[madii'swife]

Originally Posted by geomon

It will be interesting to hear what sort of mileage your husband gets with TransAm. Will he be sitting a lot for reefer load/unloads or will it be mostly drop 'n hook? I wish you both good luck!

From their website: "Our first year student drivers earn more than $46,000 per year."......
Well at an average of $0.3175/mi (I took 6 mos @ 0.305; 6mos @ 0.31 PLUS assuming he makes ALL performance bonuses) he would have to drive 144.9K miles per year to equal $46K.

Maybe they should revise that website statement to read: Our first year student drivers CAN earn as MUCH as $46,000 per year.

We're aware that the 46K figure is probably exaggerated. For us we're coming from under 20K a year, so 35-38K or so would NOT be a problem even with his extra expenses on the road. I understand for other people it might be.

I will try to keep up with his actual mileage better once he's in a solo truck. His trainer is a lease operator, and its his first time training (I guess somebody's gotta be first ). He's the "run hard, get there on time no matter what" type, but is trying to "unlearn" some of his bad habits for the time he's training, as he says. He is not asking or requiring my husband to do anything illegal so we understand that everybody has their own style.

As far as drop and hook goes, the load they took to MI was unloaded by a lumper, which apparently a lot of their loads are, so mostly live unloads. They are no touch freight, but apparently mostly due to requiring lumpers, rather than the drivers to unload.

[Cluggy619]

I'm glad to see things are starting out good for you. I don't have too much info on other companies, so your post is really helpful should I ever decide to go back to OTR.

[shadowsknight]

Once the hubby gets 1 year OTR if he wants to be home every weekend then look into Westar there in Witchita Falls. It's a flatbed company but they run mostly the south (Texas, OK, Kansas, NM, and Louisianna). I run with some of their drivers on a regular basis and most of them seem happy.

[madii'swife]

Originally Posted by shadowsknight

Once the hubby gets 1 year OTR if he wants to be home every weekend then look into Westar there in Witchita Falls. It's a flatbed company but they run mostly the south (Texas, OK, Kansas, NM, and Louisianna). I run with some of their drivers on a regular basis and most of them seem happy.

Thanks, we are aware of them. They said to talk to them once he's had 6 months experience. He doesn't want to hop jobs much at all though (as that is why we are limited on options now) so may try to stay with TransAm. He is hoping they have a regional or dedicated of some sort that would get him home weekends without having to transfer companies but we will find that out when the time comes. Westar is a definite option though, I've heard mostly good things.

[madii'swife]

Just a quick update for tonight. My husband heads out from Flint, MI in the morning. They pick up a load in Grand Rapids, then deliver it to Houston. Not sure when they are due in Houston. His trainer says he expects to be taking a load to Denver from there. If they do it will take them straight through town and they might be able to stop for a bit! That would be really nice, even if just for 30 min for lunch or something. I'm not holding my breath though, as I understand he's not here until he's here.
My husband is glad to be going back on the road, as he's been rather restless sitting in Flint this weekend. They have a nice long haul ahead of them after an early load.

[madii'swife]

When I talked to my husband tonight he was in between Indianapolis and St Louis on I 70. They were going to get into St Louis and stop for the night. The load from Grand Rapids got cancelled so they ended up deadheading to Toledo, OH, and picking up a load to be deliverd in SE Oklahoma. Its due Wednesday morning, the trainer says they have plenty of time, but the last time he said that, the trainer ended up driving some of it because my husband wasn't willing to "do what it takes"
I have to admit to being concerned that what started looking out good with the trainer may be turning bad. His trainer wants them to go team already, and this is only my husband's second load. My husband says he feels the trainer may just be bored riding (this is his first time training). My husband is unsure what to do with it, as he doesn't want to cause waves for no reason. His trainer is a lease operator, and my husband feels that maybe this is the cause for some of his "different than school" ways.
I'm not there, so its hard for me to know what to tell him. Also, mods please forgive me as this is somewhat of a double post, see "trainers" in new drivers.

[kraftyballs]

Hey.... haven't been on these boards in a while, but I've been with TransAm for about 10 months already...

Make sure you tell your hubby that once he gets on the road by himself and is assigned a dispatcher, he should make it very clear to him/her that he's not going to take any crap from them. I've noticed lately that they've been trying to put the fear of god into the new drivers.

Here's the real deal:
It's VERY difficult to get fired from TransAm. They are a very forgiving company because they know how hard it is to retain drivers.

A lot of us drivers tend to forget that we're the ones in demand here. I've just noticed lately that drivers are letting their companies push them around, and it's quite sickening to me.

As long as your hubby does his job well, he'll ALWAYS be in demand anywhere.

Make all your loads on time, and your dispatcher will do anything not to lose ya. And if your load is late, and sometimes it will be, make it up to them.


As far as TransAm as a company, they are a pretty good outfit to start with. They're a very laid back company, and your husband probably told you about how personable the owner is.

Hope your hubby enjoys it! I know I do.

[Piece Of Work]

I drove for Trans Am. My experience was that the company organizes "Swaps", sometimes as much as 3 times a week for solo drivers. This can get irritating. My miles were great but I was never passing by home during the course of a trip. I imagine during training that swaps would not be used as much, but maybe they will.

I wish you and your husband the best! At least you will learn where your ground beef and steaks come from!

[madii'swife]

Thanks for the input guys, all of its appreciated.
My husband and his trainer dropped the load early today in a little town in Southeast Oklahoma. He was carrying 38,000 pounds of chicken feed. They are spending the night there and will head out for Northern Oklahoma for a pickup in the morning, then on to PA. His trainer has been driving when my husband was out of hours or needed a break.

My husband is still having issues with his trainer. He was flat out told tonight there's no money in running legal logs. He also has not been the one doing most of the backing (had to push to be allowed to do any), has not done any of the trip planning (trainer says he doesn't want to get lost), and is generally getting put off when he asks to do things.

He is planning on bringing all of this up with his trainer tonight. His trainer had threatened to have him placed with a new trainer earlier in the day, but stated tonight he hadn't done anything about that. My husband is planning on standing his ground, as he doesnt' want to lose the time involved in getting a new trainer. I am hoping they can work out their differences long enough to get done with training.

[greg3564]

Originally Posted by madii'swife

Thanks for the input guys, all of its appreciated.
My husband and his trainer dropped the load early today in a little town in Southeast Oklahoma. He was carrying 38,000 pounds of chicken feed. They are spending the night there and will head out for Northern Oklahoma for a pickup in the morning, then on to PA. His trainer has been driving when my husband was out of hours or needed a break.

My husband is still having issues with his trainer. He was flat out told tonight there's no money in running legal logs. He also has not been the one doing most of the backing (had to push to be allowed to do any), has not done any of the trip planning (trainer says he doesn't want to get lost), and is generally getting put off when he asks to do things.

He is planning on bringing all of this up with his trainer tonight. His trainer had threatened to have him placed with a new trainer earlier in the day, but stated tonight he hadn't done anything about that. My husband is planning on standing his ground, as he doesnt' want to lose the time involved in getting a new trainer. I am hoping they can work out their differences long enough to get done with training.

If his supposed "trainer" is really telling him things like that and not allowing him to do critical items like backing, trip planning, etc., he should call the company and request to be moved to a new trainer. He should not be threatened by his trainer to be moved off the truck. What does that say about his trainer? Good luck.