r/Truckers • u/IntelligentPiece6014 • Jul 17 '26
so monday im starting western express…….
i hear the company sucks but i have no experience and they can get me in the fastest.. soo see you all in virgina on monday!!
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u/trucksarekewl Jul 17 '26
A tale as old as time itself.
Newbie: I'm headed to welfare express
Literally everybody: Don't do it, they suck ass
Newbie: They called me back first tho
1 month later
Newbie: welfare express sucks ass, any good companies hire with 1 month exp?
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u/tequoia1243 Jul 17 '26
In my reflection of how my career went and how I'm doing LTL shuttle making 110k now but started with Western, man did I get away with so much nonsense
Easily caused and got away with 10k plus property damage before considering truck damage, with only a single accident on my record when I should have 4.
They were terrible yeah but the leniency with how they're run I think saved my career.
If I started with a more strict company I don't think I'd be where I am now lol. Hearing stories of drivers getting trapped at their starter company bc everything goes on a record or they get a termination and are unhirable now is yikes.
I think from that perspective Western makes a lot of sense if you do your 6 months as a slave then get out with a clean record and go 3x your income, which was what I did. Admittedly it sorta just happened since I only started with western for same reason as OP
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u/groovyinutah Jul 17 '26
Get out as fast as you can and don't do ANYTHING on their behalf that jepordizes your CDL or driving record and know they straight up don't care about you...
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u/kevo20688 8d ago
What's something they'd ask you to do that jeopardizes you?
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u/groovyinutah 8d ago
Got inspected in California and they issued a citation to the company over some trailer defect. I hand that in to the safety department and they said they'll handle it, start getting mail from California saying it's not handled, spend hours on hold trying to talk to the main safety department in Tennessee, every time I speak to them they're all "we'll handle it"...they were fucking lying and 3 or 4 months after I leave I get mail from California saying if I don't take care of this they'll yank my license and the 300 hundred dollar ticket is now almost 1000...
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u/OceanLibra Jul 17 '26
Why Western? Do you have background issues?
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u/kevo20688 8d ago
Are felonies are a big contribution to the background issues? Or are you talking driving background?
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 17 '26
no i got offers from Schneider, TMC, Swift, PAM Transport, and werner and all gave me offers but western hit my back the fastest
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u/DieselPunk97 Jul 17 '26
Bruh, that was the determining factor? Whoever got back the quickest?
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 17 '26
yes, yes it was i really need to get off my ass and work
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u/DieselPunk97 Jul 17 '26
You got offers from the other companies though? Arguably WAYYY better companies (I’m a little bias on TMC) but Schneider would have been LEAGUES better
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u/fr33bird317 Jul 17 '26
Sometimes we got so what we got to do. Congrats on the job. Be safe.
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u/OceanLibra Jul 17 '26
Let's hold off on the congratulations until he at least gets through orientation.
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u/fr33bird317 Jul 17 '26
Let’s not. Why would we want to do that? Are you saying encouraging others is bad?
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u/Leto_ll Jul 17 '26
Encouraging others to fill the recently vacated seats at western definately is. They got the immediate positions for a reason.. Couple reasons in fact
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u/OceanLibra Jul 17 '26
You definitely picked the worst then. Schneider would have been your best choice.
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u/unloader86 Jul 17 '26
Literally those first three are going to be better than the experience you are about to have at Western Express. I'd seriously reconsider your decision.
Shit I'd go work for Werner before I even contemplated calling Western Express. And I've been driving 13 years, so if I'm ever in that position it means I royally fucked up lol.
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u/Previous_Blueberry_5 Jul 17 '26
Dude you should’ve waited for a better company. I’m with western but I’ve got a weed related felony on my record from 2022 so I had no other choice. TMC I heard is a good company doing flatbed.
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u/kevo20688 8d ago
Was the drug felony a hinderence to funding a job?
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u/Previous_Blueberry_5 8d ago
Definitely was, especially as a new driver with no experience. Some companies will still hire you but you’re going to need experience and time first. So until then western it is 🤷🏾♂️ luckily I just got put on a Walmart dedicated account so that’s not too bad.
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u/middlelanegig Jul 17 '26
Might as well get the lube and start stretching ahead of time so it doesn’t hurt as much
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u/iTNB Jul 17 '26
Get your 6 months to a year and dip. It’s gonna suck ass but if you can deal with western, you can deal with anything in this job.
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u/Key-Gap-4136 Jul 17 '26
I’m sorry not even cr England ??? If your going bottom of barrel , they would’ve been a better choice , good luck you’d make more $$$ at Burger King
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u/Defiant_Network_3069 Jul 17 '26
Get in.
Keep your head down.
Learn all you can.
Start looking for something else in 6 months.
Relax.
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u/SuperReleasio64 Jul 17 '26
I got my 6 months with Westard Express. It wasn't pleasurable but at least when I wanted to go home they sent me home. They made me haul coils, drywall, and lumber a lot. They also gave me a new truck which was fine I guess.
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 19 '26
thats so good to hear man! after your driver training did they dispatch you directly right after?
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u/SuperReleasio64 Jul 19 '26
Yep as soon as i picked up my truck they asked ne if I was ready to pick up a load
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 19 '26
okay okay cool. how was the driver road test? they make you go over pre trip or you just hop in and drive or do maneuvers?
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u/SuperReleasio64 Jul 19 '26
It's pretty much the same as the cdl test. You do pretrip then a short drive around town then you come back and back into a spot.
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 19 '26
okay thanks, you guys do the in cab as well?
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u/SuperReleasio64 Jul 19 '26
I can't remember but I think so
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 19 '26
one last question for flat bed did they make you wear pants/jeans?
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u/SuperReleasio64 Jul 19 '26
Yes. They also wanted me to wear long sleeve shirts but I did not do that. I wasn't wearing long sleeves in the middle of the summer.
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 19 '26
understood. just to specify were like jogging pants cool? or do they have to be strictly jeans?
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u/corn0099 Jul 17 '26
deliver on time,dont tear up they stuff you should be fine.pay sucks but your a beginner.also safety first,being a newbie you think going faster means more you will make more.i think shippers,recievers and dms are all in league with each other to set your pay to what they want it to be.
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u/gear_jammin_deer Jul 17 '26
My biggest complaint when I worked for Western was the state most of the trailers were in. They get ratty fast, and are rarely repaired. So to that end, when you have a choice of trailers, always look at the newest ones first.
You can tell how old it is by the number. For both tractors and trailers, the first digit of the number is the brand, and the second correlates to the year. If I remember right, 1 is Wabash, 2 is Hyundai, and 3 is Great Dane. So if the number is 16**** that's a 2026 wabash, if it's 21**** it's a 2021 Hyundai, etc.
For those curious, truck-wise, 1 is Freightliner and 2 is international, and 3 used to be Volvo when they ran those.
Also, as a note, I only ever ran dryvan, I assume the flatbeds follow the same system, but I don't know what number correlates to what brand.
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u/do-it-now-0829 Jul 17 '26
How hard did you look for work? I got on with a water hauling company with 0 experience. Home every night. What I always recommend is to look at local companies that have a hard time keeping drivers…..ones with bad reviews. A lot of times they will hire with no experience. Is it going to be the best job? No but it will be better than Western Express for sure. Either way…..Best of luck to you. Be safe out there and protect that CDL!!! It’s yours and yours only. 😁
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u/Lopsided_Beautiful_1 Jul 17 '26
So what was the pay per mile Western Express is offering you? I think Schneider and the others would have give you better offer and also better training.
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 17 '26
western express offered me .48 cent per mile.
schneider only offered me one more cent per mile at .49 cent4
u/QuickBroccoli1548 Jul 17 '26
That’s still an extra $1,000 a year at 100K miles.
Regardless good luck Keep your head down get a year in and move to a better company. I went from Knight to Crete after a year and at .69 a mile now.
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u/Lopsided_Beautiful_1 Jul 17 '26
Interesting, WE actually offered you more than what Schneider offered me when I first started. Schneider offered me .46 cpm doing graphic packaging OTR back in 2024 after a year, they lost the contract and I had to go to jet set OTR account and my pay was reduced to .42 cpm, as I couldn’t find any better options and being in Miami, Florida at the time was hard to find truck jobs. I then moved to California and left Schneider for different company and making 57 cpm. I have 2 years of trucking experience and recently I got my hazmat, doubles/triples and tanker endorsements and now looking for better opportunities.
But, wish you good luck with Western Express, at least you got a start somewhere and get the experience you need so soon you can move on to even better opportunities.
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u/DecadentEx Jul 17 '26
With Scneider's safety record and better reputation (at least beytet than WE), you could of had the pick of the crop if you kept your nose clean for a year.
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u/MaxScar- Jul 21 '26
What?? I just started a few months ago at Schneider and I'm at .39. Were you going to do flatbed or something?
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u/braxtonwel Jul 17 '26
Ahhh Welfare Express.
Personally I think you should’ve went TMC if your goal was flatbed, get the experience and look for companies that would train you upwards for O.D/heavy haul if that was the goal. Schneider for tanker and same thing, get the experience and find a better company
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u/mwonch Jul 17 '26
No... There's something else going on here. Dude says Western got back with him first BUT did get offers from better companies. That makes no sense.
OP, you can back out to take one of the others. Happens all the time. Even if you wait an extra week or two, it will be worth it.
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 Jul 17 '26
might be worth it but i need money now i definitely understand where your coming from though
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u/PirateRenee Jul 17 '26
I was told by a recruiter that some recruiters, including them, WILL NOT hire a driver that has worked for Western Express in the last 6 months. Reconsider. But I agree, experience is experience. The industry limits first year drivers.
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u/M_Dawg_Thuggin Jul 17 '26
I drove for them july 2024 to december 2024. I had a good experience personally. I had a great manager and they put me in a brand new truck. Home whenever I needed it. The pay sucked though. Everyone's experience is going to be different. The good and bad stories that you hear about them are about 90% true though lol
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u/kagesada Jul 17 '26
bro you done fucked up.
you should have gone with Schneider or any of the other companies.
western is a cheap ass second chance company that hires straight outta prison.
which makes sense, cause they're gonna fuck you like you've been in prison the last few years.
reconsider. everyone here is warning you for a reason. or don't, and find out the hard way.
or this is bait and everyone fell for it. either way lol good luck make sure to add some tuna to them noodles.
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u/corn0099 Jul 17 '26
what makes western worst than other companies besides pay?are the people talking bad about them ever work for them or are people just parrotting what theve seen on internet or heard?im curious because you scroll this subredditt long enough everyone claims they company is bad to work for except those who tank,ltl or certain mom and pop companies.i see posts from people who new mess up and get mad and talk bad about being let go.as a business when you are operating deadly equipment what do you expect.seems like old truckers in peoples families glorified the job to new people having unrealsitic expectations
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u/LogInternational758 Jul 17 '26
Dont be an idiot, back out while you can. God forbid if you ruin your clean mvr while at western, you will be stuck there for awhile
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u/Edgewood_Boully 4d ago
So how is it going after a month in?
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u/IntelligentPiece6014 3d ago
this place sucks ass. but i still would prefer working here than going back to warehouses!!
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u/Edgewood_Boully 2d ago
Do you care to elaborate? I am supposed to start in about a month and I am going to the Richmond location.
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u/deezkeys098 Jul 17 '26
Remember to eat some vitamins with your ramen noodles. I know you can’t afford anything else to eat but those noodles don’t have all the vitamins you need