S1B8: Trucker Gal Dairies: Changing Trucking Companies.

“Our lives are stories in the making, each decision, each new adventure brings with it new opportunities to learn and grow.” 

In October I started with a new trucking company - JB Hunt. 

One morning at 1:30am my C-Pap went dead. Inverter tripped off. Battery in truck low. I get up, start the truck to charge the batteries so I can go back to sleep. Most of the time the inverter had lasted all night. But that was before the temps began to fall and I had to use the bunk heater in conjunction with the C-Pap. This is a new experience. And a problem that would have to be resolved. 

My first company, “Werner.” had all of their trucks outfitted with auto start that initiated when the batteries got low. JB Hunt doesn’t have auto start. So, unless it’s below or above a certain temperature the truck will auto turn off in about 19 minutes and 30 seconds. Why 19? Why not round up to 20? Werner had a five-minute delay until the engine would shut down, but at least it would re-start and keep my inverter running so that I could sleep at night with a CPap. Come to find out JB puts in a second inverter just for a CPAP that has its own battery that last 10 hours and charges while you are rolling (A term we use to describe driving over the road). I told My trainer that I had A Cpap, but he was new and didn’t realize that I would need the second inverter. I didn’t find out until my Cpap cut out at 1am and I had to start the truck every 20 minutes to keep using it. 

I called my friend who also has a CPAP and works for JB, she told me that I needed the second inverter. So, I called my manager and we had it put right away. Now I can sleep all night. 

Every trucking company is different.  Each has its own personality. Probably set by the original person who started the company. 

Werner was my first company. I could not have chosen a better company to start with. I absolutely loved Werner. They are known as a trainer company. They are not known for paying drivers well. They have top of the line trucks, they take great care and keep up with their equipment, they seem to care about their drivers, have wonderful terminals with showers and work out rooms, driver hang out areas, washers, dryers, top of the line apps and truck tablet with e-logs that are easy to read and operate. They keep up with technology. Safety is their number one concern. “Accident free, no tickets,” was the mantra my trainer taught. The people at Werner are really good people. I didn’t meet a single grumpy person. That’s saying a lot in the world of trucking. 

Werner also brings all of their would be drivers to a terminal for orientation. It’s a classroom setting with 10-15 people, each situated at a computer terminal also equipped with the Logs tablet we will have in our trucks. They teach the same curriculum all over the country.  There are e-trainers that must be completed before orientation is done, we were put on simulated driving equipment, given tests, trained on tablets in that classroom setting, and given a driving test all before being sent out with a trainer for four weeks. This is for newbie’s - which I was. If you’re an experienced driver you won’t have to go out with a trainer. Werner has its own training for those without CDL’s. But I had chosen my own school and paid for it out of pocket knowing that most companies will pay you back for your schooling over a period of a year and a half or so. Choosing to go to a private truck driving school allowed me to choose the trucking company I wanted to go to. Trucking companies came out to the school to advertise and recruit drivers, I was able to do quite a bit of research before having to make a decision. I didn’t want to commit to driving for a year or two with a company or have to pay them back for schooling they provided if it didn’t work out. I had heard too many horror stories from people who went to various companies for their training. I was very happy with my decision and with Werner. No driver is going to be paid top dollar their first year or two. So, all of the companies I looked at were all within a few cents per mile of each other. So, money is not a deciding factor for a starter company. 

The trucking school’s purpose is to train you to pass the CDL driving and skills test. After I passed (barely) and received my CDL (commercial driving licenses), the test officer told me that the trucking company I would go to will give additional training. No company will trust a newbie out on the road with a company truck until they have been over the road with a trainer. Some companies like prime require a long period of time with a trainer. Werner sent me out with a trainer for four weeks. That’s not a long time. All in all it can 3-6 months to be on your own in a truck. And no matter what it’s going to be scary that first day, first week, first six months!

I drove initially for Werner on the Goodman account out of Texas. I would be out for two to three weeks at a time and back home for three or four days depending on how long I had been out. No accrued PTO at Werner. But they do have matching funds for a 401k. They spend a lot of money to train their drivers, and keep them sharp through required e-trainers every quarter. JB has e-trainers too. But they are not as extensive or in-depth as those of Werner.

While on the Goodman account I had a medical Emergency over the road in the middle of winter. I missed an a specialist DR’s  appointment because of weather and truck issues. I ended up stuck at a terminal in Joliet, And ended up having to go to an Emergency facility near that terminal and re-schedule with the specialist. I decided at that point I wanted to get back in the Best Buy account that I had worked on as a “Holiday Surge” driver, because I would be home at least one day a week, and always close to home every other day.  I no longer felt safe out over the road for long stretches of time where I could not get to my physician if necessary. 

I absolutely loved the Best Buy account. For the most part it’s delivering to two stores a day. Each store doc is different and some are challenging. I learned to back in all kinds of situations. It was a great learning experience.

So why did I decide to move to JB Hunt? A sign on bonus larger than any I’d ever seen, better pay per mile, but mostly I made the move for the two day weekend. The Kraft Account with JB Hunt promised a two day weekend barring unforeseen rare circumstances.  And it wasn’t a partial weekend, it’s out Monday and back Friday evening. They also have accrued PTO! Werner had no PTO. 

At JB, we are trained by the associate fleet manager for the account we are on. I came in as an experienced driver. I have no idea what it’s like for their newbie trainees going through their school. The offices at the terminal was a double wide shared by the amazon account. It really was not a terminal, it was more of a drop yard with a shop to repair trucks. 

Orientation consisted of spending a couple of days In cramped quarters with the associate manager who gives a basic orientation. This was the first orientation I received as an experienced driver. So perhaps that is the reason of the brevity. Actually it was a day and a half and I had my first truck and my first load. The tablet in the truck didn’t work while in orientation. my manager explained the basics of it without being able to actually show how to use it physically. I had to figure it all out as I went - which was damn important because we have to keep electronic logs. 

To be fair, this was a new account, and this was my managers first job out of college. It kind of shocked me when he told me it was his first job out of college – he had been with JB for about a year. He carried himself like someone with far more experience. He is good – but the operational system seemed like it could use some improvement. 

Jumping in with JB was a little like jumping into a cold pool or lake in early spring – a bit jarring to say the least. JB may be one of the better trucking companies out there. They have very high ratings from their truckers.  I can only compare with Werner where the operational system and orientation was a well-oiled machine in comparison.

I’m going on my second month JB. The people, my fleet managers are all just as good and easy to work with as those I had at Werner. The difficulty has been getting used to the company personality, systems, truck tablet apps. I’m finally settling in and feeling in the groove with JB, and the Kraft account. In the beginning I had wondered if I had made the right choice, I’m now glad I made the move. 

I didn’t know what to expect coming to a new trucking company but I knew that JB Hunt was about the same size as Werner. I had talked with a fella at a truck repair who worked for JB about a year back when our trucks were in the same shop. He loved the company, had been with them for fifteen years. And recently the trucker friend I had talked with three or four years ago about getting into trucking had just joined the Kraft account at JB and she loved it. I saw in Facebook that she had weekends off. So I called her and one thing led to another and I found myself seated and driving for JB hunt.

One of my favorite movies of all times is blade runner. The original. The story of it, the allegory or metaphor of humankind’s struggle with creator/god, and our inevitable death, the stages of grief along the way, the anger at the creator, and then the peaceful acceptance of death all in the end captivated me. I probably watched this movie three times a year. Years later I wanted my kids to see it, probably 10-15 years after it had first came out. (Yes, this has to do with changing companies – read on you will see!).

I was so excited. We had the popcorn ready, I started the movie. One of my kid’s said, “this looks ancient.” Another added “The computer systems seemed antiquated.” Suddenly I saw what they started to complain about, And one by they all lost interest and couldn’t get through it to see the “big picture.” I was so disappointed but realized for the first time how antiquated all of the “space age” equipment really appeared on the original blade runner. It was a cut above James T Kirks star track of the 60’s. In its time it was cutting edge and the atmospherics are still amazing. I remembered my kid’s reaction as I tried to navigate JB Hunts on board tablet and e-log apps. Werner spoiled me. I kind of felt like I had stepped back in time with JB. 

But then I realized something else. While Werner spends lots of money on research, keeping their apps and tablets up to speed, build beautiful terminals for their offices and drivers. They keep up with their equipment very well. But – And this is a big “but,” they don’t pay as well as many other trucking companies. 

JB Hunt may not have the creature comforts of beautiful terminals, top notch training, in cab tablet apps. But they pay their drivers well. I joked with my friend on the account, “yea they don’t spend money on terminals where we can get our nails done, but they pay us well! And we get a two day weekend, and PTO!” Later I found out that they do have a few nice terminals in Arkansas. But I’ve never seen them. 

All in all, it’s a far better deal for me working on the Kraft account with JB Hunt. I will always love Werner. I was proud to drive for that company and if they could have given me a two day weekend with what they were paying me, they would have had me for the rest of my working life. 

JB Hunt is more earthy, more like an old time trucking company. They pay well and treat their employees well. They spend their money on us. Our trucks are governed at 62 on the peddle and 65 on cruise. I’ve been cussed out over the CB more than once for being “too slow” for other truckers on the road.  But all in all it’s still the same gig. My truck and me on the open road. Point A to B. I live in my truck, not in terminals. So day to day, there really isn’t a huge difference between a work day of driving with Werner and JB Hunt – its trucking. We take a load from point A to point B. That’s the job. Do it safely, professionally, on time.  

I’m looking forward to the next year with JB hunt, our loads take us on longer routs than the best buy account I was on, and there is the possibility of runs to Texas, Colorado and Florida on this account. Already I’ve gone farther east and south than on the best buy account. The roads to Maryland  sport some of the most beautiful Appalachian landscapes I’ve ever seen. The fall colors were stunning while they lasted – and they didn’t last long. By the following week driving up close to New Jersey in PA the leaves were all but gone. 

Winter is a-foot. The beginning of winter and the end of winter is often the worst - icy conditions, black ice all seem to line up where the rain meets falling temps. Just a week ago there were several accidents over the bridges on 2 between Elyria and Fremont Ohio. At 38 degrees the ice on the bridges caught me by surprise. As I slowed for the emergency and police vehicles blocking the right lane I went into a slide, releasing my breaks and steering and counter steering I made it through. But my heart was pounding, and there was a moment when I thought I was going to slide into an ambulance. it was one of the most frightening moments in my trucking career. Although I drove through last winter – this was the first time I’d hit black ice on a bridge. 

The beginning of winter and the end of winter seem to be the worst for accidents. Drivers (all drivers, four wheelers and truckers, especially young hot shot aggressive drivers) are not in the head space they need to be in the beginning of winter. It takes a few weeks for them to settle down and start driving responsibly. It’s just something I’ve noticed over the years, even before I became a trucker. 

Had my 30day review a month ago, my manger was happy, so I’m happy and looks like it’s going well with the new company. Change is always a bit stressful in the begging. Onward now with JB Hunt! New adventure with a new company and a new account. As long as people love their Ketchup and pickles I’m in business! 

Lauren Saige, the Trucker Gal