My 7 Week PTL Experience (Recent CDL school grads may want to read)

Discussion in 'PTL' started by ShagHack, Mar 9, 2013.

  1. ShagHack

    ShagHack Bobtail Member

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    Mar 9, 2013
    Republic of Texas
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    No real negatives about the company other than 1 which I'll cover. As an experienced driver returning as a noob, I was out of trucking for about 13 years after driving OTR 1994-2000, I have a good understanding of what to expect with companies. PTL has it's positives and like all companies has the typical negatives.

    After attending CDL school (again) I took a position with PTL. I like the fact they haul much freight out of Laredo which meant I'd be getting by the house fairly often and could use quick stops to refresh and not need to take home time. As a single guy, no kids, home-time isnt important, but refresher stops can come in handy. I also liked their starting pay once you're in a truck SOLO - .33cpm.

    When I first spoke with the recruiter I was told training consisted of a 2-3 week period with a trainer and I would be driving 100% of the time- unless circumstances such as a load needing to get delivered and my hours wouldn't allow me to get there on time, or my driving was so poor the trainer refused to risk his life, or bad weather rolled in and the trainer felt it would be best to take the wheel. There is NO team driving otherwise during this period. This period with the trainer is for 6k miles.

    Now this is where the recent grads should pay attention - What I was not told (but others were - I asked around during orientation, seems some were given all the info, others were not) is PTL has a Phase 2 training. This Phase 2 training consists of running team with another newbie for 40k miles. The pay during this Phase 2 is .15cpm (same as Phase 1).

    During Phase 1, the truck was run hard. The 6k miles were completed in less than 2 weeks. During the two weeks of Phase1, my trainer (who was a pretty awesome fellow) and I ran into several Phase 2 teams. These Phase 2 teams ALL, each and every one, comlpained at the lack of miles. Most were getting under 2600 miles a week TOTAL. Most had been in Phase 2 for 2-4 months. My trainer said that was typical of PTL. PTL does not run these trucks as team and the miles are consistently low.

    Learning this I got pretty discouraged - 2100k to 2600k miles a week @ .15cpm for 40k miles, that pay...well it isn't good and the time to get to 40k was looking to be much longer than I thought.

    Having turned down a job with US Express because they also had a 6 month type Phase 2 team program (because I am extremely uninterested in being in a truck with anyone else much less than someone with only 6k miles under their belt), when I first learned about the Phase 2 with PTL, I almost walked. However I'd driven all the way to Kentucky (they pay .20cpm to drive, beats the dog, and it's actually more than I was paid as a trainee), had turned down other positions, and felt I would give it a shot thinking 5-6k miles a week Phase 2 could be completed in 8-9 weeks if done without a break.

    Here's a catch (NEWBIE CDL GRADS READ HERE TOO) - You are asked to sign a form which states:

    "If you do not complete the entirety of the training programs, Phase 1 and Phase 2, PTL will charge you $1,500.00." I do not know how they charge this, but Im currently in the position where I will be finding out soon. They did NOT take any money from my last paycheck. I did advance most of it off in case they did.:biggrin_25525:

    I received 7 or 8 checks with PTL. One check was more than $400. Two checks were $300-399. The rest were less than $299 with one almost under $200. I took no cash advances.

    When I began running Phase 2 - trips were 800 miles, 2-3 days to deliver. 1,100 miles, 3-4 days to deliver. Every load on my truck seemed to have an extra 24-48 hours to get there. During Phase 2 I had 2 partners and with both partners every load we had we showed up well before the appt time to try and unload early. Sometimes we could, most we could not. The miles we were getting were not due to lack of effort. I can't understand how a man with a family, anyone with house-car-child support-hungry wife-etc payments can afford to survive through their Phase 2. As a single guy I could have, but chose out of pride not to. I won't sacrifice all that we sacrifice to drive OTR for an average weekly check of $275 for 4-5 months.

    So that is the negative though I may want to include their health insurance and its cost as a negative. If I'd taken their health insurance, over 70% of my checks would have been right at or under $200 (without taking advances) - also, some of the trailers are in rough shape and on 3 pickups the trailer was refused by the shipper because of it's condition (not because of cleanliness or junk in trailer).

    The positives - the people working in the office are good people, the trucks are in decent shape, and they'll pay you a nice chunk to run out and pick up an abandoned truck. They have a good driver support system, they run a lot of low weight freight.

    I am certain if there had been no Phase 2, I would still be working with them. Though I am also certain if they told me before I got there they had a Phase 2 (and I did ask to know everything about the training before going), I would not have taken the position.

    FWIW -- Im looking at my trip book and here are some of my trips

    01/30 - Murray, KY
    01/31 Hebron, KY
    miles 315

    01/31 Lexington, KY
    02/01 Atlanta, GA
    miles 438

    02/01 McDonough, GA
    02/04 Houston,TX
    835 miles

    02/04 Houston, TX
    02/06 Mechanicsburg, PA
    miles 1,523

    02/06 Lancaster, PA
    02/08 Chicago, IL
    miles 800

    02/08 La Porte, IN
    02/10 Thomasville, GA
    miles 956 (minus 400 as trip rerouted to Murray - my 1st partner wanted to go home (had been out since November and was at 27k miles of the 40k) so they returned truck to Murray, bused him home, and I waited until 2/14 to be assigned 2nd trainee partner)

    02/14 Murray, KY
    02/15 Brazil, IN
    miles 260

    02/15 Terra Haute, IN
    02/18 Kansas City, MO
    miles 424

    02/18 Trenton, MO
    02/19 Memphis, TN
    miles 601

    02/20 Memphis, TN
    02/20 Austell, GA
    miles 367

    As you can see, @ .15cpm this hurts. If you are doing .33cpm the pay isn't great but it's doable, especially just starting out. The final straw came when we'd gottenup to Wisconsin and received a 2 day 6 pickup trip headed for Laredo. Once loaded we had a del time of ASAP - get to yard and drop. 6 hours after getting underway, the load was re-routed to Dallas yard where we were to drop it Wednesday AM for another driver to finish and we were to get a load going back to Indiana for a Fri delivery.

    Once back in Indiana, I called a company I'd applied with to see if app was still active. It was and they began processing it. During this time we got another trip to Laredo (from Missouri -1,235 miles, pu 03/01 del 03/03). Going by the house I decided to stop for a couple hours. Had more than enough time to get to del. Picked up new credit card, bank card, direct deposit form, Petro card, visited sick grandma, my trainee partner and I got showers and laundry done - and I got phone call getting approved for new company. When I was at the assisted living facility where my grandmother is, I got call from my Partner saying company angry we stopped. When I get done with visit, get back to house, and get call from new company saying "yes", I called PTL to inform them I'd be getting off truck when load in Laredo was complete and we got to yard.

    I received a call back from person in charge of all trainees who asked if I was quitting, I said yes, things werent just working out and I needed to try something else. She said "We'll come after you for the $1,500.00", I said "good luck,, I don't even think I made $1,500.00 with the company". She replied "If you're taking trips to the house, you can't complain about lack of miles". This coming after we swung by the house for 4 hours (first time I'd be at the house since Jan 12), added maybe 30 out of route miles to trip (allowed +10% of trip miles for out of route miles each trip) and had another 16 hours before our delivery 5 hours from my house. I laughed, told her to "kiss my ^$$", and got off the phone.

    We got the load to Laredo that night, delivered first thing, headed to yard, got off truck, told Partner good luck, flew to Dallas then to Nashville then taxi to to Murray, got my car and begin orientation on Monday with new company running only Texas after a 150 hour training period.



    tl;dnr?
    1- nice people
    2- awful trainee pay and trainee program up to 6 months long
    3- $1,500.00 charge to trainee if trainee doesnt finish training
    4- decent trucks, 63mph foot 65mph cruise, have a few terrible trailers
    5- suggest other CDL grad's find somewhere else, if you have exp and live near Murray, it could be a good place for you.


    extras
    Orientation Pay $150 - think $100 on card when assigned to truck, rest on card when 1st load comes.
    Hotel for orientation - Bad drivers force the rest into bad situations. Ask the lady at the desk to show you pictures of what truckers have done to rooms and youll understand why the "nice" local hotels refuse PTL orientation drivers.
    Food - good food during lunch, no junk. Coupons for pretty good all you can eat buffet for dinner at place with lots of pretty local ladies working there to look at..
    Nothing to do in town during orientation. No bars. No liquor stores. Drinking in room gets you sent home. Nearest liquor store is in Paris, TN.
    Detention pay - $10 per hour after 3 hours, must have specific appt time
    All no touch freight
    Bonus for NYC, Bonus for anything NE, Bonus for HazMat. HazMart not required. NE + NYC not forced.
    All ten speed manual
    Freightliner Classic, Columbia + International ProStar
    Pets ok - pretty high non-refundable charge
    Rider policy- 30 day waiting period. No CDL holder can be rider.
    Health Ins after 6 months - temp policy during the 6 - both pricey and limited.
    average employment 4.1 months
    Are under DOT special inspection - has Pre-Pass but never once green lighted unless scale closed.
    Have EZ-Go
    E-Logs + Qualcom + Fuel Stops and Routes assigned. Navigo for GPS.
    APUs on all truck and the APUs are great
    Unsure on amount of layover pay- it's there but it's given on a 'good luck getting that' basis.
    Talked to many lease purchase drivers, none happy. NONE.
    About 30 new drivers rolling through each week during the two orientations.
    It's your typical trucking company.
     
    secorp, samletch, rickybobby and 3 others Thank this.
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  3. Rollin87

    Rollin87 Light Load Member

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    Feb 26, 2013
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    Wow!! I'm suppose to get on a bus in the morning to head to orientation.. I was told about the 40,000 miles of teaming but thought we would average about 5000 miles per week and I would be done in about 8 weeks.. This is crazy!!!
     
  4. Rollin87

    Rollin87 Light Load Member

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    Feb 26, 2013
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    How many miles were YOU AND YOUR team mates averaging a week during phase 2?
     
  5. ShagHack

    ShagHack Bobtail Member

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    Mar 9, 2013
    Republic of Texas
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    Under 2500. One week 3k, next 1700, next 2200. The trips I listed above are our trips from those dates. Those were the total miles for a team truck,what my partner and I both were credited for. What makes that hard, other than pay, is you get into no real rhythm. One drives for 10 hours, the other drives for 4, then you're there. If you can't deliver early, then you're at a truck stop for 24-48hrs, both on the same schedule, both wanting to work. Without the truck running steady, team driving is very difficult.

    If I could have averaged 5k I would not have left. 5k week @.15cpm is decent for "trainee" pay and I would've sucked it up and ran. 5k to 40k isn't terrible either, only 8 weeks.

    Average time to complete the 40k is 4 months.

    Forgot to add other info -
    Extra PU/Drop = +$20

    Everything extra, NYC bonus, extra drop, etc is split when team driving.

    If you don't have many bills, live relatively close to Murray, and think you can do $275 a week for the next 16-20 weeks, I say try it.
     
  6. Rollin87

    Rollin87 Light Load Member

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    Feb 26, 2013
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    Well I live in central Arkansas but 275 a week is not good at all for me.. Lol.. Did u pick ur partner? How often did y'all go home? Does ur partner for phase 2 have to live close by you?
     
  7. KMac

    KMac Road Train Member

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    Jan 26, 2012
    Waxahachie, TX
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    WOW... those are some crap miles.
     
  8. ShagHack

    ShagHack Bobtail Member

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    Mar 9, 2013
    Republic of Texas
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    If you find someone in orientation that you get along with, and want to team with, let them know once orientation is done and you're getting your truck assignment. Kevin does all the truck assignment, trainer/trainee, trainee/trainee/solo assignments and he is a good guy who will work with you.

    If you find nobody, it's luck of the draw but they will try and pair you with someone who lives close but nothing is guaranteed. If you get a guy who lives in Fla, and he takes hometime, you can tell PTL you want to keep running, theyll return you both to Murray, send him home on bus, and find you a new partner. If you don't want a new partner they will pay for your hotel in the town he lives in. This also delays getting the 40k done. One takes 2-3 days off at home one week, the other does the same the next, then every 2-3 weeks off time happens again....if truck breaks down, if theres an accident, all the variables thrown in make that 40k a long stretch.

    If you're close to 40 or 30 you'll be able to at least see the house fairly often. Lot of running through Ark. One of my trainee partners was great - the other got extremely angry once when he was 2 hours short of a 34 hour restart and I told him I'd start the day driving. He couldn't understand the purpose of getting him a restart if it meant I drove 2x in a row. Not a bright guy, but I slept well when he drove so it was worth it.

    My first time home was last week Sat. I left for orientation around the 12th of Jan. I wanted to knock it out, get it done, but realistically I had poor expectations thinking I could do that. My first trainee partner had not been home since early Nov eexcept 2 days around Christmas, and he was at 27k miles of his 40k.

    I had less than 10k miles when I got off the truck last Saturday. I also had a 5 day break during my 01/31 to 03/02 Phase 2 period waiting for a 2nd partner, that wait was by choice. After my first experience with angry guy I chose to wait for a guy I'd met in orientation who wasn't getting along with his partner, and lost a few days doing so. PTL did pay for my hotel during this time, so I appreciate that.

    But the 27 days I was actually assigned a truck and rolling from 01/30 to 3/02, I had just under 10k miles.
     
  9. ShagHack

    ShagHack Bobtail Member

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    Mar 9, 2013
    Republic of Texas
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    And remember - the truck needs to do 40k, you dont. If your partner drives 24k and you do 16k, thats 40k, If you do 8 and he does 7, then you switch to a new truck with a new partner, you take 15k with you.

    There is another post above this one waiting to be approved. When I hit enter it received a spam check by some automated robot. It has the answers to your post there.
     
  10. Rollin87

    Rollin87 Light Load Member

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    Feb 26, 2013
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    Ok.. Thanks.. I'm 45 mins away from i30 and my dad lives in Texarkana about 5 mins from I30.. So hopefully that's good.. I'm in pine bluff ar at te moment.. Have you ever been by here? Do they offer any dedicated or regional runs after so much experience or no ?
     
    Chinatown Thanks this.
  11. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    Aug 28, 2011
    Henderson, NV & Orient
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    Maybe you an land a job with Bruce Oakley Trucking in Arkansas after leaving PTL with some experience. Dry bulk tanker is easy money.
     
    Rollin87 Thanks this.
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