Just make sure that you have somethine else lined up, just in case. I dont see Westar being around too much longer. Best of luck over there.

 

And why may I ask do you think that? Just because they now have enough drivers to fill their need? Because the owner-operators they had refused to comply with safety regulations and were the primary cause of the bad safety review and had their contracts terminated?

Looks to me like they are indeed growing along the line they have planned, adding 5 new Peterbilt's a month to the fleet, continuing to properly maintain the fleet (if they were in a bind as some have accused with no proof, would they have just spent close to $2000 on my truck for alignment and tires or would they have said, no, wait a bit and let's see what happens?)

Please, if you have something with substance, post it, if you are merely providing lip service due to either getting an owner operator position terminated, or repeating rumors, feel free to contact the company and ask prior to bad mouthing them! Until then, they have treated me with nothing but respect, kept me running 5 good days a week and home weekends. The paycheck I cashed yesterday didn't bounce, and I expect the one next week to be good as well!

Some have said that they have 20 trucks sitting on the yard. I counted yesterday, 9 Volvo's that are slated for Albuquerque, 3 brand new Petes, and 2 Petes that have just been turned in by drivers who have been there for awhile and were upgraded to new ones. Sure, there are other trucks on the yard. They allow us to park there while we are at home either for the weekend or overnight.

 

Nothing against you, and I am glad to hear that work is going good for ya. I hope, John goes completely under. The reason why he pulled the rug underneath the owner opps is because John is a freaking prick. My best friend had his truck leased to them, and he now has found a new home for his truck, but it wasnt because of DOT regs that they got their leases pulled out from under them.

I am sorry, how ever if I have offended you, but on my best friend's behalf, I am upset over the whole thing. If it werent for the owner operators, John would have went under several years ago. Now, all of a sudden he knocks out the guys who helped him out.

 

I was referring to being OTR 48 state. If you are thinking of 48 states, forget about weekends, maybe even months.

 

Did you even read ANY of the replies?
How can you make a comment like that if you don't even drive yet?
Several people stated they do.
Last I read, you don't get out of school until April?
The majority of the companies it's 3 weeks or so, if your in school you should know that.

No I don't drive yet, and admit I know squat, other than what I read here and talking to truckers. I am starting school next week, but I don't go around making comments like that.... Months?
I have a friend that drives. He stays out 3 to 4 months at a time ( his choice ) he could be home every 2 or 3 weeks. He likes being gone longer and taking off 3 to 7 days to relax, then call in for his next load.

 

Over-the-road implies that the driver will be not be on a set schedule, compared to a dedicated, or linehaul.

It just sounded naive to me for someone to think working OTR for a company would be home every weekend b/c it would be tough with the lack of scheduled runs.

I should have stated that my opinions are refering to the mega-carriers, i.e. Swift, Werner, J.B. Hunt, etc... anyone signing on w/ these guys thinking they are going to get weekends off are probably being lied to.

 

I work for Star transport in illinois. We get home every weekend (rare exceptions) and have almost too much time off on holidays (never thought id say that). We run pretty much everywhere east of the mississippi.

For the new guys posting etc: It is the big fleets that can get you home the easiest (if they want). I wouldnt trust swift, jb, werner but the rest probably (course i wouldnt work for swift, or werner and probably not jb). But if companies like tmc, decker, roehl etc say it theyre probably telling the truth. Once you get some experience the reality is if they screw you all you have to do is walk. TAke you at least twenty minutes on the phone to have a new job with a new company and a bus ticket or truck on the way to pick you up.

There ARE companies that only (or mostly) do 3 weeks out or more. Who underpay their drivers for doing so etc etc. They're dinosaurs and are going to go the way of same. (imho werner and swift being the biggies who are going to bite the big one eventually). But lots and lots of good companies out there if you look hard enough to find what you want.

 

No problem, In the case that your friend was in fact one of the ones that weren't messing up, he got caught in an ugly situation. My question to you though, is how you figure the company is going under? I still say that it is good business to run the trucks with your own company drivers, under your control, not having to pay the commissions of the o/o, but putting it in your pockets instead. Also, why have your company drivers sitting with no loads when you have o/o's out there getting loads? Yes, he started with o/o's and has used them until this point, unfortunately from what I have heard, like anyplace else, a few screwed the goldmine up for the rest!!

I only ask that you state the facts, not a slander against the company claiming they are going under. Remember, there is always 3 views to any story, The companies', the drivers' and the TRUTH!!!

 

Good point, bald eagle. I guess, I just talked a little trash. :P It's pretty much, heresay. Just from what I heard, it sounds like they are on their last leg. Cheap freight rates, and trying to find loads for the drivers without having to put in a lot of deadhead miles. Of course, he was telling me this right after he got his lease pulled underneath him, and it didnt help you any by me running my mouth. :lol: I'm sorry about that, that wasnt right to get on here, and repeat what I heard, and not giving you any figures, or anything on paper that would prove that. Sorry about that.

He didnt mention anything about the owner operators that werent going by company standards, or policies, etc. That would explain why an owner operator would lose his lease. Maybe he doesnt know about it, even though, he knew what was going on around there. He did get screwed. Whenever it was, Friday before last, they called him 8:30 that Friday morning. They told him that the load that Jose had, would be the last..

He is now in the process of having his truck leased to, Bennett Motor Express.

 

:twisted: bump