Comments By Jay F.

TMC or Melton would be my first choice for flatbed. Both excellent companies. TMC does company sponsored training in Iowa and columbia South Carolina

So...if I was really interested in driving flatbed y'all's first choice would be...Western Express? Knight, maybe? For the record, I am planning on going company paid CDL training, as I do not currently have a license. I really like Prime, but from what I've heard, they have a very small flatbed fleet. I'll start wherever, but I like the challenge of securing loads. I think of you can do that, you could probably do anything.

The only reason you do a move like that is to cut costs. My bet is they aren’t doing so hot financially. Imo there’s no other explanation

Kearsey

For a long long time I knew I was going to be an OTR driver. I joined this forum about four years ago. After a good many years, the right time, and I went for it. So, here I am.

In my profession of over fifty years I was involved with alot of training. In my past profession training = safety for all concerned and I'm a believer with training in general however if it begins or ends with driving a truck, training is paramount to safety.

Trans Am's training (or lack of) policies to me are mind boggling. I dont profess to understand their rationale and frankly put, I dont care except to say that I'm not included.

At the risk of repeating myself I'll offer an overlook at where I'm at and am 100% satisfied with the process and the company. At CFI, about a week of orientation. Then a test drive with a CFI trainer. Then a few weeks on the road with a CFI trainer (Finisher as they call it) That brings me to right now back in Joplin. My finisher issued his findings re me to training. My view also issued. Going on the premise I go forward today includes: Obstacle course Written exam Verbal exam Determination if I'm ready to be on the road solo. I'm in 100% agreement with CFI'S safety policies.

Want my opinion of my abilities? I dont think I'm ready because I have some serious backing issues. I need to work more with my backing skills.

When I am on the road solo with CFI it will be that I'm ready to be which I think is a great policy and a great company to work for.

How about saia, or estes? Both get very high marks. I agree that OD is the cream of the crop

Thanks for the response. I was looking at old dominion but their closest terminals are 40-60 miles from where i live so i dont think it would work. I dont want to spemd 2 hrs-3 hrs of my 10 hr break commuting. It seems old dominion definitely has a better reputation online. Its a bummer too cus OD is advertising line haul jobs right now in PA and id rather do that. However xpo is 10 miles away from my house so thats why i chose to apply with them. They also seem pretty desperate for drivers right now. Not sure if you’ve noticed this at OD? Im gonna ask the manager if its due to logistics need or turnover rate.

Wow is all I can say! I get that you don’t like dealing with people. I don’t either, but guess what after over 20 years of doing some form of customer service I had enough of people. That’s why I drive truck. That being said I deal with people on a daily basis.

Let me say this it’s one thing not wanting to deal with people. It’s another thing not wanting to deal with societal norms. Is it really that hard to say hi Thank you and bye? Guess what not doing so is rude. It’s not that freaking hard, yet you let your stubbornness lose jobs over it. It won’t be any easier with trucking. You will deal with your fleet manager shippers and receivers on a daily basis, and all 3 will play a part in what kind of money you make.

Seriously somewhere along the line you didn’t learn how to develop relationships with people. Perhaps counseling or working with a medical professional To overcome this should be the first step. I don’t see you being overly successful in trucking until you deal with your issues. It’s ok we all have them. Some of us just don’t know it

You need to do your homework because there are companies out there that offer this. I trained with TMC. I ran my clock out and then my trainer drove a little but they wanted the truck parked at night. This was for the first two weeks. As someone else has said millis offers this. I’m sure there are others as well!

Good luck to you. When I was researching companies, Millis seemed like an awesome company. I’ll be interested to hear how it goes!

The permit tests aren’t that hard. IMO every driver with a regular license should be able to pass the general knowledge test. The airbrakes and the combos can be a challenge but just read and practice and u won’t have any problems

TMC does percentage of the load. You start off at 26%. Based on meeting certain things your pay can increase to 34 percent. However you have to be with TMC at least 3 years I believe to reach that top pay.

My trainer who was with TMC 11 years was making around 90K I personally didn’t make it out of training, but stay in contact with my 13 classmates. Some are still there after 8 months but nobody is making great money. Realistically I think a new driver could make 45-50k tops if you come home every weekend.

I attended TMC orientation, and like OS said they make it real clear no booze in the hotel, and it’s in the handbook. It’s crystal clear.

In my past career I did a ton of training, and our director of training always stressed that trainees needed to be near perfect, because in training you should put you best foot forward. Anything that wasn’t perfect character wise was a red flag. If a trainee was goofing off in training it would only get worse when out of training and on their own. In TMC’s eyes if you were willing to have a beer your first week then they know when your taking your ten you will be having a beer plus plus.

Had a cool pour this morning. Pouring the floor on a second story office building. This pump operator gave new meaning to getting it In the hole!

If my name hasn’t given it away already, I’m in law enforcement and looking to leave. I have been looking at getting my CDL. I was wondering if there are any companies that provide paid training here in Vegas for local routes. I’m unable to be away from home for extended periods so OTR is kind of out of the question for me right now. If there aren’t any companies that provide paid training for local routes, what companies will hire new grads for local routes? I’m willing to put myself through a CDL school if necessary.

Check for CDL B jobs. I paid my way through school, and thought that you had to go over the road. I drive a cement mixer and will make somewhere north of 50k This year and I didn’t start till the 2nd week of February. There’s lots of options out there. I think a lot of folks steer clear of the CDL B jobs because they start between 18-20 an hour. But almost all have overtime and that’s where you make your money at.

I agree with what they preach here though I wouldn’t want to be trying to deliver pulling a 53 ft trailer to some of these business That’s a recipe for disaster.