Question:
so far so good ,waited a week on a trk out of dallas. but been running gotta give them that, only time will tell. but over all i like the company.
Answer:
Hey are going through training or are you solo already? Just want to know what to expect when I start and also what terminal are you based at?

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Come in as a Exp driver, So Far Its Been Good.
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Its been a while since my last visit here. I have been on a training truck with werner. I started 1-10-03 as a student and this is my first time home with my own truck,2003 pete.
It has been quite an experience. If ther is any questions I'll do my best to ansewer them.
james jacobs

Answer:
Cowboy,
I've been considering Werner once I get out of school. How long was your wait to get a trainer... and a truck when finished with training?
Are you getting miles? What has been your experience with the paperless log (is it working, or have you gotten screwed at all).
Are you driving in the 48, or running a regional route?
What is your overall experience like with Werner (dispatch, pay, miles, etc...)...
You know, basically everything
Kermit

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Over all my experience with werner has been a good one,but ther has been some trying times.
I actually had know wait for a trainer, after my orientation my trainer picked me up at the motel the very next day. by the way, I did my orientation at the Atl. teminal. My first trainer must have had some family issues because he decided to quit the fourth day out. He reterned me to the teminal. I got my second and final trainer 2 days later. I finished my training pretty quick, about 6 weeks.
when i finished training and testing my wait for a truck was the worst. 7 days after testing myself and 10 other guys were asked if we would mind recovering some abandoned trucks,I didn't mind at all. I just wanted a truck at that point. The truck I was asigned was in Joliet ILL.
we rented cars at werners expense and left to get our trucks, not knowing what we may get.
i was lucky, the only problem with my truck was that the keys were missing,but a lock smith and 80 bucks fixed that. my truck is 2003 pete with 8000 miles on it, practicly new.It did however still have the previous drivers stuff still in it.I returned tha t to the first teminal I got to.
My first week solo I ran 2859 miles,before i finished one trip my dispatcher would send another trip number to me.I had one shag run. none of the others wer less than 500 miles. so there doesn't seem to be any shortage of miles.I put in a request for home time and was promptly routed directly to my home town with a load. WAL-MART distribution. The pay I think sucks but most all entry level drivers with any company gets about the same. Insurance seems like a good deal, Bluecross and Bluesheild. I am at home now and I have a load waiting for me tommorrow morning. I dont know if I ansewer any of your questions but I tryed. Right now I have some questions of my own.HOW DO YOU SURVIVE ON THE ROAD WITHOUT SPENDING A FORTUNE. I'm going to post that question and see if i can learn any thing. Buy the way good luck, Its going to suck sometime but when you finally get into your own truck it will all be worth it. You can e-mail me directly if you have any more questions.
mist4@alltel.net
james jacobs

Answer:
Thanks James... that answered a bunch.
Haven't been out on the road yet, but from what I've been reading, getting a 12v cooler is one way to save money. Stock up on groceries before going out on the road, then re-stock when you can. Making your own meals will definitely save a bunch. I've gotten a cooler already (found a coleman on ebay for under $80.00).
Good luck and thanks again.
Kermit

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HOW DO YOU SURVIVE ON THE ROAD WITHOUT SPENDING A FORTUNE.
Good Luck!!
Actually, most of it is food and/or cigarettes.
I think about it like this:
Werner mostly-no-touch dry van job requires very few calories. You're just throwing your money away eating for 'comfort' -- food your body will SURELY put in it's fat reserve.
Eat light and cut your intake of soda, chips, snacks, sweets, etc to a minimum.
1. Have one main sit-down meal every day when possible, or the equivalent in the bunk (or on your knee But keep the quantity low. Sometime I order something like, oatmeal, two eggs, toast and orange juice - I like breakfasts. Stay away from big steaks and heavy casseroles.
2. Buid two additional tiny meals - a single hot dot or half sandwich - around that main meal. I might have a small container of salad or fruit or a couple bananas......
The point is, eating is your biggest expense ---and all it buys you is more body fat.
To me, it's a matter of will-power. Some days I win and some I lose, but the winning days are the ones where I can feed myself for less than $10 per day.
I keep a gallon of fresh water next to my tower, and just sip off the whole gallon bottle. I go through a 1/2 gallon a day. (I **** a lot - makes a good tire check anyway)
Other than that, I suppose SMOKING is the second biggest daily expense.
Your atlas, directories, radio and parts, audio/visul stuff, antennas (and lots of shiny doodads) are one-time purchases. Stick with the basics, buy good stuff (a laminated atlas for example) and consider this stuff your "tools".
Stay away from "toys".

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coyboy,
Glad things are working out. That takes a lot of discipline and careful decision-making to get that weekly milage. You must have been bumping your 70-hours toward the end. Once you're running of your 70-hour limit -- when you're out a couple weeks or more -- it becomes a whole new juggling puzzle. You're obviously going to do very good.
Are you southeast 'regional' or 48?
kermit,
coyboy's story is very typical -- a mixed bag. But once you get a truck and FINALLY get going, you can figure it out and make it work. They've got a good system... quirky at times... ...and it takes some patience ...but it work pretty good most of the time if you just let-go and allow them to tell you what to do. Werner's very strick, but relatively fair the way they spread out a variety of assignemts to each driver -- a relatively level playing field. Averaged over time, you can do decent mileage if you work your available hours on the computer to the maximum legal limit.

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Shuffler,
Thanks.That matches what I've heard/read about them over this last year or so.
I have been hearing about one driver's inability to get miles during his first two months with the company. It is making it hard for his family to live. I don't know much about the situation though. It might just be an isolated incident.
Kermit

Answer:
Kermit,
Some drivers, depending on where they live, their dispatcher and a whole host of variables, seem to slip through the cracks sometimes and don't always get good mileage no matter what they do. But that's the same thing that happens everywhere, and at least at Werner, there's a procedure for appealing serious problems you can't resolve with an "employee relations" department. They may not be able to solve the problem exactly like you want, but they can help resolve personality issues and negotiate reasonable compromises, etc.
But then......I was talking to a new driver a few days ago as we were unloading. Kept saying he wasn't making any money. Said he hadn't received a paycheck for two weeks ----- and it took me a while to find it was because he was living off paycheck advances so there was no money left for his automatic deposit.
Stories and claims are as varied as Werner's 10,000 drivers. I wouldn't believe a single one as completely true and objective, but when you average them together, Werner still looks pretty good compared to many other newbie-oriented companies.

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......I was talking to a new driver a few days ago as we were unloading. Kept saying he wasn't making any money. Said he hadn't received a paycheck for two weeks ----- and it took me a while to find it was because he was living off paycheck advances so there was no money left for his automatic deposit
EXACTLY Why I tell drvrs to "Leave Those Cash Advances Alone!!!

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....and there's a charge for ach one -- ours are $4 each. Like living off a credit card, borrowing your payroll in advance just lowers the final dollars in your pocket a little more. I agree with choclit sndy. Save these expensive loans with interest -- that's what they are -- for the occasional emergency.