Location:
Upstate, NY
Driving Status:
Experienced Driver
Social Link:
richfromwalmart@gmail.com
Posted: 2 days, 20 hours ago
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One Million Safe Miles Reached!!!
Major congratulations to you, dear. That's an accomplishment most won't achieve. They either jump ship or hit something. You've avoided both. Nice!
Posted: 3 weeks, 2 days ago
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I think those tractors are leased, but I could be wrong.
They probably are. Our tractors are leased also.
Posted: 3 weeks, 5 days ago
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I've never heard of a company that pays actual odometer miles. They go by statute miles or zip miles and practical miles.
I get paid for every mile I turn, even if it's 20 extra miles to go around a mountain instead of taking the goat path over the top, or 46 miles to take the Tappan zee instead of the GWB, or if I miss an exit and have to drive 20 miles to the next exit and back.
Posted: 1 month, 2 weeks ago
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Article: Why Walmart Pays Its Truck Drivers 6 Figures
Oh yeah, I forgot that I had made a "week in the life" kind of thread some time back. You can find it here.
It wasn't exactly a normal week, but it wasn't crazy different either. Maybe I should do another one soon.
Posted: 1 month, 2 weeks ago
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Article: Why Walmart Pays Its Truck Drivers 6 Figures
I'm wondering what the average work week looks like for a WM Driver? It was mentioned that most work a 5 day week with 2 days off, do they typically run out their 14 each day/70 each week? Or is it a more of say, a typical 10 hour day on average for about 50 hours a week?
It mostly depends on the driver. I know some guys who put in 10 hours or so daily and call it a day. Others push it to the max. They give us enough flexibility here to almost choose how we want to run, within reason.
I tend to run 12-13 hrs on my first 4 days, sometimes pushing it close to 14, and put in 8-10 on my go home day.
A random example of a random day:
Having spent the night at a DC, I start a fresh trip, and make it back to my DC (or a different DC) with say 4 hours left on my clock. By setting and updating my ETD throughout the day, I'm letting dispatch know if I'd rather just call it a day at the end of this trip, or if I'd like to take a "pull ahead" load and run out my remaining hours for the day.
A pull ahead is simply a load scheduled to deliver the following day. But I can pick it up today and start heading that way, stopping en route for the night. That's a good way to maximize your days.
Posted: 1 month, 2 weeks ago
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Article: Why Walmart Pays Its Truck Drivers 6 Figures
Haven't heard from him in a while. Last I knew he was doing well, working in Delaware. Yeah, he worked out of Pottsville for many years before moving east to do a local gig.
Posted: 1 month, 2 weeks ago
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Article: Why Walmart Pays Its Truck Drivers 6 Figures
Davy wrote:
Im very frequently at the Loveland CO DC.
I was poking around the web today and saw that Loveland in particular is really looking for more private fleet drivers. So much so that they're offering a $10k signing bonus.
In a similar move, the Pottsville, PA DC near me also recently offered a large bonus in a bid to shed itself of third-party dedicated carriers. It worked. Pottsville is now 100% Private Fleet.
Posted: 1 month, 2 weeks ago
View Topic:
Article: Why Walmart Pays Its Truck Drivers 6 Figures
Since this site has helped me from my start I'd give you a referral Turtle.
Well I appreciate that. Just know that was never my intention when sharing what I know.
Turtle, do you know what the Walmart policy is about sleep apnea and cpap machine usage?
Unfortunately, no. I've never dealt with sleep apnea directly. I'd imagine it's the same as with any company though. We have APUs and inverters to accommodate any special needs like that.
Also, before filling out the application, can someone talk to a recruiter? Or does Walmart even have recruiters like most companies?
I know of no way to contact a recruiter directly. Once an application is submitted, the recruiter will be contacting you. It's just a matter of when.
When I applied, the recruiter called me the following morning. But then the DC I applied to was experiencing a real driver shortage at the time. Other DCs are at or near driver capacity, so your results may vary.
Btw guys, congrats on making it far enough to even be able to consider this move. You're already head of the curve.
Posted: 1 month, 2 weeks ago
View Topic:
Article: Why Walmart Pays Its Truck Drivers 6 Figures
As I understand it you have to have 30 months of commercial driving experience before you can apply? Is that firm, or do they take other things into consideration as well?
Honestly, I'm not really sure. Most of me thinks they would be firm on that. But in a time where they really want to increase the fleet, I don't know if they would relax the requirement. They could possibly look at the entire body of your experience, including otr, training, clean license, etc. That said, I've yet to meet a Walmart driver that didn't have at least 30 months.
assuming it is 30 months of experience, what is counted towards that?
From the moment you passed your CDL exam and began training OTR.
So would I first be able to apply in November, December, or January?
You would be eligible in December, based on acquiring your CDL in june.
Final question (for now) is I hear we can use another Walmart driver as a reference when applying - can I use you for that purpose?
Normally, I don't seek out referral bonuses, lest I be seen as trying to lure new drivers to my company. However, you are an existing experienced driver simply looking to move on to better things. So I'd be happy to give you my info via email. Address is in my profile. I mean if they want to give the money to somebody, it may as well be me, right?
Posted: 1 day, 21 hours ago
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Thinking of Packrat...
Oh what the heck, I suppose I'll chime in too seeing I was the OP of this thread.
In some ways I feel a little responsible for bringing Packrat's alleged medical condition to the forum's attention when it wasn't a widely known detail. Sure, it was mentioned in a post or two prior to mine, but it went largely unnoticed and unmentioned.
At the time, Packrat was a daily contributor to the forum, and I felt he deserved the collective prayers and well wishes of our community. I mean after all, it wasn't just a simple surgery, it was supposed to be a freaking heart transplant! That's huge.
Our community didn't disappoint. They came out in droves to support our friend, as they should. I was happy to see that many felt the same as I did. We had a family member in hard times, and we were concerned. Yes, I believe we are a family here, as screwed up as we all are.
Sure, I too became aware of the ruse a couple years ago. It became clear that not only were things not adding up, they were just outright false. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out that A + B doesn't equal 3.
Still, in the grand scheme of things that didn't really matter to me. If it doesn't affect me on a personal level, why should I really care? Who among us doesn't have friends or family that are a little quirky? I know I do. That doesn't make them any less a member of my circle. That's how I felt about Pack rat, and why I didn't publicly out him. What would that serve? I'll admit that when he came back to boast of his 5-year post-surgery anniversary, I was like WTF. But as Chief Brody points out, it's mostly just sad that someone feels the need to do such things. I still call him my friend, as I would any of the yahoos I associate with until they personally betray me.
On the issue of him bouncing from company to company, yeah I wouldn't exactly call him a role model for a driver I'd want to hire, but that's never been what he's known for here. He is however known for his matter of fact, unapologetic and often harsh criticism of faults. He makes no bones about that, and you always know what to expect from him. There still remains a level of respect in that.