Mostly, I have been as far as CA, WY and TN. I think they are trying to get me out of the state on better paying runs now. Squeeky wheel gets the grease sort of thing.

Ahh. ok..

well I made it thru the 2 weeks in DM.I will be going out with a dedicated driver about 170 miles from me sunday at 2 PM.I talked to him around 12pm sat on my way home from DM.He seems like a good guy from the few min on the phone.I was sent to cuba,Mo to get a CDL then on to Des Moines for the 2 weeks so 5 weeks away from home and I will only get to be home 24 hours then off to meet trainer.

The 2 weeks is not too bad but some of the teachers are less than nice.The old guys that come in to do on road training were all very nice guys.We did 3.5 hours on road each day with one of the driver trainers during the last week.They take you all over the place in DM and get about 75 miles or so a day.The other half of the day is backing pad work.You do a 45 back,90 back and a figure 8.The 45 takes practice so you can get the setup the way they want it but its doable.The 90 we did not spend much time on but its not bad just gotta know how to use the dump on the trailer.The figure 8 was giving guys alot of trouble but I felt it was easy.The figure 8 seems like its trying to teach setup for turns and as long as you think ahead for the next turn its no problem.I did make it thru the week on the pad with out hitting a single cone so I guess I did good.
Load securement class is very short and gives just the VERY basics on it with a test the last day.The guy teaching that class seems to be the one every one did not like at all as he is full of himself and is a smart ass.
The first week is with austin if your green and its just paper work for the most part and he is an ok guy.

The Hotel "Baymont Inn" is nice and the wifi works fine most of the time.You will be 2 guys to a room but you can switch room mates if need be.I did have to switch room mates once due to them never taking a shower and watching TV till 2 am when class starts at 5am.You can wash cloths and hit a pool or hot tub while you wait.The pool is indoors with a hot tub but dont think 5 star hotel,its nice and open till 11pm.

All in all not bad,but if you are green take notes on every thing you are told as in the first week you are told about things you will do in the second week.I would do it again if I had to as its not bad.Its just a matter of getting out of bed at different times just about every day as they see if you will be on time.We had guys get cut from the class every day but the last day.They got cut for being late to class several times,very bad attitude,Fighting yes fighting,Pee test-they will call you into the office and take you to try again if its hot.It seems if you have the will and a good attitude they want you to stay but if you cant shift or drive your done for.
Feel free to ask any questions I will be glad to answer any I can.

Well I will head to meet my trainer in an hour or so.This should be an eye opening event for me.I am only going to take one small case and hope every thing fits in it as he has a short nose pete and they did not seem to have much room to stash stuff.

I wish you all the luck in the world. Your success or failure is completly up to you. Just remember it is his truck, you have to get along with him. You can stand on your head for six weeks. However, if you feel that uncomfortabe for whatever reason simply call your training coordinator and request another trainer. Quitting is not an option. Let us know how it goes. If you need another driver's perspective contact on of us, talk it over before you do anything rash.

If you look back at my posts to you a couple of weeks ago you will see I said the same thing. Is Don still the instructor at load securement? Everyone thought he was a dick. Austin was decent but the head of the training was/is also a dick. I also told you that the 379 Petes are claustrophobic, just awfully damn small for one never mind two. The 387's are much better to drive but they don't have the macho appeal that many in TMC seem to need. Something about Texans and short manhoods.

Sounds like after you cut through the crap, TMC doesn't sound like a bad deal. I couldn't handle being with a guy that didn't take showers. That is just plain ole nasty. Also, I don't get the attraction to getting high??? These people know they are going to get tested, yet they show up knowing they are going to piss hot. I just don't understand people I guess. At any rate, I wish you luck as it sounds like 6 weeks in a truck with someone you don't know may be the biggest challenge yet. Keep your eye on the prize.

Terry,

Hope things look up for you. Would you still recommend switching from longhaul to linehaul? My husband was planning on it until his FM told him he'd have to switch FM's. See...he really likes the one he has, and even though he's linehaul has been home 7 out of the last 10 weeks.... He has a feeling that he'll also take a paycut to come linehaul, as he has pulled several $4000+ to the truck weeks with longhaul, not all by any means...

Oh, and he keeps hearing rumors (or at least I hope they are) that a lot of the hometimes for linehaul are shorter than longhaul. Has this been the case for you? He's envisioning being home long enough to do laundry and eat and this being counted as a "weekend".

My husband is on his first trip to the infamous Rotan. I'm hoping it goes smooth for him though, as he's supposed to deliver in El Paso tomorrow, and won't be able to otherwise. We have read all about it here, so he knows what to watch out for at least.

I don't mind Line Haul. I still have a couple of things I have to clear up at home, so I need to be home on the weekends. I am working harder for a little less pay. You just have to keep on top of your Fleet Manager and get him to stay on top of the Load Planners and Customer Service. I believe them to be lazy clock punchers. They don't realize that when they delay finding you a load, when close to the end of the day, you don't have a load assigned and they go home, that delay just cost you $250.00.

I prefer Long Haul. It is the opposite of Line Haul, you work less and make more money. My best week was $1,800.00. The next week was a little short, but averaging the two my take home was still about $1,400.00. On average, take home was over $1,000.00 and climbing. My 13 week average, figured at 23% was right at $900.00 each week. My percentage was 31%. That was without TQM or Road Scholar.

As far as home time is concerned. I'm home every weekend unless I accept a load outside of the region. I usually get home Friday evening and leave on Monday morning. Occasionally, I get home later and sometimes I have to leave on Sunday. I am home almost always for the full weekend. Just keep after your FM. Planning is like a game of chess. You have to be thinking several moves ahead. As I get more experience I get better at it. I know if I go to a certain area I will load at this place and it will take so long to load and so long to get home.

I'm single, so time at home isn't real important to me. Next weekend I will be in Des Moines for TQM. Hopefully, I'll be able to drop by the house right before the weekend or right after.

So, how did Rotan go? It can go smoothly, I heard that once.