Thanks, I am aware of them. Food delivery is way down on my list. Give me a month or more of unemployment and I might reconsider. Right now I am persuing some heavy haul driver positions. I just might go for my license as a heavy equipment operator so I will have something else to fall back on other than gunsmithing. I have several jobs I have applied for and several more I want to submit applications to. I have put in applications to FedEx and UPS.

Yes, that $75 a week is HUGE. Given the amount of effort it takes to develop a driver over 6 weeks, a dinner for to at flipping Applebees is not exactly a lucrative endeavor. But wait, I have a 25% chance of getting a bonus in 6 months.

Don't be coy. You make a lot more than that by being able to use two logbooks. The fact is those 600 mile a day runs wouldn't be possible if you didn't have a trainee with you to do a good part of it.

As I've said before TMC is a cheap company. They should be paying the trainer a decent amount so he doesn't have to make it up on the trainees log book. Same with tarping. $10 is an insult when they are charging the customer a lot more than that. You should get at least the same percentage for tarping as you do for driving. And then there are tolls. TMC should be paying for the EZ Pass devices instead of making the driver pay for it.

I agree with the tarping and EZ pass; I believe that I have whined about that in this forum.

I am not sure how your trainer was. In the 4-6th weeks we get to run some long loads. I might do one or two a week during those weeks. Personally, my safety comes first before money and I don't truly run 2 log books. Yes, I will run over 14 hours with 2 guys in the truck. In essence, the monetary rewards for being a trainer are not the reason that I do it. They never seem to compensate for the frequent scares, bad behavior, and odd trainee habits. The real reasons that I train are as follows: I get better home time - it is easier with two people in the truck - I like to teach. I have had ONE trainee out of the 15 that even knew that Class A Drivers existed.

There is one common theme in trucking, the drivers are expendable. Wether your with TMC or any other carrier the reality is your time and efforts are the last concern for all parites involved.

If you sit waiting on a load for 9 hours you are not paid for it. Your fleet manager and TMC will make exactly the same amount of money as if you got your load right away. If you go into it understanding that the goal is to keep the trucks rolling and NOONE has control over availabilty of freight it will make this lump easier to swallow.

Trucking in general is a very hard, time consuming Job for which your efforts are minimally rewarded. It is however a job that you can earn in and around 40-50k and if you lack skills or education to achieve that in another form if work you also have to put up with the crap that comes along with the job.

You will be away from home approx 6 out of 7 days. I say that because weekends off means you will get home MAYBE Friday night and you will leave out Sunday afternoon. You will get filthy most days, you will sleep in a cubby hole and eat in a truck stop most of your life.

Paying your Dues. There are other jobs available that pay better and offer Home time etc. But like every other job, to get one of those you must pay your dues out on the road. People dont start as a CEO of a company they work there way up thru exp and dedication.

Is TMC a great company? Nope they are like every other hire out of school company out there, they hire em and fire em. Find them and grind them. They are no better and no worse then the other big ones that will give you a 160,000 rig straight out of driving school.

So when considering trucking as a profession, start off by asking yourself what are my short and long term goals for this move. Am I willing to put up with the 2 years of crap to get to my goal.

Remember the shiniest turd is still a piece of dung.

One guy loves them another hates them, welcome to the facts of life. In the end it boils down does it work for you and your goals.

Yeah, but I'm a GOLD PLATED turd and don't you forget it!!!

Logically, this wouldn't be true. That is 9 hours of down time for TMC, in which they are not making money. You make money, TMC makes money and vice versa. I don't know exactly how FMs are paid, I would think they at least get koodos the more money you make. Long term that could mean more money for them in bonuses, pay raises and promotions.

This is true, still you can tilt the odds in your favor by delivering as early as possible during the day, always be on time or even early and being respectful to the people you come in contact with. In other words be a professional. It may not happen overnight, but you will be rewarded.

Some of us have the education and experience to find another type of job. We choose to drive for whatever reason.

Whenever anyone starts describing the trucking industry this way, I am reminded of pictures of our men in combat. One picture in particular where the soldiers are so tired they are catching rest next to a muddy road full of traffic, they are in their sleeping bags in the mud many inches deep. Yeah, truckers have it so bad. I feel our pain.

Of course there are other job available the pay worse and offer less home time, etc.

I agree with you here. I wish I had started oh so many years ago when I first became interested in trucking.

Absolutly. I still say, if you don't feel that way about your company, quit, and join one that you can feel that way about.

The disconnect is the student drivers that have no real concept of what the job is and cannot hang with the program. Where else can a person get $50K to $60K with minimal training. From what I have seen on this board, TMC offers higher pay than the majority of of trucking companies out there. That they ask you to earn it by hard work never bothered my. I have had a lot harder jobs in my life.

Sure, everyone should have a plan.

There are alot of people that have made fortunes out of one type of dung or another. Remember the saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonaid.

And that's a fact, Jack!

An average of $1,000.00 a week isn't too cheap.

I have never been a trainer, I have talked to many of them. I just don't see them making money on the double logbook that everyone (non trainers) claim. Sure the last three weeks they may have more hours available, if they trust their trainee. I have heard of many trainers who sit in the driver's seat the entire six weeks because they don't trust the trainee. Trainers loose money the first three weeks because the are doing things slower, training. They barely, if they do, make it up on the last three weeks of the six. Still, you are right that they should be better compensated than they are.

I have to agree here. It has been explained to me that you get paid whether TMC charges for the tarping or not. I don't quite buy that though.

Yep, I agree though I can live with a $100.00 deposit and $2.50 a week to save me time and the chance for DOT inspections allowing me to make $60K per year. I don't like it, but it isn't a deal breaker for me. They don't make you participate.

Whether you feel that I am a TMC basher or shill...here is a posting that y'all can go back to to make your case.

The Good
1. TMC has nice trucks. Doesn't matter? I have to live in the dang thing 5-6 days per week.
2. TMC cares about their drivers. There may be individuals that stink within the company but overall they care. During some devastating personal events last year, they showed compassion monetarily as well as personally.
3. The pay is good. Where can a new driver earn $50K in their first year?
4. The health plan is of high quality and not expensive.
5. The company is growing and strong.
--There is more

The Bad
1. $10 for tarping is an insult.
2. I don't get compensated enough for training.
3. The Prepass saves the company money. I should not have to pay anything to have it in my truck when states discount for having it.
4. The shops and road repair people are the weak part of the company.
5. Sometimes decisions are made that are wholly stupid.
--There is more

Things That Suck About Trucking That Is Not TMC's Fault
1. The shippers are mostly ignorant.
2. Traffic blows.
3. It is too many hours and too hard for the money.
4. Working in bad weather is bad.
5. I am not at home enough.
6. The freight can often dry up. I am quite concerned about the immediate future.
--There is more

von, WELL SAID! That was the most concise, precise and TO THE POINT summation I have read thus far!