My Experience With P.A.M Transportation To Start...

So, just recently I "upgraded" to a main company driver for PAM, so now I get to be paid by the mile instead of a meager $246/week. The upgrade process was quite a pain in the rear as the Orientation instructors at the yard I went to were neither kind nor straightforward. I, as well as a few others, constantly asked ourselves "What did he just tell us to do?", and that happened just about all day long. After the upgrade, I was tasked with picking up a rental car from the nearby airport, to which I did. Me and one other person drove down to Georgia to go pick up our trucks, but due to time constraints, we had to go get a hotel room in Mississippi. We woke up the next morning and started down the interstate heading towards Georgia. After 1600, we get there and there are two nasty and run-down 2013-ish International trucks waiting for us. My partner's truck had a bad battery and it was very disgusting on the inside as well as it needed an oil change. Mine was a little better but it still needs some interior cleaning, BADLY and it needs Wiper fluid. So, we slept in the trucks that night and boy was it cold and very rainy. There are no APUs or Inverters installed, and there is little fuel in the truck to keep it idling for a long period of time so I slept in a powerless and cold sleeper. Just recently, I returned the car to the nearby airport and now I'm back in the truck stuck here in a "secure" trailer lot, having a few receipts to transflow in. I was also told to put in some time off days, so I assume that is to drive the truck home and get everything prepped, cleaned, ect. Weekend and Night-Shift dispatchers don't have any power over anything I need, and nobody else is working until Weekdays. This has been a very bum and disappointing start to the actual job. Not only that, but I don't have any idea about my co-driver. I honestly don't feel comfortable going solo, especially with pay going $0.21/mile solo drivers.

SAP:

Substance Abuse Professional

The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

Interstate:

Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).

Dispatcher:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Ya going solo with PAM company training is pretty low compared to solo. I lost a partner and ran solo for a week. It nearly cut what I was making in half. But got the hazmat done and so did my partner we are getting .21 a mile as a team now.

Dunno why i said compared in first sentence, just meant to say solo pay is low.

I heard that the pay at Pam was not that great but I have nothing to back that up. Is it really .21 cpm after going solo?

I heard that the pay at Pam was not that great but I have nothing to back that up. Is it really .21 cpm after going solo?

No idea I got this off their website:

Our top driver for 2012 earned over $94,000.00 last year. You can too! Drivers fresh out of driving school can earn as much as $40,000.00 their first year out of training.

That sounds like a team rate. 94k either team or lease or o/o and that being a team rate prob means it's still split...you know how companies like to give gross wages not net. 40k out of school might be possible but once again this sounds like a pre split team rate based on what I have heard about pam. one of the few companies I have never heard anything positive on, that doesn't mean they are a bad one, just that *I* have not heard anything positive.

I heard that the pay at Pam was not that great but I have nothing to back that up. Is it really .21 cpm after going solo?

No idea I got this off their website:

Our top driver for 2012 earned over $94,000.00 last year. You can too! Drivers fresh out of driving school can earn as much as $40,000.00 their first year out of training.

That sounds like a team rate. 94k either team or lease or o/o and that being a team rate prob means it's still split...you know how companies like to give gross wages not net. 40k out of school might be possible but once again this sounds like a pre split team rate based on what I have heard about pam. one of the few companies I have never heard anything positive on, that doesn't mean they are a bad one, just that *I* have not heard anything positive.

Their top driver is likely at the very top of their pay scale based on his/her tenure, driving record, and overall experience.

40 k at low pay like that would require at least 3k miles a week consistently correct?

Regular team pay is .175 per mile, if you and partner have hazmat it is .21 per mile. And that is wether you pull a hazmat load or not. Teams max out at .26 per mile

Solo pay is .21, talked to payroll and they say that is for if you went to company cdl training. After 1 year you go to .32, 1 cent raise per year and cap at .40 currently, for solo.

I am on the hazmat team pay, me and my partner also got a good dispatcher and we get around 4800 to 5500 miles a week. I usually bring home 700 to 1000 dollars a week and that is after insurance for a family of four, open road, disability, and 401k. Didn't sound bad for only 3 months experience.