Werner Regional / Dedicated Vs Western Express

In all honesty, I'd rather do flatbed, have 3 yrs with it. But, Werner, was the first company I went to, from trucking school, in '99. Therefore, I gave them a shot. But, if things don't work out, Western flatbed is where I will be heading. I would like to know, if the 40-44 cpm , that the recruiter told me I would get, is actually real. And, that the miles are consistent. Werner, is giving me .34, we shall see. As of now, bored, on a greyhound headed to Indy, for orientation, hoping they keep their promise to be home on / by Christmas. Have a 14 month old, that was hard to leave. But, bills gotta get paid, to keep a happy home.

As of now, bored, on a greyhound headed to Indy, for orientation, hoping they keep their promise to be home on / by Christmas

Oh man, I hope so too! But geez....I don't know. It would have been nice to wait until after the holidays to get started to make sure you were home but I know what you mean about having to pay the bills. I don't have any kids but I have friends and family members with kids so I've seen Christmas with 14 month old kids. It's pretty much:

- Tear open every gift you see, even if it isn't yours

- Don't acknowledge anyone in the room even though they've spent 10 months planning for this moment

- Don't spend even two seconds looking at the gift you just opened. Grab the next one and go!

- Cry

- Laugh

- Poop

- Cry again when all presents are opened and there are no more

- Ignore all toys and play with piles of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes

- Poop (How much fiber is this kid getting for God's sake???)

Where ever you go to work in this industry, you are the deciding factor in whether or not you are successful. You hold the keys in your hands to success or failure...If you've got what it takes to be a success at this it's not going to matter whether you go with Werner or Western. Just take a job and do it successfully and safely for one year and your opportunities will be wide open for you in this career.

AMEN!!!! Guyjax nailed it with the CSA situation and Old School nailed it when it comes to being successful in trucking.

It's a blessing having so many awesome experienced drivers in this forum that know the industry and know what it takes to be successful out there. Our moderators are awesome!!!

Hey Guyjax, one time you had said you didn't want to be a moderator so I made your status say "5 Star Advisor". You want to keep that or have it changed to "Moderator" or something else. Nothing would change other than that title and it doesn't matter to me. The regulars here all know how valuable your advice is. I just want to make sure our new visitors know it too.

Thanks for the info im ready to make my decision thAnks again for the info ..

This is some good stuff. Thanks!!

Well I am glad this thread is here. I have been driving since September 2016, started with Schneider on the Dollar General account. I brought up some safety concerns to my DM , and was told to suck it up or moved on, so I moved on to AV Carriers, out of Illinois, with a yard in Bloomington, CA. I have been hauling team freight for FedEx, UPS, Werner and Amazon for the last 7 months with AVC, giving me 9 months OTR. Definitely a newbie here, but fortunately I have had some great people give me excellent advice since I started.

AVC has really made life difficult the last few months, some weeks I get 1,000 miles, others I get 5,000 or more. The pay is decent too, .27cpm all miles, and if I run any solo, I get the whole .54 cpm. Not bad when they are running me. But they just cant keep the freight moving.

In the last two weeks I decided to make a change and have been checking out a bunch of different companies, and finally settled on dry van with Western Express. I want to get into the company, and more than likely move into the Flatbed division once I have a bit of consistent money in my pocket. If anyone has advice on the best way to work with WE, I'll take any advice I can get.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I am currently a trainee working flatbed for Western Express. I love it and am very excited to get my own truck soon. I have wondered about doing regional after a year of OTR. Would I still be able to do flatbed work with regional? I like flatbed work! I don't know if I would do dry van again.

If you've got what it takes to be a success at this it's not going to matter whether you go with Werner or Western. Just take a job and do it successfully and safely for one year and your opportunities will be wide open for you in this career.

Christopher, there are a lot of regional flatbed opportunities. Western Express has a couple of positions, or at least they did at one time. I'm thinking it was mostly in the Northeast, which may not work for you. After getting established, you can always ask about opportunities that might be available.

Many flatbed companies like McElroy, TMC, and Maverick like to operate in a regional way. This allows them to get drivers home for a 34 hour reset on the weekends. If Western can't provide what you need, someone can. That's basically how I ended up leaving Western Express. Knight offered me a deal my former employer couldn't compete with.

I still recommend sticking with that first job for a full year. You'll learn so much by doing that, and future employers will really respect your ability to hang in there getting things done.

Thanks for the information! I signed a one-year contract with Western, so I am locked in. I am thankful I finally got my foot in the door to gain experience.

Christopher, there are a lot of regional flatbed opportunities. Western Express has a couple of positions, or at least they did at one time. I'm thinking it was mostly in the Northeast, which may not work for you. After getting established, you can always ask about opportunities that might be available.

Many flatbed companies like McElroy, TMC, and Maverick like to operate in a regional way. This allows them to get drivers home for a 34 hour reset on the weekends. If Western can't provide what you need, someone can. That's basically how I ended up leaving Western Express. Knight offered me a deal my former employer couldn't compete with.

I still recommend sticking with that first job for a full year. You'll learn so much by doing that, and future employers will really respect your ability to hang in there getting things done.