it all started last Friday when I was bounced home 400 miles from Long Island. empty at 11am and there was nothing between there and home. surprised they sent me home, but hey, I had all weekend off. 3 nights in my own bed, but no load for Monday. spent the rest of the week hauling short runs between western PA and Hamilton, ON, ended up in NY Friday only to be sent back to ON. spent Tuesday night at home. 256 mile average length of haul on 4 loads. done working by 6pm every day.

serious problems with the broker this shipper used, US Customs told me to go back to Canada on one load, Canada Customs made me wait an hour on another. I don't mind tarping, I can hammer out steel tarps in my sleep, but would you tarp or untarp 8 times for $450? hometime rocked this week, but hometime isn't paying the bills. it's getting tougher and tougher to stick it out until my 2 years is up with these types of loads.

oh and someone in DSM finally figured out Long Island isn't a borough of NYC, they used to pay $100, not anymore, I found that out the hard way.

ohh and I was blamed for a supersack of powder that was poorly loaded (fell over) on a pallet that was too small in the first place. lol I hate this job sometimes. just needed to vent. last time I talked of applying for another job my FM just sent a frowny face over the qualcomm, so that's how seriously I am taking this job right about now. 1026 loaded miles, 550 empty for the week. awesome.

That sucks. Do you have hazmat? Crossett is normally hiring. They are out of Warren. Might not suck to make money EVERY week and be home nights.

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working on getting it, if I don't find a way out of this industry entirely, I plan on applying with Cheeseman (formerly Zumstein) by next spring.

damm dude sorry to hear bout that, i hope that doesnt happan to me but i need the experience so i will suck it up. hey things could get better later on. i mean it is winter. lol

Won't help much, but after eight solid weeks in a row, I was called at home asking if I could come out a day early...lots of loads to cover. Sure, I said....only the second time in two years they've asked.

Ran decent until Friday...then had a load cancel, sat until Saturday (when the week ends for us).

1700 miles for the week.

Maybe it was something in the air....

I have talked to several happy Cheeseman drivers, they are ok if you like reefer.
Crossett in Warren is ok if you do not mind slip seating and driving nights in all weather, and I mean all.
Those guys would blow past me on 27 and 227 constantly in deep snow, bringing there fuel to the depot.
I just could not deal with the stress in a tanker in the snow every night all winter.
But they are home every day.
I was running flats for WH Fitzgerald out of Youngsville for over a year, but with freight down most drivers were laid off. So I had to find something new.
They were a nice mix of pay, free health insurance and good home time.
They have had several ex TMC drivers there at different times. Not sure if any are around now, most of then were newer.

if you're from the area, remember Milk Transport/MTI in Grove City? my family owned that company for almost 60 years. closed in 2007 and here I am in a TMC truck. the owner of Zumstein (now Cheeseman) was in negotiations to buy our company, deal fell through, we struck an agreement to service their equipment before we closed our doors, thus my ties to the company. they run nice equipment, almost all LTL van, I have seen 2 Cheeseman reefers on the road in 5 years. you sure we are talking about the same company? Fort Recovery, OH, red Prostars.

nope, nope, and nope. I sorta want out of this industry and the mere thought of slip seating in a Freightliner pulling a tanker at night in bad weather only gives me more motivation to do it. I have it pretty easy at TMC, only problem is that I don't make enough money to live on. got a long run to MN, we'll see how the next week goes.

So is TMC a good company to work for?

I have been in this region for 10 years, driving 5 of them, after I gave up on using my degree lol.
I saw Cheeseman reefers and dry at Kraft in Avon NY allot.
Thought they were all reefer lol, never noticed otherwise.
I know they went to almost all or all automatics also, at least from what drivers I would talk to at Kraft said.
If Fitzgerald was busy I would point you that way in a second, but they are still dead.
Not much better pay than you are probably getting, but good guys to work with. Extremely good maintenance, and free health insurance.
May want to keep them in mind in the future if you are close to Warren/ Youngsville.

I like driving the tanker in all weather. Am I nuts? Slip seating isn't so bad IF you have considerate coworkers which I do.

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