Info on transam

Discussion in 'Transport America' started by clumben, May 13, 2012.

  1. clumben

    clumben Light Load Member

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    Aug 21, 2011
    North Dinwiddie, virginia
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    Does anyone know how much exp one have to have before they will hire one?`

    I have just about 4 month and are thinking about going to them
     
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  3. Porthos

    Porthos Bobtail Member

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    Apr 26, 2012
    NE Ohio
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    I don't know if you're still on the board or not, but I'm still in school and I have a prehire with Transam. They will train you if you need it. I would just like to get some info on the company! I guess no news is good news?
     
  4. clumben

    clumben Light Load Member

    75
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    Aug 21, 2011
    North Dinwiddie, virginia
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    i have talked to them and they will only lease you a truck if you have less than one year behind you
     
  5. Rif Raf McQ

    Rif Raf McQ Light Load Member

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    May 9, 2012
    Lexington Park, Maryland
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    Are you saying that this company told you they will only lease a truck to you if you have less than 1 year exp....That doesn't make sense. I hope you mean No Less than a year.

    Are you going to try a cdl school. This would open up more doors than just Trans Am. I am going thru school right now and I have over 25 years exp OTR but none of that exp matters if it is not recent. So in order for any otr trucking company to accept me I have to take a refresher course (150 cdl course)

    I've got a pre-hire with Trans Am and also with Stevens but a prehire really doesnt mean anything. The company still has to do the background checks, employment checks, MVR checks, and if that is good you still have to do a drug test and a dot physical.
     
  6. Jackknife1016

    Jackknife1016 Bobtail Member

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    Jun 21, 2012
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    they will still hire company drivers out of school right?
     
  7. luckyamz

    luckyamz Bobtail Member

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    Apr 18, 2012
    Ft. Worth , TX
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  8. luckyamz

    luckyamz Bobtail Member

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    Apr 18, 2012
    Ft. Worth , TX
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    Trans am wants you to lease but 20% of their fleet is company trucks...my experience is that company drivers generally do alot of swaps and finish undesirable loads...but again that's anywhere with a majority lease fleet
     
  9. Wooly Rhino

    Wooly Rhino Road Train Member

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    5,644
    Jul 6, 2008
    Liberty, Missouri
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    I see this discussion is about Trans Am. Trans Am and Transport America are not the same companies. Trans Am is locate in Olathe Ks. They ship frozen meat all over. The trucks are all automatics. They like to lease everyone a truck. It is an okay company to start out with.

    Transport America is out of Minnesota. They are dry vans. Lots of cereal. They too hire right out of school. From what I have seen in 7 years in the industry, all trucking companies have problems. You just have to over come them.
     
  10. billy in nashville

    billy in nashville Bobtail Member

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    Feb 11, 2012
    Nashville,TN.
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    I hired with trans am right out of school. They will definitly try to get you to lease, but that will be after your train OTR for 3 weeks. The second day your back from OTR they will start taking a show of hands on who wants to lease. They will try to pressure you into leasing. Just hold your ground and stick to being a company driver. I was in Olathe this past week. Lots of tractors on the yard. You can be a company driver right out of school. Sometimes you get some swaped loads that are terrible. Most of my runs have been 700-1300 miles. One other thing, I do get a check every week unlike a lot of lease drivers.
    I did hear that they got rid of Ernie the training guy in Olathe. Jay in Rockwall is good at training.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2012
    Porthos Thanks this.
  11. penguinsrule14

    penguinsrule14 Bobtail Member

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    Aug 7, 2012
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    i was with Trans Am on 2 separate occasions for a total of 1.5 years. All as a Lease driver. Trans Am does hire students. they are one of the better companies for students. they are all auto shift with no clutch. which is good for most things but it sucks at starting from a dead stop and backing up hill. lots of people complain about not making money at Trans Am, i made money the whole 1.5 years i was there. basic rule of thumb know what your fixed costs are (the costs that have to be paid before you drive a single mile. example: truck payment, apu, insurance, fuel & route solution etc.) fyi for a t700 it is $950.

    here are some helpful hints for those thinking of going lease or who are currently leasing (lease drivers only, i know nothing about the company driver side) form 40 is the fuel solution macro. every dispatch, if you opt in for $3 per week to get a fuel solution (opt in for $12 a month you will save hundreds in fuel), you will get a page of the places to fuel on your route where Trans Am gets a big discount. the thing to remember is you can send in the mac 40 any time and get a new solution. example from Olathe to Ohio or anywhere east on 70 the fuel solution will have you top off in effingham, Illinois. everyone knows fuel in Illinois is about 40-50 cents hire than Missouri or Indiana. so what i always did was drive from Olathe to Oak Grove, Mo send in a form 40 with fuel level 1. i would get the solution and it would say put 50 gal at Petro in Oak Grove then Fill at the Pilot in Effingham. so i topped off in Oak Grove (you get the discount on all fuel purchased not just the 50 gal if you fuel on solution) then drive to Brazil to the Road Ranger/Pilot and send in another form 40 with fuel level 1 and here comes a new solution saying fill at Road Ranger/Pilot in Brazil.

    down load the pilot and loves app to your phone and when you get dispatched go to the pilot app put in your start point and end point and then touch the thumbtacks on screen to get current fuel prices and you will see what states are high and what states are low and use that fuel solution.

    i just completed a lease on June 30 i took vacation for a month and am on my way back for another 6 month lease. Doug Echilburg in Rockwall was my dispatcher and he was OK. for the 1st 4 months i averaged about 10, 500 - 11, 000 per month then in may i only did 6,500 FOR THE WHOLE MONTH. i called leasing explained my situation, stuff they could see in black and white to prove i wasn't lieing and they said "it looks like you are holding up your end by delivering everything on time but it looks like we dropped the ball" for the month of june right back to over 10,000 (of course Doug was pissed at me for ratting him out but hey he wasn't doing his job properly).

    Trans Am is not perfect but i have noticed that when you have a gripe if you keep your cool, talk to people with respect, don't cuss every other word, keep yourself presentable (shave, brush your teeth before talking to management), and have facts in black and white that everyone can see and you will be shocked at how easy it is to get the help you need. remember Trans Am doesn't make money unless you do. granted they will make more than you but that's what businesses do. Las Vegas didn't get to where it is by letting people win at the casino every time.

    Cheers
    Danny (was in truck 75811 until June)
     
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