Watkins ?
 

Its appears Watkins-Shepard has a terminal in North Ga..

And they also have some out west.

This tells me a driver will get to go out west with them.

Anyone here have any real experience with Watkins.

Whats a day or a week like in the life of a Watkins driver ?

Thanks

I live about a 100 miles south of their Dalton terminal. I did a search on Watkins-Shepard and read some of the older posts about them, but I'd be curious to hear a little more, too. No company is perfect, but as far as I can tell, they're pretty decent.

From what I understand, they are a pretty decent company. I think not too long ago there was a flurry of posts about them..... Do a search with the company name and see what pops up.

Good Deal....thanks....i searched and found alot of positive input
and feedback.

May make it out west yet.

Gonna ring the recruiter next week

Feel free to PM me or if you're blocked (too new) email me direct, [email protected], others did this for me and I'm happy to do the same.

Are you a driver with Watkins & Shepard :?:

Do you have information :?:

I have a list of questions I have made over the past couple
of days.

EMail sent

I will start with Watkins Shepard on the 10th, had started with another Company with a "Driver Trainer", I did the driving and he did not do the training, he was the worst of everything I had heard about Trucking.

I liked the driving and all the rest of it, just could not fit with the Trainer, from everything I have heard, Watkins is a much better fit for me, am looking forward to this, 10 days then on my own without living in a box with someone else

If you dont mind once you get on the road with Watkins could you share
some info. (Miles,Routes,etc)
I am interested in them also.

Thanks

ubet, I have talked to several companies in the last 6 months, they seem to be the best fit for me, will let you know. This is a whole new thing to me, I am looking forward to this.

So what company were you driving with that the trainer was not doing any training?

Seems this is what many companys do and that is not good. I hope I get a decent trainer that does not crawl into the back and sleep. I am 65 and retired twice, I can quit in an instant after I drag him out of the truck.

Oh would I do that!!

I don't want to say the Company because, the doom sayers will start their thing, it really had nothing to do with the Company because they are a good Company and I would work for them again.

I am your age and less willing to put up with some things, not sure if he (the "Trainer") is still there or not.

I wanna be trained good and safe.
As an ex machinist I always was racing to do a good job and done in time or early, I just loved to have my project turn out good and beat the next guy. I was always competeing against time and even as a computer specialist, my last position before base closure and early retirement back in 94 I would put my best into any project.

But as a driver running 80,000 lbs down the road I don't want to kill anybody, especially myself. And I don't want to loose my job because my log books are crap.

I have nothing to brag about but between SS and Govt retirement I don't have to get up in the morning. I am doing this project because I have always wanted to do it. After a year I will look back and see if I want to continue. Maybe my own truck and work off the load board. I know that will not be easy if I believe everything people say here but for some reason their are thousands doing just that.

I want my truck. And it better be a Freightliner

smile

No matter what our background, a lot of us "old farts" think alike, want to get the job done, safe, sound and when it is supposed to be done.

I have been retired for 1.5 years, this somethine I want to do, not something I have to do, I refuse to, just get in a Truck and drive, I want it done correctly and I am willing to do what ever to learn the right way, everything I have read, heard and seen, Watkins is the best fit for me.

retiredmb

I'm with you. In the long run getting it there safe and on schedule if they don't cut it too close is the right way.

The chart about the hours you can run before rest time can get confusing but I like the restart deal. I will have to take a hobby with me in the Condo. I build model boats some times. And I golf.

Does Watkins do the complete training? I looked at them and they have my app from Layover.com and have requested more info but that is an automatic thing. You are close to my age of 65? and they hire safe old farts.

How long is their training for a rank newbie and how long with a company driver?

Pay while training?

Thanks

Here is the link to the Web Site: http://www.wksh.com/

Their School is 4 weeks, then you are assigned a Truck and on your own, W/O a Trainer, if you already have a School completed the orientation is 10 days (unpaid) and you are out on your own.

They are located in Missouls MT, you will get plenty of Mountain Training so when you are trained there, you should be able to drive anywhere. The Drivers that I have talked to, that work there, say if you have any questions, there is plenty of support, from other Drivers and everyone else.

You can contact [email protected] he works there and is willing to give you better info than I can

This youngster (58) just Faxed the long app in saturday. It was between CFI & W/S both sound real good but i chose W/S cause of the mountain / winter training . And I'll be waiting for the Nov class to start. It will give me more time to make sure everything is taken care here at the house / Gardner and whatever :? Well good luck to you

Your just a Kid Walter would say.
My old fishing Buddy Walter last Oct told me while I was doing the Bait Boy job sitting between him at 84 and Louie at 77.
"You young Whipper Snapper you still got time for two more careers"
He was 84 and passed on last Feb. Fell and broke his collar and went down from there in a very short time.

I sent Mike a email, just as well keep looking while a wait for my other recruiter to send me something firming up the school, like a real official offer, They got my papers on file and I have nothing from them.

All the BS you're going to be putting up with in OTR trucking just isn't worth it at that age guys. Watkins likes to keep you busy and the idea of it being a scenic picnic will wear off very quickly. You'll become tired of being treated like crap very quickly from low-life dock workers and truckers after all you've guys been through over the years. Take mine and others advice... take the last quarter of your life and enjoy it with just a simple side job to pay the bills. OTR trucking is nothing like going out RV'ing. Read the Davis flatbed thread for example.

The kid just don't understand
We are doing this because we want to.
I don't need a job
My retirement is probably as much as you first year drivers will make
I don't have to even get up in the morning but I do to run my little internet business that I do for fun. Just wish I could sell a million of my plans on CD that cost me 35 cents to burn and get from 9.95 to 19.95 each.

When out trucking my orders will come in on my Blackberry and I will just have the wife back home drop them into the mail for me.

My goal is to have my own truck and pick up loads off the load board and drive couple three weeks a month or till I wanna go play Golf.
Build a custom home on my Golf course lot with the extra money I make trucking.

Then retire for the 4th time.

I forgot to add, My RV is paid for and it costs 1 1/2 times what a new greightliner cost new

I just filled out my on-line application after I talked to Bobbie at Watkins and Shepard. I love snow as long as I don't have to play in it and getting a MT Lic lets you get a Mont Elk permit :D

An old friend of mine lives in Missoula, MT and last heard had a truck/trailer repair business for broken down trailers on the road.

I like how you make it sound like Watkins will just let you work when you want to work. :roll: Have at that 30 cpm Mr. Big bucks. When you're in Utah on a 90 degree day with 10 stops of furniture you must tailgate to the back of the trailer dont forget about filling those orders on your blackberry. You Newbs F'in amaze me.

Really? They Do

That is great. Probably let everybody take couple weeks off to get their Elk.
What a great company.

He has a valid point in that their drivers do a lot of the unloading(at least to the tailgate) of heavy furniture.

Watkins/Shepard expects their new drivers to drive 10,000 miles a month or more and get up to averaging 12,000 miles a month with experience.

Yes they do haul some of that but not on a flatbed. But you know if your afraid to work you should keep out of trucking.

I hope to drive as much as Legally allowed. Keep a good log book and be safe. I was told they like older drivers because we tend to be safer.

Can that be verified someplace.

So who do you drive for Greg? I keep asking that because you seem to know everything about trucking>

Since you're a brand new wet behind the ears newb gb.. you'll be dragging a van for the 1st 3 months before you can flatbed. That means offloading tons of furniture, tons of little boxes of Pier 1 stacked by hand from floor to ceiling or even better tons of Kmart loaded from floor to ceiling all tailgate loads. That's not even the end of it! Your easy load will be paper to go back South and pick up another one of these crap hand touch freight loads. Expect one of these atleast once a week.

Read some of the flatbed postings around here, it'll be the same at Watkins. Have fun tarping in the freezing winter for a few hours not to even earn a good days pay.

Some folks aren't afraid of working, they just against working for cheap which is what you'll be doing. There's plenty of drivers out here who make more than double than what you'll be doing at W/S and they're home to enjoy their families nighty.

Yeah OK
Thanks for all your great info. I will make a note of it.
If I wanted to be home all the time I would not be doing this.
My wife is looking forward to some road time.
You have to weigh all the facts to come up with the complete answer.
Who do you drive for?
Or who are you going to drive for?

I don't disclose that on internet boards. Sorry, I guess I'm a little paranoid. I do run refer and will keep it at that. :wink:

That is probably a good thing. Least you don't have people dumping on you because they don't like the company you drive for or want to drive for.
I notice many people do nothing but run around the board making negative remarks about everything and anything. Guess they have nothing better to do.

I was suppose to start school with another company monday but have backed away from it cuss I don't want to haul groceries right now.

Maybe later when I get tired of hauling furnature. Ha What a joke
See all that furnature on my flatbed.

I see a classic Freightliner in my future.

You have the money gbtrucker. Why not just go to a private school and pay for it rather than sign on with a company. I am doing that now and they have had lots of small companies that aren't even listed on these sites coming in to talk to us.

I have also seen some pretty sweet looking custom sleepers with kitchens, showers etc. I even said to my wife that rather than go the expensive RV route that one of those would be great. Then you could make money as you go from one vacation spot to another in retirement.

I like the idea of a company training me and I have read every post about Watkins and Shepard on this forum and others and I am convenced I will learn alot driving with them.

That is my long term plan for later. My own truck and a beauty, Lease it back for a year or so and then go on my own. I met a guy with a T2000 Freight Liner he has for his 45 ft RV, what a beauty.He used to drive for pay.

I been retired for 14 yrs and to us this is a paid adventure and something that will keep us active so we may live longer.

Got to look at it in different ways at our (Old Fart) ways.

Thanks everybody for your input, that is what fourms are about.

As my old friend Walter would say, "Your just a young whipper snapper and you have time for two more careers"

He died back in Feb at age 84

His picture will be in my truck. We sure caught alot of fish together.

I can not speak for others on this board that may or may not work for this company, only for myself. The only thing I’ve done a lot of is drive, followed by a majority of loads being drop/hook, next are live load/unload, lastly by “fingerprinting” the freight. I’ve touched the freight less than 10%, and those times were paid additional to the mileage. These were easy 1-2 piece drops, items weighing maybe 50-75 lbs, and a few Pier 1 loads where you do move the items to the back of the truck (lots of small boxes, oh ya, the girls helping unload are HOT!) I just took off 1 week and nobody cared, I guess I could have hunted but I’m just not that into hunting. My dispatchers comment was “hey, you’ve earned the time, why not”
My van days are over, I've gone over to the dark side, they gave me cookies and a drop deck flatbed.

Thanks for the info.
Can you give us a break down of a average months worth of pay.

Total Miles =
Unloading =
Extra Stops =
Pay Bonus =
etc etc

I would like to do some figures with it.

Looking forward to Pier 1
Victorieas Secret shops


Thanks

All you need to know old man is that I have plenty more years driving than you do. Worked where you want to work and got tired of working 100 hrs a week and getting paid for only 50-70 cheaply when you break it down. Enjoy those 1st 3 months OTR pulling van. Most of you newbs quit before the 1st year so you should get a newer truck right off the bat. Why else does W/S have 3 schools churning out new drivers for only 700 trucks?? Most other outfits give a newb more pay after their 1st year than W/S gives to their most senior driver.

CB JR

Why don't you go stuff it
I have looked at all your posts and it looke like you go all over the board harrassing people with your digs

I really don't need your crap and if you want to continue you can take it off line with me.

You are a jerk

Truth hurts old man.