Here's my experience with US Xpress (2016). If your going dedicated they will try to put you on a dedicated account to do your training, if your OTR then you will do OTR training. They have a terminal in Markham, Illinois (Chicago) which is where i'm from but they put me on a bus to St. Louis, MO to do my orientation. Orientation is 3 days which consist of watching videos, doing paper work, drug test, DOT physical and a small fitness test. Once everything comes back and your "approved" they will have your trainer pick you up or route you to them. My trainer was on a dedicated P&G account in North Carolina which was a two day greyhound bus ride to get there. His route picked up in NC and dropped in DE. All drop and hook no touch!. My trainer was great and taught me well but I really didn't learn anything about what I would actually be doing (dollar tree) once I left his truck. The P&G account I was on ran M-F and USX paid for my hotel on the weekends when my trainer went home.Trainee pay is (was) $70.00 a day and actually looking at my stubs they paid me for 7 days even know the account only ran M-F. Take home pay was $402.56 a week. After training (5 weeks) they will route you to a terminal to "upgrade" to solo status. USX Greyhound me from NC to Chattanooga, TN. It was a very long bus ride with 3 transfers. Once I finally arrived at the Atlanta Greyhound terminal for my last transfer for Chattanooga, that's where all my problems started. Two different passengers were robbed at gunpoint within a block of the bus station and my bags were not in the baggage claim area (somebody took them).
I had to continue my journey without my bags which also had my cell phone charger.
Once I arrived in Chattanooga, TN I had to get my own ride to the hotel since my phone was dead. My training coordinator also left for the weekend and I couldn't get USX to fax over a "updated list" so I had to pay for my hotel stay over the weekend. (USX did reimburse me). Over the weekend I got my bags back from Greyhound, some lady's grandson mistaken her bag for mines.See Alsous xpress dedicated accounts - Trucker Forum - Trucking & Driving ForumsUS EXPRESS DEDICATED DOLLAR TREE ACCOUNT - Page 1Appreciating Drivers This Week and Every Week - U.S. Xpress Inc.Dollar General Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 ResultsOnce you arrive in Tunnel Hill, GA, USX will put you in a nice hotel, rooms are shared or you can pay the difference like I did and have your own room.
Day 1: Be prepared to do Computer tests all day. It's Mostly Common sense but if you get a ? wrong it makes you watch the entire video over. Your best bet is to bring a laptop and do the videos all night at the hotel because they will not let you upgrade (Road Test) until their finished.
Day 2: You will finish up the videos which will takes some people the entire second day; But since I did mines at the hotel, they sent me across the test to take my road exam. The Test consist of a pre trip, road test and a skills test (45, 90, blind side and straight line back, drop and hook). Please make sure you get out of the truck the correct way! They will send you back to your trainer for a week if you don't or fail any of the exercises.
No lunch is provided! There is a van shuttle that will drive you around to Walmart.
After you pass, they send you to fleet management to get your truck assignment. Meet your dispatcher, and other people who your'll never see again. Once you get settle in your truck they will have you pick up a load that will route you to your dedicated account. I was at the Dollar Tree hub in Joliet, Illinois just south of Chicago.
Once you arrive they will have a manger/ coordinator to tell you what your doing. Nobody rode with or any of that kind of stuff on the first day, it was more of How many hours do you have? ok so i'm going give you this route and you should finish in time. Trailers are usually pre loaded; I never had to wait on a live load at Dollar Tree.
The newer stores are always truck friendly, older stores suck, lots of blind sides and tight parking lots. there are usually 2-3 different stores on a route; I did stores as close as Chicago to as far as St. Paul, MN, Columbus, Ohio from the Joliet Location. Double check your paperwork as your checking off the items or they might make you go back to get that extra product so the next store is not short. Dropping off in Chicago stores at night is dangerous, and drivers have been robbed so be alert. Most stores were really laid back so I would Pay the Dollar Tree guy $20 to get in the trailer and check off the boxes, I would double check them coming down the belt which allowed me to be outside of the trailer and keep a eye out for trouble. the other dollar tree employee would be at the other end of the belt to bring the products in the store. Summer time its hot as you know what and in the winter time its colder then a you know what in the trailer. Boxes are going fall over, things are going to smashed, spill and ect. Depending on how much product and what is damage, they might let you keep it or take it to a food bank. If you run out of hours or arrive at a store early you can camp out on the property. USX runs elogs.
Overall it sucked to me and left dedicated and went OTR thinking I could make more money staying out months at a time which was a big mistake but that's another story. Expect to make $800-1100 a week on the dedicated. $400-$700 OTR. $1300-1600 Teams.
