TMC Trucking Co
Topic 3875 | Page 1
Jason, welcome to the forum!
TMC would be a great place to start your flat-bedding career. If your interested in getting some first hand knowledge about their training period for new drivers check out this members thread about TMC training. It will give you a good idea of what to expect.
Old school, thanks for the info! Just to give a little info/ background on myself, I'm 43 years old and am a captain in the fire service in South Carolina and have 13 years of experience. I have always wanted to drive big truck OTR , but I've stayed home to help raise my son. Know that he is out of school, and working I'm thinking of leaving the fire service to hit the road. I'm doing a lot of research on companies, schools,etc. my wife is very supportive, but I am getting grief from friends and family about leaving to drive truck. I'm just not sure if I should dive in head first? Thanks again, and I would appreciate any input.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Jason, I started my flat-bed driving career at the age of 53 after retiring from a small business that I ran for thirty years. It sounds like you may be eligible for some retirement from your current position, and that would make the deal even sweeter. Listen, I wouldn't worry about what your friends and family think about it - follow your own dreams and desires. This kind of grief from acquaintances is very common for people considering a career in truck driving. It is a much misunderstood career, thanks mostly to, we the truck drivers, ourselves. Brett wrote an article that touches on this one time, you should take a look at it.
If you are just in the beginning research phase of all this make sure and check out the Truck Driver's Career Guide, it's chock full of great information you may find helpful. You may also enjoy this article which is designed to help you decide if you're cut out for this career.
There's a lot of helpful information here at this site, and some very helpful people also, so if a question comes your mind you feel free to ask us - if we can we will give our best effort at an answer, or at least try and point you in the right direction.
TMC has a yard in Columbia as well as offering top notch training. I walked away from my career in law enforcement in the upstate of SC after ten years to drive a truck. Good luck.
Jason, we have a ton of excellent information on TMC. We have a few forum articles tagged TMC Transportation and we also have a TMC Transportation Paid CDL Training Program pages if you haven't come across them already.
I think before you start researching companies and schools you should decide if you think trucking is the right career choice. We have an awesome Truck Driver's Career Guide that will take you from A to Z covering just about every topic imaginable that pertains to a career as a driver. Follow all of the links you come across.
And you'll find a lot of great stories and insights in my book Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Trucking. By the way, that link to my book is to the 100% free online version.
Read and research all you can!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Thanks to all that have replyed back! I will be looking at all of the info on this web site, and more before I make the dig jump. Oh TMC's terminal in Columbia S.C. is about 10 miles from my house. Thanks again for all yall do to help others that are in need of answers, and encouragement.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
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TMC Transportation Changing Careers Choosing A Trucking Company Older truck drivers
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Hey all, Im new to the site, and have found it to be very helpful. Im thinking of applying with TMC Transportation. Does anyone have any info on this company? I've heard that they are a good company to work for. Thanks for any comments.