Any body starting orentation on 9-14-09

good luck, im thinking maybe i shouldve chose TMC over Werner

 

TMC is a good company to drive for if you never want to get home.That 46 out of 52 weekends they tell you about is one big lie.

 

ctank, how long have you been with them?

Also, remember the economy isn't great for freight right now, right before i came off the road i was bouncing home empty on friday's just because they wanted to keep their word, they probably ate alot of money doing that and changed it.

Sometimes they would bounce me 200 miles, that's quite a bit of fuel just to save face. I probably wouldn't have done it, if i was them. But they always kept their word for me, then again i was and still am good friends with my fleet manager, and tried my best to stay on his good side, and i'm sure that helped a bunch too. Try to be diplomatic about it and talk to your fleet manager, they are told to do what they need to do to keep you happy, and your FM CAN authorized you to bounce home empty if the miles are within reason. Remember, they don't want you to quit, and they DO care, part of their bonus checks are based on driver retention for their fleet, so they do want to keep you around, contray to popular belief.

Hope this helps.

 

Hey yall, wanting info on TMC, I am new to the trucking industry. I will be separating from the Marine Corps here in about 2 months and will be movin back to the great state of NC and I am looking to drive for TMC. I just graduated from Troops 2 Truckers here on Camp Pendleton. TMC seems to sound pretty good to me, but I have been reading the post on here. I want to go with them because they offer the OJT from the G.I. Bill, any info about the company would be good, and if anybody has experance with the G.I. Bill would be great.

 

Read around you should find some interesting information here. There is plenty of information from the lovers and the haters, ofcourse everybody is different and some of us are willing to deal with more than others, it's all about your own personality. I will warn you, though, now is not a great time to start trucking because it will probably ruin your whole image of it.

5 Years ago trucking wasn't like the recruiters said it was, but it was a little closer than it is now. So be careful and make an educated decision.

Best of luck to you! And welcome to the forum =D

 

Yea I figured, my grandfather has been driving as long as I can remember and he was saying it wasn't what it used to be. But he also told me most TMC drivers he has talked with at stops seem to enjoy their jobs. Are they pretty good at keeping their word saying you should get 46 out of 52 weekends home? And Thank you by the way

 

It has been 8 months since i left there, two months before that i was on a dedicated account, off the road and home every night. However, they always kept their word with me. There was one time in particular where i did a favor for my fleet manager and delivered a hot load to the airport in chicago on a saturday morning, only because he had promised that i would be able to bounce back home empty after i dropped, as i had something going on that weekend that he was aware of.

I was there at 7am sharp, waited til 7pm to get unloaded, literally. After i sent in my empty macro the weekend dispatch crew thought they would send me over to bettendorf iowa to pick up a load, i was already nearly out of hours and bettendorf is the completely opposite way from the house. After arguing with someone from weekend dispatch i called my FM on his cell, and he straightened it out for me by calling the weekend guy and telling him what our agreement was, the way the weekend guy put it when he called me was "Your FM authorized the empty miles, have a good weekend." so this is how i know that they are able to send you home empty. However, i'm sure that they will try not to, which is why with TMC as well as any other company it's vitally important that you stay on good terms with your fleet manager, as they are your bread and budder with any company that you chose to drive for. I made it a point to do my FM favors whenever it was possible, and they were almost always returned to me by way of good freight, and good hometime as well as the fact that i could talk to him as if he were a close personal friend, even after 8 months of not driving for them i still talk to him at least once weekly.

I have heard of alot of recent changes that have caused my opinion of them to change slightly, I wouldn't classify them as a bad company nescessarily, because while i was with them i had nothing but great experiences and made great money, however most of what made them different from other companies, and more attractive to work for has now dissapeared. If you hire in and you jump into a truck that will only do 62, and you have to stop and get comchecks or front the company money to pay for tolls then it might not bother you if you are just starting out, and are trained in those ways, however i was from back when we were utterly spoiled, and don't believe i would fare well there now with some of the new changes that have been made recently. I am also inclined to believe that the old ways will be long gone, as even when the economy picks up the money that they were desperately trying to save to stay afloat will simply become extra profit, and who would turn that down? I certainly wouldn't.

Lastly, being that you are just coming out of the military you will likely fare well there. They really do push their drivers to display an immense amount of discipline and self control, as well as enforce some rules that some people may find to be silly, but being in the military definitely gives you a better understanding of the fact that "every rhyme has a reason". Image is important to them, as it should be, it's their marketing tactic. They have pretty well organized and well maintained trucks, they are expensive trucks, and none are over 3 years old. You will be expected as the driver of said truck to keep it maticulously maintained and clean at all times, as would i if i handed you the keys to a 140,000 dollar peterbilt with a custom paint job and more chrome than you can shake a stick at. My only gripe about the trucks is that you aren't allowed to have an inverter of any kind, or make ANY modifications whatsoever. Although you can get away with a few things if you know the right people, also they are slow and gutless, and at 62MPH they eliminated the purpose of having a 13SPD transmission almost entirely.

That's my two cents, again these are just my opinions and your experience will almost certainly vary. There are alot of variables in trucking, not just with TMC. Nobody can give you the same experience that you will have, like most life experiences it all comes down to who you know, and how much they like you, so make connections whenever you're in des moines or other terminals, because you will most likely need them for something in the future.

Good luck to you, and thanks for supporting our country it's greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you sir for sharing your experience's with me, and hey you being a driver supports our country too, so thank you for your support. I think I have my mind made up about wanting to drive for them, and like you said that the experience's you had with the company wont be the same that I will have. The CDL school I graduated from ran straight 10, will I have a rude awakening ahead of me when I get behind the wheel of that 13 speed black and shiny? or will is it pretty easy to come from a straight 10 to a 13 speed. Sorry I am asking so many questions, but like you said I need to make a good educated decision on what company I choose to drive for.

 

It's an easy switch. They will put you in the yard for a few days, and on some simulators for 13 speeds, then you'll do some time driving out in the road, and then another 5 weeks with a trainer in his 13 speed after that.

You will get used to it, I don't think i'd want to go back to a 10 speed after driving that 13 for all that time.