Profile For Okiecowboy

Okiecowboy's Info

  • Location:
    Fort Cobb, OK

  • Driving Status:
    Rookie Team Driver

  • Social Link:

  • Joined Us:
    8 years, 8 months ago

Okiecowboy's Bio

Hello, my name is Brad, and I am a new team driver for PAM Transport. I haven't been on the road long, but really enjoying it. Got real lucky and have a good partner. Anyway, I am from Oklahoma and gave up teaching to earn more money on the road. Feel free to give me a holler or ask a question about the Driver Solutions program and working for PAM as a rookie driver. Be safe out there!

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Posted:  8 years, 2 months ago

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Any experience with PAM?

I have been at PAM 5 months and went through the c1 program. Your information is correct, if you want to make good money here you need that hazmat and you need to team. Another kicker is that your partner has to have the hazmat also. Me and my partner have and we do gross enough to reach 50k. On a slow week my take home is 800$, i have gotten as much as $1000. That is after taking out insurance for family of four, retirement, taxes, life insurance and everything. Now their solo pay is pretty bad, had to solo fir week to switch partners and it cut my check in half. So if you go with PAM and get a good partner i would strongly advise the hazmat and team fir a year then you can solo at .32 a mile, i only got .25 solo. Payroll told me it takes a year to get the .32, they also cap at .40 for solo, again coming from payrill dept. Personally i got lucky, have a great partner and enjoy teaming with him so i am real happy here, but again gotta team and gotta hazmat if you bucks. If you really dont want to team, i would look to somewhere else. I used the company guides here also they are very informative and hazmar study guide is awesome! Made that hazmat test easy, feel free to ask me any questions, not many positive pam guys here lol.

Posted:  8 years, 2 months ago

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Shouldn't the company supply these

I had to purchase locks also. I have heard of some companies providing those items, but mine doesn't either.

Posted:  8 years, 2 months ago

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Passed!!

Gratz!

Posted:  8 years, 3 months ago

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Please help with Picking a school.

Just from my experience at PAM, if you want to max your money you need to:

1. Get your hazmat, hazmat team pay gets 3 cent bonus on ALL miles not just on hazmat loads.

2. Find a good partner and find one willing to get their hazmat. You both must have it to get the bonus.

3. Plan on teaming for a year, your pay will be much higher at PAM for teaming.

I ran a couple of weeks solo after losing my first partner and it cut my pay per week nearly in half! While teaming on a slow week i take home about $750, good week about $1000.

Again just keep the team and hazmat things in mind. Teaming is a different animal from the usual solo driver. If you want to go solo there are places that will pay more than PAM.

Posted:  8 years, 3 months ago

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Doing The Speed Limit .. Or Not?

We just follow the speed limit, our company also has governed trucks and offers a fuel bonus.

Posted:  8 years, 3 months ago

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Please help with Picking a school.

Sorry for all the typos, hate typing on my phone lol.

Posted:  8 years, 3 months ago

View Topic:

Please help with Picking a school.

If you choose PAM, keep in mind that tgey have a 6 month ream requirement before going solo. Also, the solo pay is pretty low until you complete the 1 year contract you sign for them to send yoy tgrough school. PAM also does a hazmat bonus, soif you ho this route and want that bonus, turn in your tsa background stuff before leaving ao you got the ball rolling on it. I am 4 months into my PAM contract, if you have a questiin about them just ask or aend me a messageon the sight. Good luck to you with the company you choose :).

Posted:  8 years, 3 months ago

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Solo or team

Not many seem to like teaming, but so far I have really enjoyed it. However, these guys are right it does take a few tolerances to do it. Just like previously mentioned you need someone you can trust and get along with and be able to sleep and relax while the truck is moving. I have been extremely lucky. I work for PAM and had to take a partner at random and got a guy with a lot of intrastate experience and has a very easy going personality. At as a company sponsored student the pay is way higher here for teams. I lost my first partner and had to solo for a week, i went from making $800 to $1000 a week to $400 to $600. So i wanted a partner back in a hurry lol, and I am the only income earner for a family of four. Now again this is only an experience with PAM, other companies are probably gonna be different. Also I got lucky with a great partner and I can pass out in a moving bed :).

Posted:  8 years, 3 months ago

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Teams

I use mine pretty regular, hopefully nothing will happen. But it seems it would be real easy to take a blow to the head or break something if you thrown from that bunk. The pic i linked akso has an article that talks about a study dobe on wrecks with someone in the sleeper.

Posted:  8 years, 3 months ago

View Topic:

Teams

Our truck has a bed restraint that looks like a cargo net, here is a link to what it looks like.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/study-shows-danger-of-sleepers/

It sets up to where it doesnt touch you while you sleep. It has kept me from being thrown in the floor by my partner during an oh **** moment lol.

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