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Senior Board Member
naw i haven't received a message like that and i heard it also.. I heard on the Pumpkin board.. I know they was doing something with IC's and the 401 K plan thats bout it.. But yeah i hope that's not the case.. I'm due an 3 cents raise in the due month... THATS BIG MONEY lol!! but i'm going to ask my DM when i get back to the DC!!Originally Posted by Jumbo
Rookie
Ive been with Schneider for 2 1/2 years out of Fontana doing local. They are a pretty good company, but been pretty slow lately. Theyve laid off around a 100 drivers and they have froze our pay raises till Feb. Theyve shut down all the schools and hire experienced drivers only now.
Senior Board Member
localorange, i take you know jarod and his gaycabbing ways.
Member
I am considering Schneider, too. They are ready to set up a date for orientation and all. However, the lady told me OTR van drivers are only getting about 2200 miles/week. You are out for 14 days and only get home for 2 days. Do the math at 36cpm*300ish miles/day and working 320 days per year. It seems like you will be driving 5-6 hours a day and sitting for 18-19 hours/day. Plus, you have to have hazmat and I don't recall them saying they pay more for hazmat loads.
Transport America said they will get back to me tomorrow. According to the lady there, they are averaging 10k miles/month. They pay 4cpm extra for hazmat loads (and they need drivers with hazmat). I will get more hometime with them, too.
Currently, those are the only two prospects I have.
Board Regular
I started off with Schneider in mid 2006. I was sent home from training because I couldn't shift to save my life and I couldn't back into the broad side of a barn. I owed them $4,000 for training. I got my CDL through a local school and they told me I could come back with a CDL and work 1 year and they would drop the $4,000 debt. They stuck to their word and I ended up working for them for 15 months.
They treated me decent but OTR did not. I ended up finding a local job but I did gain a lot of experience while I was there. I drove regional on the Walmart account. Ohio and all border states.
They still send postcards trying to get me to come back and even called one time.
Member
ohiomohawk,
So I'm guessing you worked out of Washington Court House? I worked out of Olney, IL. We used to pick up loads of watermelons and cantelopes from Poseyville, IN and bring them to WCH.
The Wal Mart account really wasn't bad. You got where you knew where every store was and every backhaul. Even if it had been a while, you could remember when you got there to make your turns to find the docks. If you hadn't been there, just go to the driver lounge and ask some other drivers. They would always help with directions.
I guess I hired on at a "perfect" time. Schneider was so paranoid about the 07 engines, the went to buying new trucks like crazy. Just about everyone out of our DC had a pretty new truck. The even spec'ed them out better than Heartland or Earl Henderson does. I started solo in August, got my new 06 Freightliner in January of 06. As I said before, it had 24 miles on it when I picked it up out of Indy.
I've thought about checking with them about working out of the Wal Mart in London, KY (like 100 miles away) but when I blow buy some of the Schneider-Mart trucks while I'm going 64, I rethink it. Its a long day in a 64 mph truck, even longer at 60...
Senior Board Member
Great Choice!!! See where i'm at in Gordonsville this wal mart account wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have dumb ass office people and my dbl is an jerk, and we slip seat these dirty ass trucks!! this account could be one of the best in all of trucking but with Schneider's penny pinching it will never be!! I'm just hoping that they lose this account to someone because at times it's not a bad account and u can make money here IF you work more than 5 days a week.. but as long as their Bright Dirty Oragne pulling Wally Boxes it will always be pitfull.. I'm just waiting until i can jump on that U.S. Xpress Wal Mart Dedicated, or at least try!! lol..
And to the Max fella, Schneider doesn't require you to have a Hazmat!! who ever told you that gave you some BS!! Hell i think Schneider said that less than 5% of their freight is Hazmat...
Member
The recruiter told me they are CURRENTLY only hiring drivers with hazmat (a few days ago). All trucking companies are being very selective right now. It's not a big deal. I already have the background check and fingerprinting. I am just waiting for the approval letter to go take the test. However, according to the info I got from the recruiter, driving only 4400 miles in two weeks (and then get two days off) is not worth it though. 36x44= 1584 / 14 days = $113/day for 19 hrs of babysitting a truck and only driving 5 hrs/day. That comes to $41k/yr working 320 days a year. That's insane! I made that the last job I had...and I had twice as many days off. I never touched a load either. At least for me, it is too much time on the road for too little pay. You can't have any life of your own. By the time you get home, you are burnt out. Then, it's time to go back out again. They are looking for bulk drivers, too...and pay 39cpm. Driving tanker, I would make a few thousand more a year. If they could offer more hometime or more mileage, I would definitely consider it more seriously...like 2200 miles in five days and two days off. Or a regional or dedicated with more hometime and miles...but I don't think they have any regional or dedicated available right now where I live.
Member
Here are some more good things I thought of the Wal Mart accounts that Hawk, Jr. can back up with me.
1. You didn't have to worry about fuel. All Wal Marts have one fuel island where you fueled your truck and trailer before you dropped, or you could fuel your trailer before you pulled it out (if it had a backhaul on it and it was down on fuel). Problem was when you went to a different DC. If it was a Schneider run DC, no problem, use the fuel pumps. But if it was run by Werner or someone (like the one in Tomah, WI where we had a lot of backhauls going in) we had to top off the trailer at a Pilot before we got there.
AND- if you needed fuel on the road, it was easy. When I worked there (don't know how it is now) Schneider would make your fuel card a "dedicated" card. All that meant was the card would work at more places than the OTR card would. As big as SNI is, they used a lot of fuel stops for dedicated trucks, and I got to use them all. When I worked there about every Pilot was a dedicated fuel stop because one or more dedicated accounts needed that particular Pilot. It was handy.
2. You didn't have to worry about weight for the most part. When you left the DC you had to scale out and ensure it wasn't overweight either gross or on any axle. They had a small axle scale to use. When you came with a backhaul in most of the time you could take routes that didn't have scales. Even if you had to scale it, you could use your ComData card to buy a CAT scale. Most of the time you didn't have to scale it out though.
3. You had some nice places to sleep. Some cities wouldn't allow a truck to park at the Wal Mart, but not many in my area. With a Wal-Mart trailer, you could park at any Wal-Mart or Sam's Club for your 10 hour break. Most of these were close enough to somewhere you could get a bite to eat to walk to. That was handy. Of course you knew the closest WM parking lot for every backhaul. Other than that you were running a lot of 2 lane roads with small truck stops where you could always find a spot to camp out for the night.
There were also things I didn't like about it:
1. Trailer maintenance wasn't very good. Wal Mart was buying new trailers, but they didn't get very many new reefers. Most of the tires were questionable as to their road worthiness. This being said, I never had to have a service truck come to put a new tire on a trailer. Most of them we would catch flat when we hooked up the the trailer.
2. Some of the backhauls were great, most were run-of-the-mill, some sucked big time. I hated going into some of those cold storage places in Chicago or Indianapolis to get a load. A lot of time you'd spend all day waiting in a dock at one of those places. I don't remember if we got any detention pay for that or not. Probably not. I really liked picking up watermelons in Poseyville, IN. You'd just park on the side of the farm road and take your break. I liked places you could take a break.
3. My STL was a jerk, too. I hated him. The woman I had when I first went solo was great, but I got a new STL after 90 days or whatever and got this guy. Wasn't a fan of him at all. His son was a driver there (real weird kid). After he drove about 3 months they gave him a job in the office on nights a weekends, cutting the regular night guys' hours down.
Thats about it. Someone should start a Wal-Mart grocery DC thread on here so drivers from all the companies can get together to trade notes. I'd like to know who the best to work for is out of a Wal Mart. I know I've been in DC's run by Schneider, Werner, Crete, Swift, Brisk, and maybe one other, but I can't remember. Crete had one in Sterling, IL. From what I heard, they lost the contract because their on time rate was so bad. I did talk to a driver from up there and they said Crete was having a hard time hiring enough drivers. He said they were running like dogs and he had just had enough time off for a 34 hour restart for the last month, but this was like 3 years ago now.
They are really sweet deals if you live close to the DC. I lived 25 miles, I went home 2-3 or more nights a week. After I worked there 6 months or so I went to a 5 on, 2 off schedule. I was off Tuesdays and Wednesdays, having to go back to work Thurs (usually afternoon/evening). SNI had about a dozen different ways to have time off. 5 and 2's with different days off (they had a Sat/Sun off, but it was like pulling teeth to get on it. They only let a few guys on it.) 6 and 2's. 11 and 3 (yeah, some guys wanted this), 6 and 1, etc. Everyone who came on had to start on 6 and 2 and then you could transfer to what you wanted, they didn't make you get on any one program.
Board Regular
I was required to have HAZMAT with Schneider. They told us you have to have it before you come to training even though you don't need it on Walmart.
I wasn't going to post this but I attempted to go back to Walmart in WCH and the head guy up there told me it was fine with him. Green Bay told me that they shrunk their hiring area so I called back to Washington Couthouse to see what was going on.
The head of the Washington Courthouse Schneider fleet got on the phone and talked to me in a very nasty and disrespectfull tone simply because I called to ask what was going on. He seemed so nice for the 15 months I was there but he talked to me like I was a piece of s*** and I still really don't know why. I was there 15 months never called off, no accidents and no incidents. I even talked to the superiors up in Green Bay about it and they don't know why he acted that way.
So as far as I am concerned even though they will let come back to their National Fleet I will never work for them again.
Senior Board Member
Yes is something decent about the account but i know are our DC in the morning when drivers are coming back from Meat and Produce you'll have trucks four or five deep lined up at one pump..You didn't have to worry about fuel. All Wal Marts have one fuel island where you fueled your truck and trailer before you dropped, or you could fuel your trailer before you pulled it out (if it had a backhaul on it and it was down on fuel). Problem was when you went to a different DC. If it was a Schneider run DC, no problem, use the fuel pumps. But if it was run by Werner or someone (like the one in Tomah, WI where we had a lot of backhauls going in) we had to top off the trailer at a Pilot before we got there.
Yes this is one of the best things about the account.. No wondering off trying to find a spot at a truck stop 2 A.M. in the morning... I've found some damn good food and restaurants in and around wal marts.. especially in the North Carolina area!! There's only one Wal Mart i knew off on our Account the wouldn't let us park there and i still don't understand until this day because of how big the lot is!!You had some nice places to sleep. Some cities wouldn't allow a truck to park at the Wal Mart, but not many in my area. With a Wal-Mart trailer, you could park at any Wal-Mart or Sam's Club for your 10 hour break. Most of these were close enough to somewhere you could get a bite to eat to walk to. That was handy. Of course you knew the closest WM parking lot for every backhaul. Other than that you were running a lot of 2 lane roads with small truck stops where you could always find a spot to camp out for the night.
Don't get me started!!! Fortunately half of our reefer trailers are newer units within the past two months and they starting to send them crappy trailer up north... hopefully for demolition.. One trailer dogged tracked so bad going down the road i was in disbelief... One had a hole patched up as big as a Mack Grill..
1. Trailer maintenance wasn't very good. Wal Mart was buying new trailers, but they didn't get very many new reefers. Most of the tires were questionable as to their road worthiness. This being said, I never had to have a service truck come to put a new tire on a trailer. Most of them we would catch flat when we hooked up the the trailer.
Our's aren't that bad.. We got a few places like Unilever in Baltimore, MD, ISE America Egg Farm in Maryland, and Some places that some Essay's run in North Carolina.. I personally love the backhaul run out of Palmyra PA from General Mills... Get Deadhead 265 miles North to pick up a load and deliver it 208 miles... good stuff..Some of the backhauls were great, most were run-of-the-mill, some sucked big time. I hated going into some of those cold storage places in Chicago or Indianapolis to get a load. A lot of time you'd spend all day waiting in a dock at one of those places. I don't remember if we got any detention pay for that or not. Probably not. I really liked picking up watermelons in Poseyville, IN. You'd just park on the side of the farm road and take your break. I liked places you could take a break
Like i said it could be a great place to work at but with Schneider Penny Pinching it will never be... But as long as i have a vaild driver ID for them.. i'm going to try to get them wheels moving!!
Senior Board Member
localorange is a good source of info on the pumpkin carrier. he and i are real life friends, believe it or not. he drives the gaycab around the so-cal area.
Senior Board Member
Sni..they arent doing anything with the owner operators..only thing is(for awhile now) they havent been adding anyone onto choice program....
company drivers..NO PAY RAISES THIS YEAR FOR ANYONE!!!! and the 401k contribution have been held off until december 09.
Rookie
Schneider is a good company. There are several things I don't like about their management, but they are a very stable company, well run financially. They have a wide selection of stone cold ******s in their offices, just like everywhere else though. And yes, you need Hazmat for them. Don't believe otherwise. I was there 10+ years. You also have to go to one of their OC's and take a written hazmat test every few years.
As for Walmart, like most of SNI's dedicated accounts, it doesn't pay very well, but it's steady work and you know exactly when you'll get home. I remember when I was an O/O there, and they sent a fleet message from Bedford PA asking for help. So I called in, and the acct manager offered something like 26 cents a mile, and a lil extra for detention, etc. I told him I wasn't a company driver, and no thanks anyway.
Senior Board Member
you can make money on the wal mart account... you going to have to run more than 5 days a week and run your full 11 and 14 and you need to be at an decent DC... That DC at Bedford Sucks!! I HATE IT!!... people who don't run and take one load don't make any money and they be the same ones *****'n in the lounge.. there's also incentives so its just not mileage pay.. you can make up to $75 dollars extra off of one trip...
Member
sni
Well seems like, compared to all the junk places out there, werner, swift etc.... schnide doesn't seem half bad place to start out at. Ill take 31 cpm anyday over 25 or 26. Home time be dammned
Board Regular
I personally pulled for Schneider out of WI for just under 2 years, about 14 months of that was dedicated local salary.
I think SNI is a good place to start out, I think they are a strong, stable company. I would have no hesitation recommending them. However, I think they are on the lower end of the pay scale, and you pretty much have to live by their rules. I met some happy drivers, and some cranky drivers. I think that many unhappy drivers create their own problems. Trucking isn't for everyone.
I think SNI works best if you don't mind being on their schedule. If you want a home life, look elsewhere. I basically got my experience and did my time, and when something better came up, I put in my 2 weeks and moved on. Personally, if I could have made better money, I'd still be there.
I take some level of comfort knowing that if I ever found myself in a real bind, I would be welcome back there.
So, if you're in a bind, I'd say go for it. If you can afford it, I'd say wait for something better suited to you.
Senior Board Member
Been on the SNI dedicated Wal-Mart in Henderson, NC for about 3 months. Work 5/2 and I'll be around 47,500 or so this year. not a bad job at all. They don't mess with you much and if you need a day off it's not a hassle at all. not many complaints. Some of the slip-seat trucks are a little dirty but I've cleaned 2 in the last 2 weeks and they paid me for it. Asked me to take out a new driver yesterday and show him the run, paperwork etc and they paid me mentor pay + $25. Called me on my day off last week because they needed help and offered me my regular pay plus $75 to work.
Board Regular
"Great job training your replacement! Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out."
Senior Board Member
lol. They have hired a bunch of new drivers for this account because there are at least 5 new Supercenters opening up in the area this summer.
I'll keep my eyes open, though.
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