:scratching my head on this one: did rockie post his response in the wrong thread???? newbie's getting along with their trainees???? so, what does this mean---the blind, leading/training the blind????

 

Also (unless I overlooked it) .... when looking for a new company

how close is thier Yard to your home .... on hometime will you require

a place to park the big truck.

 

cabinet doors and inverter size are important questions???? how about how good and how much are the benefits? when do they kick in? how much is 401k match? these are important questions, this is why people have the wrong idea about these companies and when things go wrong it is all the companies fault because they are rotten ass liars. man, we need to start asking good thought out questions tha really matter in life.

 

TA does not require hazmat. Also, their hiring area map on their website clearly shows you the home time schedule for the different areas.

 

My trainer was fired from TA, I've moved on, got my settlement, my DAC report cleared. Like I said, they came around , but I had to have a Havard Lawyer to get them to see what happened. That is all I can say legally

 

well--to me these are important questions--I've been doing this for 15years.

the cabinet doors question is because-- I already know they run Freighliner Columbia---the question is a 'lifestyle' question---is the company Cheap with stripped equipment(nets) or well spec'd equipment--cabinet doors.

If you live/work OTR--and have experienced both you'd know what a pain in the ass those nets are.

Inverters allowed or not allowed is important----
the more $$$$ you can save in living expenses the better off you are-- more money in YOUR pocket

You do realize that --being "allowed" to have an inverter is = to .03cents a mile? the difference between $150.00 a week or $65.00 a week.


It's an OTR company----there are NO benefits
at least not to any great difference----they're all about the same in the benefit department---put them all in a bag shake em up--and you couldn't hardly tell the same.

401K is usually the same--fortunately there-- it's covered under government regulations---again not too much difference their either.

their web site is : http//www.transportamerica.com



they answer most of the "important" questions that really matter in life--right there.

that's why I was asking the kinds of questions that can only be answered by someone who's been INSIDE or driven one of their trucks.

 

sounds like a bad experience with a trainer....or should we say---trainer imposter....bout the same caliber as the England Trainer in Pa that was recently in the news.

 

well there's actually 2 schools of thought on the subject of distance to Yard-


(a) living close to a yard- a) might mean getting HOME more often/easy.

or (b) just having to leave the truck at yard(with all your stuff in it) and driving/leaving a personal vehicle at said yard. And if they got your home number---sometimes you find yourself.....ON CALL instead of OFF DUTY


I've found I enjoy parking my assigned tractor IN MY DRIVEWAY while on time off---and this is actually easier by living FAR away from the YARD-
also living in the south---southern companies don't PAY as well as NORTHERN based companies. So, there's that benefit as well.

But you are right---generally speaking if HOMETIME is really important to you living close to a terminal or End node of a freight lane is better.

 

Other Important questions:

haz-mat required? No
inverters allowed in trucks? Yes 1500 but only certain brands
cabinet doors or nets? Nets, but we are getting in the cascadas(sp) that have cabinets but you wont see one of those for a yr.
forced dispatch or load select? "Not" forced but better have a good reason other then you dont want to go there. or be prepared to sit
assigned driver manager/dispatcher or zone dispatch? Assigned FM
48states irregular route or specific freight lanes?Solos run mostly midwest east coast
can they get me home? Depends where you live from every week- every 2 wks


West coast as a solo you will see very little of. I just starting running team and seeing a ton of it 8)

 

thanks for the answers..... so you currently working for them-great.

so are all the trucks "double bunk" condos or mid-roof? I ask since they they run teams too- do they "encourage" or attempt to team - solo drivers up-"match making" or do they leave solo drivers to their rat killing?

how about Arkansas/ Southern Missouri---very much freight in/out/through there?

so not forced dispatch---but they don't send anything like an "offer" which has say 3 or 4 choices to let the driver choose from? still sounds like a forced but "let's get along" dispatch enviroment.