Wow is TMC tryn to see if they can make me quit?


I was dropped off at the lexington sc yard at 11 am tues to finish gettting truck ready to go.They were told to get us there by 7 am but they move at their own pace down in that yard.Any way I was all set to roll out and fuel up at 1 pm.I call my FM and tell him whats going on and he said call back when ready for a load.I hit the columbia sc pilot by the training yard fueled up then hit the scale.At 2pm I call the FM and tell him I am 100% ready to run.He says nothing is avail just hang out.Well myself and 4 other new guys are just standing out in the lot by the trucks shootn the shit till 4 pm.We all go to call our FMs to find out whats going on.One guy who lives north of columbia got a lumber load to drop monday and the other guys got loads of siding I think it was that dropped monday.I had nothing yet but it was late in the day and turkey day is close so I was getting set to spend the nite at the pilot and get a load in the am on wed.Well 5:30 my FM calls and says he has a hot load that must be picked up same day no matter what in anderson sc that needs to be in ohio by 11am and it cant be late.I tell him I dont think I can make it happen as my 14 started when I left the yard in lexington with my truck.He says I have no choice as I am the olny one who can go get it and he will setup a split that nite so the load will be on time.

I go to get the load as he said I had no choice.I get a sat msg from my FM at about 6:15 telling me to get loaded and head north as far as I can then call overnite and have them look for some one to split with.I grab the phone to call my FM and he is gone for the day.They get me in at 8pm to load up and it was 9:30 when I was all set to roll.It was a full load of insulation foam sheets all 3,500 pounds of it so it was lumber tarps away.
I call up overnite and tell them whats going on so they can start looking but the guy just laughed and could not understand why my FM was doing things the way he was but he said he would do his best for me but did not think he would have any luck.

The short ver of the rest....

After a few more calls to overnite with no luck I talk to my FM at 7am.There is no way I can make 11am and still no split.He wants to know where Im at and he has a poss split in columbus OH that has a load of refrac going to alcoa in Lancaster pa monday.He tells me hold tight and he will try and contact the place the load is going to and try to get a later drop time.......Well at 10:45 pm I meet my split in columbus to swap out.
He was a very nice guy and was happy to help me out even tho it was going to cost him pay.My load $650 his load $1300 so I felt bad about the pay cut for him.The load I had was setup to drop monday for him and I have alcoa monday.


I make a fuel stop on the way to Philly to find a headlight was out and the wipers were not worth a crap and it was raining the whole way so I get a bulb and wipers at the fuel stop.I am set to hit the road and the bunk AC unit starts to make all kinds of noise then shuts off I lift the bunk and its red hot so I get every thing away from it and leave the bunk up so it can get some air.I hit the road and not 2 miles from the fuel stop the trailer ABS light pops on and the red button starts to Hisssssss.I pull over and find the red air line glad hand wont seat tight and is leaking.I bust out some tools and we are good to go in 20min.My first load was 3,500 pounds and at the yard the test drive was empty.When I hit the hills in WV the truck has no power and what seems like a miss in a gas engine when I try to pull the 42,000 load up the hill.


I get to the house around 1pm turkey day no worse for wear but not happy at all.

Mrgrim

You just keep on trailer trucking bro. I have been keeping up w/you at TMC since you started posting (I just started with Maverick). It is all part of the job (or game). At least you made it home for turkey. Good luck. Keep posting, plz.

i can't beleive i just read the whole thing...again.

Well First thing monday I plan to call up the ole FM and he had better get me to some place to get another truck.The open rack on the tractor makes trailer swaps a huge pain.I have a friend that works for ATS and he keeps tryn to get me to jump ship.I gotta say that so far Im not impressed.

Jumping ship at this point wouldn't be a good idea. Just contact you FM and civily, tell him about the problems. If he can't or won't help ask to speak to your team leader, the the operations manager. I seriously doubt it will go that far. They will get it corrected. Why did you accept a truck with so many problems or did they start occuring after you were out on the road.

A couple of things to think about. You might get an adverse DAC report if you you just quit, especially under a load. You have less than six months with TMC and you signed a paper allowing them to take out the cost of your training. Does ATS pay as well as a new driver?

Just take a deep breath and calm down. Sh*t happens. Give TMC a chance to make it right.

The truck was the only truck they had in lexington for me.They had 2 KWs that were going up for sale,1 long nose same thing,2 short nose in good shape that were given to others testing out and one other 387 that had 100K on it but looked to be in good shape that another tester got.The truck I got was given to me and I had no choice in the matter.

I had a good many issues fixed at the shop before I drove it off the lot not to mention the issues I fixed myself.I was tryn to be the good guy with the other people getting trucks that day as one of us was gettin the junker.It wasall I had so I took it.The lack of power and the "miss" only showed up when I put 42K on the deck.The other stuff went on after I took it.

I dont plan to dump the truck with a load and walk away thats dumb.yes ATS pays well but I want to give TMC a fair shot.But TMC had better step it up.

After researching and looking into different companies for some time now, I have decided to put a TMC shirt on myself. And I am hoping that this will be the final shirt I wear during my career.

I have spoken with numerous TMC drivers over the past few years, and would like to thank all of you that have taken the time out of your busy schedule to speak with me. (Especially Doug for missing your football game sunday when I stopped by to show me your equipment and give me some good advice).

I will be in orientation on Monday the 28th in Des Moines if anyone is available, look me up and I'll buy you a cup of coffee and maybe give me more good pointers so that I can make my experience with TMC the best that it can be.

If your not going to be in Des Moines, drop me a PM and I would more than happy to contact you for a good conversation.

PS. I'll be going with a trainer for a few weeks, and if anyone knows a good one in the Fort Wayne, IN area let me know.

I look forward to meeting everyone on the road...

There was a trainer in Angola, I think his name is Cory M. I think is on Deere specialized, there was also a guy in Westfield(just north of Indy)his name is Aarron.

HEY Jerod, I have been looking long and hard at TMC. I was wondering what i would be considered Longhaul or Linehaul? I live just west of I-96 in Grand Rapids, MI. i was also wondering if you have anything dedicated in that area. I understand you have to work for TMC for at least 6 months before dedicatred Thanks for any help

I can't answer your question about Long Haul or Line Haul. If you haven't yet, go to www.tmctrans.com and look at the map. It may not give enough detail and you will have to get with Jerod to get a description of the boundaries.

Generally speaking, you do have to have six months experience to get on a dedicated account. TMC can and does make exceptions based on its needs. It will not hurt to ask before your six months are up.

I hope to see you out on the road wearing black and chrome.