Comments By Older Newbie

After a great deal of exploration I've finally decided to do the smart thing and ask somebody... so here I am.

I'm looking for a decent school in Virginia to get my CDL, but probably just as important is one that would meet the requirements of a company like TMC. I haven't filled out their app yet and I understand that they guide you once you do but I'm curious if there is anyone here who went through the process of getting training in Virginia and then went on to TMC or another similar flatbed company?

Any guidance would be helpful as it seems that the schools near me are perhaps not of the quality I'm looking for, especially for the money! I'm not sure about them since what I've seen of them is pretty lame.

Any thoughts about good schools in VA?

Thanks Everyone...

tony

Thanks Brett,

All of what you say makes total sense to me. I have been working in another field for over 40 years and from the get go I realized that attitude and a "get after it" attitute can make up for lots of other shortcomings. Yeah, you need to know your business, or at least try to learn; but when you realize that everyone wants to be treated with respect and doesn't want or need to hear your whining then as you said, it goes a long way when they see a smile versus a scowl. You also mentioned another thing which to me is important and I'm glad to see that it matters here too.... being self motivated to problem solve, putting in a little effort where others may slack off a bit. That too has worked for me and I have no intention of slacking off in the future no matter what I do.

Thanks for shedding a little light on what it means to "perform" above managers and dispatchers expectations. It really means a lot to all of us out here.

Tony

A shout out to Steve to say thank you!

Your posts have been very informative, especially for us newbies who are considering trucking as a life style or making a career change. TMC has been at the top of my list since I first started to compare companies for a variety of reasons and it's good to hear from someone going through the training that they are indeed what I expected and am looking forward to. Haven't started my CDL school yet but have briefly spoken with a recruiter and when I make the jump from what I'm doing now to driving full time TMC I hope will have me.

Good luck and be safe down the road.

Tony

That relationship can only be developed, over time, by consistently outperforming the managers expectations, and let me tell you they sometimes expect a lot.

So what do you mean by outperforming the managers expectations? I have seen things like "performance incentives" etc... but have wondered what that means.

I haven't started my CDL school yet, reading the books, doing the class on line here too; but I have wondered what is expected of the driver that would separate one from the others? My attitude, probably because of my military upbringing, is that you do the job right the first time, every time... and if you fail, you get up and do it again. To give it my best is and always has been my credo. I'm not worried about what's expected I guess I'm more interested in how it's possible to exceed those expectations and rise above the rest so to speak.

Thanks to all in advance...

Tony

I always expected the dumbest move imaginable from everyone around me and you wouldn't believe how often you'll see it happen. You'll think to yourself, "What if this guy getting on the highway too slowly suddenly darts across in front of me?" or "This guy getting ready to make a left in front of me couldn't possibly make it in time but what if he tries it anyways?"

I've avoided many, many accidents over the years because of this. You'll see people do things on a daily basis that will leave you wondering if they're possibly suicidal because it seems no one could simply make such bad decisions. They must be doing it on purpose to kill themselves, right?

After reading this I'm reminded of my motorcycle riding days. One of the things I learned early was ... " always, always prepare for the other driver to do something stupid!"

In that world, the motorcycle rider is virtually invisible to other drivers and I have found that even though a truck is far more visible, people still do things as though you were never there.

Sounds like many of the techniques for staying alive and between the white lines transfer.

First I'd like to say thank you... to all of you for your time and patience with this forum... frankly for this site. Of all the people I've spoken with about this industry I have to say that I'm impressed with all of you for many different reasons.

I've been a journalist all my adult life... covered news and done documentaries and tv shows all over the world, and the insight and eloquence I've seen here is amazing. So once again... Thank You All!

My objective here is to learn. I'm not a kid but I'm a newbie to this industry and what I know about it is probably more dangerous than helpful so I make no claims to know anything about trucking as an industry or life style. But, what I have seen is that the industry is full of, how do you say this... contradictions and misinformation.

Yes, there are many people as in all walks of life, who will give you the straight story but it's hard coming from the outside to know who, where and how to find these people so I congratulate you all for being here for those of us interested in or transitioning to this life.

So with that said here is question about new versus old, lease versus purchase or company driver;

As I wrote earlier I have heard of, legitimately, some guys driving their own rigs making over a dollar, or even over 2$'s a mile. I don't know how common this is or how long that can last but is it possible to make more than the stated start off pay of .38 to .45 cpm? How realistic is it if it is, and what type of runs, other than extreme cargos can generate that kind of money per mile?

Something tells me it's the smaller companies working contracts that do that since the big companies don't seem to pay anywhere near that kind of money per mile.

All of this relates to the earlier questions about ownership versus leased rigs, new versus old.

Please forgive me if this isn't the right place for this question; I'll figure this site out as we go. I'm want to make the jump into driving for a variety of reasons... I'm willing to learn... work hard... and keep slugging away at it. One way or the other I'm going to get my CDL and be driving within the year.

cheers to you all.... Tony

Hi Guys, I'm new around here and have wondered about this for quite some time. So here is my question... Why the new truck? What about a well maintained early 2000's truck that costs 1/4 the amount of a new rig? I have heard of guys running these on flat bed runs making it work for them.

Please understand I'm seriously new to this world but it's a question I felt needed to be asked. Why spend 75 to 90 grand on a truck if all your money is going to make the payment on a monthly basis?

Does the industry force you to use new equipment as opposed to using a less than new but fine working rig?