Swift Walmart Account, Pottsville, PA

I have an opportunity to take a Walmart account with Swift, running out of Pottsville, PA. any info on the account would be appreciated. I was told no slip-seating and "possible" weekly home time. the account runs PA, northern MD and DE, but was wondering how consistent the home time will be since I live in south NJ and Pottsville isn't exactly "close". if I'm taking a 34 every week I want it to actually be at home, otherwise I might as well stay OTR.

Another concern is, I enjoy OTR because of getting to see parts of the country I wouldn't see otherwise, and the variety. I'm wondering that, for me at least, a dedicated run might get a little "stale" after awhile despite the benefits of getting home weekly.

Thanks in advance, guys.

I believe one of our moderators runs out of the Pottsville DC. He should see this soonish.

Ive delivered to Pottsville several times. They have really nice people in the shipping/receiving office. Also they have crooked lines on the door i delivered to the first time. I probably bumped that dock 6 times. Before i finally figured out the passenger side line was about 8 inches off. Straight lines on all the other docks i went to.

Ive delivered to Pottsville several times. They have really nice people in the shipping/receiving office. Also they have crooked lines on the door i delivered to the first time. I probably bumped that dock 6 times. Before i finally figured out the passenger side line was about 8 inches off. Straight lines on all the other docks i went to.

Yea I always blame the lines when I'm not straight in the spot too!

That’s the DC G-Town is out of. He loves it!

I used to deliver to Pottsville (along with a few other Walmarts) on a dedicated account I was on with US Xpress out of Taylor Farms in Swedesboro, NJ. As Noob said, the people there are really nice. I stopped doing dedicated because it did get stale for me. You could try it out for a few months and if it's not something you enjoy doing, switch back to OTR.

Gtown runs out of that DC and will be around to provide you answers to your specific questions, in the meantime check out his thread A day at walmart. You would be delivering to the stores, not the DC. You can also search "Gtown Walmart" in the search feature above and you will find a ton that he has written about it.

Good morning B-dawg. I’ve been running out of Pottsville Pa and occasionally Johnstown NY for over 6 years now.

Since you have experience, you’re learning curve with Walmart Dedicated will be easier. Lots of close quarter maneuvering, docking and finesse required interacting with store personnel (aka; our customers). You’ll be hustling constantly,...but always busy. Since you live in the territory, knowledge of roads and towns gives you a huge advantage. You know the bottlenecks and how to avoid them and get around them. Huge advantage.

I’ll address your first concern about home time; in an assigned sleeper you can take your 10 and/or 34 in most of the store parking lots, usually behind the store. Living in South Jersey you have virtually unlimited options; Deptford seems to be your closest spot.

The way it works; if your scheduled day off is Tuesday, on Monday you’ll be preplanned on a route that has the final stop near your home location. Park at the last store stop or deadhead to the store closest to your home, making sure it’s a location allowing overnight parking (some don’t, it’s marked on the trip sheet), let the manager know you’ll be there either overnight or 34 hours and make sure you park in designated areas. When I ran a full sleeper, I would regularly shut down at the Pottstown Pa store and Uber it home. Never had an issue. And the two stores in the Deptford area, I’ve taken my 10 there (both stores) many times.

The Sams & Walmart store territory is Pa east of Harrisburg, all of NJ, one Sams in Elmsford NY, all of DE, north eastern MD and occasionally VA (rare). The territory is always in a state of flux due to overlap with other DCs. Vendor Backhauls are scattered throughout the territory with some concentration in the I-78 corridor through Allentown west to Kutztown.

Here is a blog article containing Walmart specific information:

Freedom of Trucking

Let me know when you start, and what other questions you have. Happy to help. I’m sure I’ll meet you at some point.

Appreciate the input, guys!

G-Town, I read your "Day in the Life" article as well as the Freedom one. both excellent and informative reads. It's a shame map reading and trip planning isn't something they spend more time teaching new drivers. Much of the stress I experienced from driving came because I wasn't preparing for the trip or managing my time efficiently...a habit I developed because neither of the trainers I had spent any time doing it, either. Just set the GPS and go!

Anyway, I'm still very much a work in progress, but thankfully I have this site, YouTube and Google maps to use as tools. There's always something to learn and hearing stories from both seasoned drivers as well as fellow greenhorns like myself who are all going thru the same learning curve is not only fun but it's an invaluable teaching tool. To say this "job" is a challenge is an understatement, but it's also very rewarding and the only job I've ever had where at the end of the day I felt real pride in what I accomplished. I don't think I'd be happy doing anything else.

Thanks!