TMC CDL (in-house) Training Day 1

So my load was scheduled to be delivered tomorrow morning, but I called them yesterday and asked if I could park on their property Sunday (dispatch states no parking on site), so as to not get stuck in the snow somewhere down the road.

They said sure, and that I could POSSIBLY even be unloaded (they don't ship/rec on weekends) if I arrived before 2 pm Sunday.

Got here at 9 am after my 34 reset, and was unloaded in 30 mins. I can't be dispatched until tomorrow morning, so consignee said I can park on their property overnight, no problem. Even said I could park wherever I wanted.

Good people.

That worked out great for you! Maximize your clock and get more time to drive by doing it. This is a great example of how to be a top-tier performer.

Whelp, first solo week in the books:

Miles drove: 3391 (was dispatched for my first load last Wed night for this past Monday morning delivery)

Total out-of-route miles: 31 (or 4%)

Total Rev to the truck: $6632.70

Apparently, these numbers are not what TMC sees for first week rookies, and in fact...I received a call from a West area VP yesterday morning that advised me that these aren't numbers they see from the first week through week 4 rookies. That whatever my trainer and I figured out, I need to keep doing it.

As for pay...I'm really not sure how I'm being paid this first month as it pertains to % (or you can choose to be paid CPM , and I'll breakdown what each would pay out the best I can base on the info I have)

So the day you road test for your truck, you choose whether you want to be paid by % (TMC gets a $ amount to move freight from A to B. They take 25% off the top to cover their expenses. What is left over is "Revenue to the truck" or what is left over. Based on your performance, you get a % of what is left over. You either start our at 26% or 40CPM (whichever you choose from day 1. You get to change that if you want, every 30 or 90 days)))

So based on 26% (as a low ball, because TMC works on a point system and you get more points (which means higher %) which mean more money)))

I grossed $1724.50 my first week just from % of revenue to the truck

I then got 152 dead head (TMC calls bounce) miles paid at .40 CPM for a total of $60.80

I had one load that had lumber tarps, so I get $40

So ~ week 1 gross = $1825.30

If I had gone the CPM route $1307.20 + the extras or roughly a $417.30 differnce in weekly gross pay.

Nicely done, THAT is a great first week.

That's a bunch of miles and a great payday for a new driver.

Ok, week 2 in the books and nothing really exciting to update, so what I think I'll do as it pertains to the CDL School Diary, I will update at 1 month, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months (When the contract expires).

My week 2 in terms of pay wasn't on par w/ week 1, and that's because I needed to get routed back to the terminal so that I could pick up my trucks Lic Tag & NY Hut sticker, which meant cheaper, shorter loads, than my week 1 results where my FM didn't need to keep me confined to an area to get me back somewhere on Friday.

I suspect week 3 and subsequently week 4 will be closer to week one results since I don't need to be back at a terminal or "home" until sometime in late April.

Getting great support from my FM as well as other TMC (and non TMC) drivers. I've had no problem asking questions of other drivers, helping other drivers regardless of the company, and I've had other TMC and non tmc drivers offer to help me with tarping, etc.

All-in-all a great first 2 weeks.

Trust me, everyday is a learning experience.

Reading back through my diary, I came across this reply again and wanted to state that the above is true. Quite literally I'm learning something brand new every day and it's all important lessons that need to be learned.

NOW what I look forward to is the practical application of whatever I've recently learned, but going to new shippers and consignees every day hasn't really afforded me that option, but glad I'm being exposed to all these different scenarios that aren't the same as any from my 5 weeks of training w/ my trainer.

I see you’ve mentioned being governed at 62 mph twice here. Believe it or not, that’s not a handicap, I choose to drive 62. Last week did seven loads and 3000+ miles. What will get you ahead in flatbed is learning to be efficient when it comes to strapping and tarping. When you can do a load in forty-five minutes that used to take you two hours, the speed you drive is irrelevant. Plus on days where you are driving all day, notice how often those pete’s that are doing eighty pass you, they’re not getting much further down the road than you.

On a side note, I can’t believe that’s the fuel mileage you guys get!! All that chrome must be heavy. 😁

After 3 weeks of being Solo, your post couldn't be more accurate.

Speeding up the truck won't get me the time I seek, it will be speeding up my securement via safe/efficient processes that will get me that VERY important extra 45m-1hr back on my clock.

I'd GLADLY take having the ability to be faster (while maintaining safety and meeting TMC standards) than being able to drive the truck faster than 62mph.

Heck, I'd take 58mph, if I could shave 50% of my time off at a shipper/con.

So my official hire date is 1/25, so I'm already a couple of months into my 12-month contractual agreement with TMC. That being said, this time next month it goes from a 4k balances to a 3k balance, and then another 3 months down to 2k, then 1k at 9 months of service.

That being said, I just wrapped up my first-month solo driving and wanted to share some numbers. If there are any others you'd be interested to know, let me know, and I'll try to get them.

Gross Pay: $5666.85 (this does not include any bounce/DH miles or Tarp pay) (If I were to have selected to be paid by CPM instead of %: $4446.80) (My current trend is that I'll will go from 26% of Rev To the Truck to 33% by my first snapshot if that were the case, that would increase my gross too: $7193 for the same month)

So the incentive is strong here to keep doing what I'm doing for that extra ~$1500/month for the same effort

Miles: 11,048

Avg Pay Per Load: $354.18 (@26% pay)

Weekly Truck Revenue Avg: $5082 (this gives me max points towards my snapshot

Current mpgs: 7.07 (this gives me max points towards my snapshot

Current Out of Route: %4.4 (this gives me max points towards my % snapshot)

Having Passport, TWIC , and HM endorsements gives me max endorsement points towards my snapshot

Getting parked at my consignee each Sunday evening by 9pm local has also given me max points towards my snapshot

That is all, for now, I'll be back with another update in a few more months, or as anything helpful to new CDL students arises.

Solo, that looks awesome! You're hitting all the high spots. Consistency is tough, but financially rewarding in this business. Keep up the great work - you're doing real well.