Swift Dedicated Questions

Hey all!

Soooo digging this forum!! Lots of great information.

So I am starting my trucking journey and have spoken to many drivers (truck stop less than a half mile from house- live in PA directly on 30) which I find to be more valuable than anything this far.

I've narrowed it down to Swift as they are the highest visible in the area and I'm from the 30 or so swiftdrivers that I spoken to most of them seem very happy.

I've spoken to two recruiters with the current one being a little airheadish and not really working to complete the sale. Both recruiters have been pushing dedicated accounts - is that common for students to get hired right on to dedicated?

4 options:

Smyrna Delaware - home daily (not sure how) Greencastle Pennsylvania - home several times a week Pottsville Pennsylvania - home weekly Johnstown New York - home every 7-10 days Home = 10s and resets??

Stated they are all for the same customer??

Kind of refused to give pay details (any one know) other than sign on bonuses which all 4 range from 3k - 5k.

Since I've been off the road for 10yrs but have kept my CDL current I would have to go through class again (which I don't mind). There is a huge wait list for Richmond 6-8 weeks and the other option is C1 in Indianapolis (no thanks).

Being said the current recruiter stated to me that if I didn't want to wait to get on with Prime as they now train here in PA WHO does that???

During the mentor phase if signed on for dedicated - would it be OTR(Preferred) or with a mentor on the account.

I know this is a lot but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum Gifted Turtle.

Do you like to back? I mean really like it?

Yes, they will offer Dedicated when you live in close proximity to a particular DC, plus they may know you have prior experience. This is a Walmart Dedicated Account they are discussing with you, and 3 of those towns represent a major Distribution Center (DC). Johnstown NY (near Albany) and Pottsville PA (an hour north of Harrisburg) are Perishable & Non-Perishable Grocery DCs. Smyrna DE is a General Merchandise (GM) DC. Greencastle PA as far as I know does not have a Walmart DC. There is a small satellite DC in Williamsport MD which is close to Greencastle. But there are no trucks domiciled there. Honestly do not know what it's used for. The reason they are stating you'll be home daily for the Smyrna DC is because you probably live within a 50 mile commutable distance. Otherwise, no idea why they'd suggest that as a possibility. I run primarily out of Pottsville...and have done so for almost 6 years now.

The reason they are not giving you specific pay is because each Walmart DC has a unique contract, fee structure and SLA with Swift. Suffice it to say on average the CPM pay is 15-20% greater than OTR because weekly mileage is going to be about 1700-1800 per week for a rookie driver. The contracts pay a flat dispatch rate, stop pay (because you can have up to 6 individual store stops on an outbound dispatch) and a $10 "spot" fee if you need to perform "trailer" housekeeping chores at a store dock (spotting trailers occurs most frequently during peak holiday seasons).

Even though you have some dated experience, my opinion is to gain some current OTR experience (3 mos) before committing to a Walmart account in the NorthEast region. Visit the Lancaster PA Walmart located on Fruiteville Pike to see what I mean...many of the older NE region Walmart's (about 20) are like that one, originally designed to accommodate 45' trailers, not 53's. And the backing reference...in one year (roughly 50 weeks) you'll maneuver and back your truck, at times in rather tight quarters, easily over 1200 times.

If you want an inkling of what the account is like, I can offer you a ride-along with me (for the day) if you don't mind driving up to Pottsville PA and meeting me there. I just need about 2 weeks notice and a rider insurance in place. Weekend runs are best because there is more flexibility and less traffic issues. Let me know on this.

I will provide you with more detail (if you want) when time permits. In the mean time you can search on my name; G-Town Walmart, you'll get lots of hits on that. You can also search on Gladhand Walmart, Danielsahn Walmart & Tractorman Walmart.

It's nice to know that the dedicated accounts pay that well. Interesting.

My FM offered me a Walmart Dedicated job a couple of weeks ago, running out of Reno, NV. The pay sounded tempting. Approximately $1250.00 per week. I politely told him thank you for the confidence you have in me, but I really am not interested at this time. That particular DC runs loads over Donner and into the SF Bay area on a regular basis. I have no desire to run loads into Walmart retail stores in that area! Those urban areas are tight and getting in and out of those stores can be a nightmare. I spent a week running surge out of G Towns DC in Pottsville, PA. Getting to and from stores in Philly, Jersey, Delaware, etc. was too stressful for me. Not to mention getting in and out of the stores and back on the correct route to the next stop, then back to the DC in the same day, No thanks. G Town and his cohorts, earn every single dollar they make running that account! Not for me. Just my $.02