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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 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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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
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!!