couple questions about tmc

Discussion in 'TMC' started by ls6firebird, Feb 6, 2011.

  1. ls6firebird

    ls6firebird Bobtail Member

    41
    24
    Jan 26, 2011
    0
    ive done a lot of reading on tmc, as well as others. tmc seems to have a decent amount of satisfied drivers. a lot of the dissatisfied comments just seemed like a lot of whining to me for the most part. just tryin to clear some of that up haha.

    i saw some complaints about home time. would it be realistic to be home every other weekend? i know it cant always be scheduled to be exactly like that and not necessarily on the weekends. just wonderin if 4 or 5 days home a month would happen in their otr division.

    ive also read complaints about how hard they work u. is that just people who dont understand the extra work in flatbed or do they really work u that hard? i drive flatbeds locally and even load/unload the truck myself, so i know whats involved in flatbeds.

    the impression ive got from tmc is that they are a company that has a lot to offer, but you dont get it for free. seems like they put you in pretty nice equipment and everything, but they expect hard work in return. is this how it is or am i way off?
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Pete07

    Pete07 Bobtail Member

    37
    9
    Jan 14, 2011
    Bloomfield, IA
    0
    That's pretty much the conclusion I've came to as well! Lookin forward to hopefully getting on with them towards the end of this year.
     
  4. Ignatius

    Ignatius Light Load Member

    143
    67
    Jul 6, 2009
    Tanasi
    0
    I can take a stab at some of that, and "No, you're not far off the the mark". Yes, they do expect you to work hard and they do give you decent equipment to work with. I was just getting my tax info. together, so I have a lot of info. right here in front of me. I worked at TMC for a couple of years, until mid-Oct. of last year. I had my gripes & pet peeves (after-all, work is four-letter word for a reason, LOL), but overall, I was pretty satisfied.

    Home time will depend almost entirely on your dispatcher, and it will always be rare for you to be home during business hours on Mon-Fri. I usually got home late Fri/early Sat & would need to leave Sun. PM/Mon. AM.

    With a good dispatcher, 4-5 days/mo. should be pretty realistic, as long as you don't mind getting them a day & ½ at a time.

    One fellow I had was pretty good for a while, home most weekends, usually for nearly two full days. Then it started getting to be a regular occurrence of only getting home for 34-40 hours every other weekend. If I could not be home for at least 34 hrs, I just stayed out; I did not like the hassle of bumping up against the 70. The last guy I had was really dependable about getting me home every weekend, usually still for only 34-40 hrs. The two longest periods I was out last year was 18 & 12 days (w/old dispatcher), then it dropped off significantly, with mostly 4-6 day weeks, & only a couple of 10-12 days outings. [Jan. 1 - Oct. 15 is about 315 days. Out of that, I slept 198 nights on the road. Gross earnings: 32.8k]

    I would say you having flat-bed experience will help a great deal, as far how the work load feels. You are expected to deliver a load every day M-F. That's pretty easy w/350 mi. runs, but gets a bit harder w/500+ mi. loads, especially when you factor in sitting at a shipper, waiting to get loaded, for hours on end, burning up your clock.

    Hope this helps. Good luck to you.
     
    bonbonsron and ls6firebird Thank this.
  5. ls6firebird

    ls6firebird Bobtail Member

    41
    24
    Jan 26, 2011
    0
    this helps a ton. thank you. were u long haul or regional?
     
  6. ls6firebird

    ls6firebird Bobtail Member

    41
    24
    Jan 26, 2011
    0
    does tmc allow power inverters in their trucks?
     
  7. Ignatius

    Ignatius Light Load Member

    143
    67
    Jul 6, 2009
    Tanasi
    0
    Yes, they do allow inverters now, but they didn't for a long time. Even now, they limit them to a certain brand & only a few approved model numbers, and they must be installed by TMC. The ones they approved were actually pretty decent converters, which would easily run a microwave oven, coffee maker, etc. You could purchase from TMC (IIRC, the price they were charging was comparable to truck stop prices), or anywhere else, as long as you let TMC install (& document) them.

    IIRC, they were charging a fee ($25-35) for the installation, but you would only have to pay this once. After that initial install. fee., they would re-install it in any other truck you may be assigned to.

    This is the "new" policy that just became effective late last year. I left in Oct., so it may, or may not, still be effective.

    I always kept a small inverter in my truck (enough to charge my electric razor, laptop, etc,). On those rare occasions that I went into a TMC terminal, I just made sure I put it up. I never had any problems w/it.
     
  8. ls6firebird

    ls6firebird Bobtail Member

    41
    24
    Jan 26, 2011
    0
    do they allow a big enough inverter to run a fridge, or do u have to go with a cooler?

    whats their specialized division like? i wasnt aware they had one until i just saw it on their site, and i havent read anything about it. how much experience to u have to have to be part of that?
     
  9. tdcanterbury67

    tdcanterbury67 Light Load Member

    186
    41
    Nov 7, 2010
    michigan
    0
    dont wast your time with them if you want a good flatbed company go to maverick transportation trust me tmc is the worst i worked their for 4 1/2 months and it was pure hell got home maybe 6 day all together in that 4 1/2 months so i would read more about them some more recent things they have gotten worst then when i was their i i can say is dont do it trust me on this one :biggrin_2551:you will be sorry:biggrin_2551::biggrin_2551::biggrin_2551::biggrin_2551::biggrin_2551:this will be you after your trainingthen this is you when you get your check:biggrin_25516::biggrin_25516::biggrin_2559:thats me right now as you work for them:biggrin_25522:
     
    ls6firebird Thanks this.
  10. ls6firebird

    ls6firebird Bobtail Member

    41
    24
    Jan 26, 2011
    0
    thanks for the post. can u elaborate on why it was so bad? was it just the home time, or were there other specific things that made it so miserable? i was seriously considering maverick for a while, but i dont think thats the company for me
     
  11. SheepDog

    SheepDog Road Train Member

    3,480
    2,084
    Nov 30, 2008
    Sand Lake, MI
    0
    Well, I should have no problem then,,,I don't care about home time but reading there website and all, it states that where I live, I will be home 46 out of 52 weekends... Now do you think that if I get home 40 out of 52, I am going to raise kane on this forrum? Not, I will be happy with what ever they give me.

    As you can tell, I have filled out an app. and talked with recruiter today. I really need a change and some experience with flatbedding, I will be pulling a stepdeck in the near future with my own truck.

    I will let all know what happens from here...

    SheepDog
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.