed.
Worsst case to handle: 6 gallons of bottled bleach.
Trailers are preloaded to the ceiling. Several drivers get injured from falling cases while unloading.

Answer:
I ran the familyt dollar account for MS carriers for about 8 months. It was a lot of work but I got paiud a decent wage for it. and the boxes were mostly light and easy to pick up with one hand. the importqant things to have when doing an account like this is good backing skills and good rollers. If you think backing into a dark indoor dock is a pain, try blindsiding into a door the size of your front door on your house. oh yeah, don't forget that there usually isn't enough room to get turned around or anything.
If you have a good set of rollers you can make your life a lot easier. let gravity do the work for you instead of pushing everything off the trailer. Stuff falls all the time and things break. just remeber that it's better to get out of the way and let it break instead of pulling a muscle trying to catch it. The shipper knows that some stuff will get broken, they don't like it but it come with the territory. I can remember a few drivers that strained their neck or sprained their wrist because they tried catching some falling boxes. Then they had to drive and make a few more stops and it only hurt more.
The family dollar account was a good deal when it was MS Carriers, not sure if swift pays the same or if they still have the account.
We got 35cpm, $100 unload and $15 per stop.
The stop pay excluded 1st and last. no big deal, 1st was picking up the loaded trailer, last was dropping the empty. I usually took home $925-$975 per week and was home every weekend. not a bad salary for someone just out of driving school.
I later went to a different dedicated account that involved no unloading and was one run (135 miles) per night. pay was good and home every day. then swift took over and I moved on...
I have rambled on enough , I guess, but I will finish with this thought:
If you're not afraid to sweat a bit and want to learn to back into any hole no matter how tight, the dollar dedicated accounts will be a good place to start. Just make sure that you're getting paid for the work you're doing.
Running my own business on the net. Envious of all the trucks going by...but not missing it too much

Answer:
You guys are very helpful with information in all areas of trucking. I'm looking forward to training and gradually learning the system of otr trucking. Seems like that is the key to success or failure. And I'm not to good at failing.
However, one thing for sure who ever my trainer will be, I'll be picking his or her brain constantly. Hey, Shuffler it may be you @ Werner.
Go Schni or Werner.

Answer:
If you go with DG you'll be running out of Indinaola, MS if I remeber were you said you was from.
You'll learn more about backing a trk and how to move a trk in tight spots in six months that would take you too learn over several yrs over the road.
Once you get used to the physical part of the unloading about 2 weeks for most people its no big deal. Almost rather unload than drive most days.
There is a right way and a wrong way to unload boxes keeps you from getting hurt. However bad things can happen to good people if not really careful.
I've been doing it for almost 2 yrs and I havent lost anytime due to being hurt yet. I have pulled my back a couple of times, broke a little toe, been hit in the head more times than I can count, and knocked out the back of the trl once.
It can be very hard job at times. I did one store Friday in Houston area, south of Houston about 40 miles down I-45, actually. Was done there and hit the road at 3pm.
Up to Ardmore OK (about 378 miles) got my next load going to Lubbock TX (about 270 miles) was in Lubbock at 1:30 pm the next day.Got that store done at 7pm Saturday night.
Back to Ardmore then to Bonham, TX (about 120 miles) by 1pm today.
That was an easy couple of days I actually really got a full 8hrs worth of sleep everyday.
Allways remember about miles payed miles and real miles are too different things figure anywhere from 10 to 20 miles more per 100 payed miles. If they say its 100 miles than in reality its about 110 to 120 by the time you get there.
I help all new drivers if I can that is if they ask something. Most of the times I dont want to know your name because 90% of ya aint going to be around long enough too get to know ya.
"A choice between doin' ten years, and takin'out some stupid !@#$,ain't no choice at all."
Mr.White (Reservor Dogs)

Answer:
Forget Dollar General!!!!!Take the WalMart run, at least most of that is either palletized or drop/hook. Why would you want to bust your *** humping freight?
Your job is to drive. "Nuff said. Happy New Year! Just remember:If the world did'nt suck, you'd fall off!
The more I see and read about Republicans and Democrats, the more I wish we had an Independent Party.
IMPEACH BUSH!!!!!!!!!!

Answer:
However, I was being optimistic. I have a friend back home who's on the DG account w/Werner and he echoed what Captsnub mentioned earlier. Not to mention good pay and hometime. Personally, I would prefer 48 states or regional runs as long as dispatch get me @ least 2500 miles week.