Transport America How U Doin!!!

[wepwawet]

This will be my lil mini blog of how I as a company driver is doing. Feel free to ask any questions that you may have and I will do my best to answer or find someone who has the answer. Will keep this updated on where im at and where im going.

If you want to know about Det time or extra stop pay extra let me know and I will add it.

If a trip has more then two loc listed then they are extra stops.

Trips week of 01/18 - 01/24 MT LD

Holland, MI - Louisville, KY 89 341

Louisville, KY - Seymour, IN - Warren, OH 0 402

North Jackson, OH - Brownstown Twp, MI 10 200

Fostoria, OH - Mt Pleasent, IA 79 470

Eldridge, IA - Olean, NY - Syracuse, NY 97 858

( will see if I get another trip in before end of pay wk)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals MT 275 LD 2271

[GI Joe]

Went to a driving school in Indy after retiring from Army in '98. TA rctd me out of it. they deducted the 3 wk driving school cost from my pay over 12 mos, but refunded it all when I stayed on with them after 12 mos.

After the 3 wk private school, went to their place in Clarksville, IN for 4 wks. 2 classroom, 2 driving pad & local roads. Food, local motel & trans provided. it was a great learning experience with good instructors.

Went to Atlanta terminal. 2 wks local driver training their, 2 wks otr w/trainer. left on my own after that. TA did a great job of training drivers. hope they still do & hope other companies would do as well.

[Hobie]

wepwawet
i worked TA back in '03,(are you out of north Jackson).it was way better than flatbed.85%D/H, did alot of time in the northeast area mass, Maine, Vermont, upstate New York,New Hampshire wasn't to bad.picking up paper rolls loads out of jay,Maine going to Chicago.that was sweet run.now I'm working for FedEx freight here in Ohio. i haven't worked 40 hrs since Halloween,been thinking going back OTR with TA

[wepwawet]

GI Joe: They do it a little differ now. after going to school a they bring you to scottsberg, IN for 6 days paper work/ road rides/ and a course for backing. If you make it out of the 6 day then you go with a trainer for 21 days logged of driving more then 6 hrs per day. Then you off to solo land.

Word has come out that we will be cutting 50 trucks this month and rumor that another 150 trucks in Feb thats about 10% of the fleet. We are not in trouble right now just taking the proactive steps to keep everything on a even keel.

As for would I rec someone to apply here? Yes and NO, IF you have places/things your not willing to do/go then I would suggest to keep looking in the frieght enviroment that we are in you have to willing to do as needed in order to make sure the company stays in the black. Meaning if NYC is were the load is then you need to be willing to go in and get it without a 5hr crying fit.

I had another good week even tho I got laid over in Syracuse, NY for 3 days Fri morning to Monday morning.. so from there

Shortsville, Ny to Coloma, MI 61 555

Kalamazoo, MI to Covington, GA 42 736

This run here was a little borked due to having to recover a trk/trlr due to the driver failing to pay his overweight tic in NC so I will give the whole run down of the trip

P/U empty at Covington to Atlanta, GA to our yard and dropped
Bobtail to Cordele, GA (Pilot) P/U his empty and dropped another driver off to take trk back to the Atlanta yard
So Cordele, GA to Savannah, GA to P/U load

Savannah, GA to Carlisle, PA 351 681
----------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 454 MT 1972 LD

I have another trip im doing now that will bump me over 3k for the wk but this one is turning into a nightmare and dont know if I will complete it in time for the pay wk. Had to have a service trk come out and unfreeze(with a torch) the breaks due to ppl not drying the breaks before dropping and now a drive blew 20 mi after that so here I sit again waiting on a repair trk to come and give me a new drive.

I cannot complain about how im being treated at TA as I have said before the only thing that will pull me away is a tanker job dont know why just really want to pull a tank I wish I know someone that owned a tank that I could "play" with in a lot somewhere. At this junction Im just glad to have a job as I read/Hear about all the lay offs etc happening everywhere. While I have nothing on my Dac everyone is replaceable these days


Hope this is giving all that want it a ensight into TA If you have any questions just ask I will get back to you. even if its a wk later

[wepwawet]

252 1,995

65 1,788 hometime 3 days

277 2,269

309 1,961

240 3,045

305 hometime 5 days

165 2,763


Sorry for the huge gap will try harder to keep up with this. Im done with my Eye shots that I got 1 a month for a year so home time will be less. As you can clearly see TA is not in fact in a no miles state of affairs. While I do not understand the hiring of new drivers when on avg out fleet does 3xx per trk a day but im sure theres a reason just I dont know it.

NO TA is not all lollypops and candy canes, If your a worker and not screaming and yelling at your FM cause you dont want to goto NYC etc they will take care of you. Im no one special at TA and as you can see im getting miles. are some weeks down? Yep but it all avg out in the end.

[belpre122]

What rate are they paying you CPM?

[wepwawet]

I make .37 and a extra .04 when hauling haz.

[madaxeman]

Thanks for the update! I am supposed to start orientation on the 6th.

[madaxeman]

I am supposed to drive to Janesville. Susan said she will call me back this week. I guess someone is going to give me a ride to IN for orientation. What is the orientation like? What kind of truck are you driving? (Year, model, mileage, features, etc.) Do they have a bunch of available trucks? Or will I have to sit around and wait for a truck? Thanks much!

[wepwawet]

Orientation is paper work like any other and a check ride. Pretty laid back should go quick

Freightshakers is what we drive as for mine. 08 with 262k on it had it a yr now but run team well when both of us manage to stay in the trk. (long story)

You can plan on a high mileage trk to start but we are switching over to a cascada fleet so shouldnt be too long you will have to deal with it.

Features LOL ummm the engine runs? Basic company trk

We have lots of trks sitting seeing how we "trimmed" the fleet keep profits up but umm we keep hiring so getting a trk shouldnt be hard prob have one in Janesville for you.

[madaxeman]

Orientation is paper work like any other and a check ride. Pretty laid back should go quick

Freightshakers is what we drive as for mine. 08 with 262k on it had it a yr now but run team well when both of us manage to stay in the trk. (long story)

You can plan on a high mileage trk to start but we are switching over to a cascada fleet so shouldnt be too long you will have to deal with it.

Features LOL ummm the engine runs? Basic company trk

We have lots of trks sitting seeing how we "trimmed" the fleet keep profits up but umm we keep hiring so getting a trk shouldnt be hard prob have one in Janesville for you.

I can plan on the opposite of what everything was told to me before orientation apparently. I am not going to going into every detail of what went wrong (because I am pissed off and tired and it would take too long). I got a ride down to Scottsburg, IN in the company van. After orientation, they f****n ditched me at the Greyhound in Louisville. "We don't have a way to get back to your truck." No van, no trucks going that way, etc. So...I get to Beloit 36 hours later (17 miles from my truck). I had to hitchhike a ride back to the terminal to get my truck and get home. What a bunch of disorganized ***holes blowing smoke up your ***! AVOID TRANSPORT AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[belpre122]

I can plan on the opposite of what everything was told to me before orientation apparently. I am not going to going into every detail of what went wrong (because I am pissed off and tired and it would take too long). I got a ride down to Scottsburg, IN in the company van. After orientation, they f****n ditched me at the Greyhound in Louisville. "We don't have a way to get back to your truck." No van, no trucks going that way, etc. So...I get to Beloit 36 hours later (17 miles from my truck). I had to hitchhike a ride back to the terminal to get my truck and get home. What a bunch of disorganized ***holes blowing smoke up your ***! AVOID TRANSPORT AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do yourself a favor and just get the hell out now! You've had a taste of the porridge they are offering. My experience on this board tells me that for you to hang around any longer is just asking for more disorganization, disrespect........and more money out of YOUR pocket to fund their cluster****! Get out!!!! Yet another coolie carrier oft presented on this board. The song always stays the same, it's just the players that revolve in and out.

[Jumbo]

I can plan on the opposite of what everything was told to me before orientation apparently. I am not going to going into every detail of what went wrong (because I am pissed off and tired and it would take too long). I got a ride down to Scottsburg, IN in the company van. After orientation, they f****n ditched me at the Greyhound in Louisville. "We don't have a way to get back to your truck." No van, no trucks going that way, etc. So...I get to Beloit 36 hours later (17 miles from my truck). I had to hitchhike a ride back to the terminal to get my truck and get home. What a bunch of disorganized ***holes blowing smoke up your ***! AVOID TRANSPORT AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That didnt take long. I now pronounce the honeymoon over.

[wepwawet]

That should have NEVER of happened........This is the first I ever heard of them vanning ppl down and not back up, unless you were a student then you get the bus. Someone should have picked you up in beloit if that would have happened to me I would be just as pissed.

And please do go into detail everyone should know what happened. And don't be shy corporate reads these boards so let it fly. And do make the call to Scott Arvis he would love to hear about this he don't like when drivers are left in the cold.


I can only tell my side which as a whole is pretty good but there's always two sides of a coin.

[wepwawet]

I can plan on the opposite of what everything was told to me before orientation apparently. I am not going to going into every detail of what went wrong (because I am pissed off and tired and it would take too long). I got a ride down to Scottsburg, IN in the company van. After orientation, they f****n ditched me at the Greyhound in Louisville. "We don't have a way to get back to your truck." No van, no trucks going that way, etc. So...I get to Beloit 36 hours later (17 miles from my truck). I had to hitchhike a ride back to the terminal to get my truck and get home. What a bunch of disorganized ***holes blowing smoke up your ***! AVOID TRANSPORT AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Could you clear something up. If you went to orientation on the 6th and its a 3 day event how do you get back to beloit on the 8th after a 36hr bus ride? Only way you get sent home "ditched" is if you fail the pisser. NOT saying you did but if I call and make a ruckus dont want it to bite me in the arse.

[madaxeman]

Could you clear something up. If you went to orientation on the 6th and its a 3 day event how do you get back to beloit on the 8th after a 36hr bus ride? Only way you get sent home "ditched" is if you fail the pisser. NOT saying you did but if I call and make a ruckus dont want it to bite me in the arse.

I left on the 5th in the am. The van was an hour late. I stood outside in the cold waiting for them!

I am not a student. I have 18 months experience. I have no tickets, no accidents, no failed drug tests or physicals, no criminal record. I even paid (out of my pocket) for a passport and hazmat for the job. I am reliable and hard working. I don't need a babysitter to do the job.

I did NOT fail the urinalysis or the stupid fitness test or the physical! Let me state that very clearly! In fact the physical and fitness were a waste of time. I already have a valid long form. I have no fat on my body and every muscle is toned. Not to mention...they have me do the whole thing then I don't even get the new long form or medical card! What a waste of time and money!

Basically, I told Susan before she even set up orientation my situation. I have not driven a manual since school. The last job I had drove all auto-shifts. She said TA would work with me. Apparently, that was a big lie. All they did was waste my time and money. There were no surprises on my part. I clearly explained my situation to Transport America, in clear details, BEFOREHAND. They couldn't even get me back to my truck! The guy at Transport America was like can't someone pick you up in Beloit and give you a ride to your truck? I was like yeah, ok...I am going to make someone drive 200 miles to give me a ride 16-17 miles to my truck! They refused to pay for a cab or have someone pick me up and drive me to Janesville. When I was at the Pilot in Beloit I saw a Transport America truck pull in. So...another lie that there are no drivers to give me a ride! They sent the van away from Scottsburg without me. Idiots!

At orientation, they have you fill out all of these forms on Sunday night. Then, the guy at orientation has you fill out the exact same forms again! There are many forms (over a dozen), too. Many have the same information on them. It's another waste of time and paper...not to mention, my personal information is on all of the forms. By the time I get the forms filled out on Sunday night and read all the packet information, it is 11:30PM. I get stuck rooming with a chronically loud snorer who wakes me up at 2am. I slept 2 hours! Basically, Dave expects me to drive the manual truck like a master on 2 hours sleep...after not driving a manual truck for almost 3 years. Then, they are not willing to put me with anyone to help me out for even a few days or even hours. The trucks I drove at school were different! They wasted three days of my time but are not willing to give me even a little bit of slack. I have an IQ over 150 and I can learn fast...BUT you can't expect me to be a master at it when I have never driven your truck! They could've road tested me in Janesville to begin with...and if they weren't willing to work with me, then why say you are? I wouldn't have bothered! I declined another job to go to work at Transport America, too! Thanks!

I never got the dinner meals and had to buy my own! Thanks for the vouchers, liars.

Oh...and I call Susan on Tuesday morning to try to get a ride to my truck from the bus in Beloit (after Scottsburg screwed me). She never calls me back!

Conclusion...I am pissed off!

[truckchick]

I left on the 5th in the am. The van was an hour late. I stood outside in the cold waiting for them!

I am not a student. I have 18 months experience. I have no tickets, no accidents, no failed drug tests or physicals, no criminal record. I even paid (out of my pocket) for a passport and hazmat for the job. I am reliable and hard working. I don't need a babysitter to do the job.

I did NOT fail the urinalysis or the stupid fitness test or the physical! Let me state that very clearly! In fact the physical and fitness were a waste of time. I already have a valid long form. I have no fat on my body and every muscle is toned. Not to mention...they have me do the whole thing then I don't even get the new long form or medical card! What a waste of time and money!

Basically, I told Susan before she even set up orientation my situation. I have not driven a manual since school. The last job I had drove all auto-shifts. She said TA would work with me. Apparently, that was a big lie. All they did was waste my time and money. There were no surprises on my part. I clearly explained my situation to Transport America, in clear details, BEFOREHAND. They couldn't even get me back to my truck! The guy at Transport America was like can't someone pick you up in Beloit and give you a ride to your truck? I was like yeah, ok...I am going to make someone drive 200 miles to give me a ride 16-17 miles to my truck! They refused to pay for a cab or have someone pick me up and drive me to Janesville. When I was at the Pilot in Beloit I saw a Transport America truck pull in. So...another lie that there are no drivers to give me a ride! They sent the van away from Scottsburg without me. Idiots!

At orientation, they have you fill out all of these forms on Sunday night. Then, the guy at orientation has you fill out the exact same forms again! There are many forms (over a dozen), too. Many have the same information on them. It's another waste of time and paper...not to mention, my personal information is on all of the forms. By the time I get the forms filled out on Sunday night and read all the packet information, it is 11:30PM. I get stuck rooming with a chronically loud snorer who wakes me up at 2am. I slept 2 hours! Basically, Dave expects me to drive the manual truck like a master on 2 hours sleep...after not driving a manual truck for almost 3 years. Then, they are not willing to put me with anyone to help me out for even a few days or even hours. The trucks I drove at school were different! They wasted three days of my time but are not willing to give me even a little bit of slack. I have an IQ over 150 and I can learn fast...BUT you can't expect me to be a master at it when I have never driven your truck!

I never got the dinner meals and had to buy my own! Thanks for the vouchers, liars.

Oh...and I call Susan on Tuesday morning to try to get a ride to my truck from the bus in Beloit (after Scottsburg screwed me). She never calls me back!

Conclusion...I am pissed off!

Boy, what a bummer. Guess the recruiter conveniently left out that important info about the shifting.

[madaxeman]

Boy, what a bummer. Guess the recruiter conveniently left out that important info about the shifting.

By the end of the test, I was shifting ok, too. It was a huge improvement from the start (and I didn't hit anything or come close either, etc.) If they gave just a little time and effort on their part, I would've been fine in very little time! In the end, I guess they didn't want to put any effort into it...even though I put a big effort into the whole thing! Their loss...BIG TIME!