New PTL pay

Discussion in 'PTL' started by L.A.toTX, Oct 16, 2021.

  1. Turbodriven

    Turbodriven Bobtail Member

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    Sure, a lot of people like to bash PTL but other than they’re not the best cpm I’ve got almost no complaints. Miles for me are between 2800 and 3300 a week. Lots of drop and hook at big dc’s (keeps you rolling) and virtually no waiting on a load. Accessory pay is not the best in that you don’t get detention til after 3 hours, but this is rarely claimed. If it was detention after one or two hours it would be claimed often though. They do give you 50$ for several incidental things that come up a lot like moving an mt, a short haul, going to find an mt (in addition to the miles you ran to get it which occasionally is a hike). I don’t even remember what layover pay is I’ve never been laid over that I can recall.

    I think I’ve had one incident with dispatch in my time here, being told to do something retarded by an obviously new person on the weekend crew. Other than that the people have been great, I’m pretty much left to do my thing. The only time I even talk to dispatch is when something comes up that needs immediate attention and I’m almost always impressed with how quickly it gets handled.

    Home time has several different schedules and I’m not exactly sure on all of them. The most you can take off in a row and ‘keep the truck’ is seven even though I know a driver that took off nearly a month and kept his same truck. I usually stay out 3-5 weeks and take 5-7 days off. Pretty sure they have 7/2 and 12/3 options.

    Some cons, the trucks go 66 on the cruise with 70 for 30m a day. If you trust drivers to go 70 at all why not just let us go 70? Hunting for mts even if your getting paid for it is a pita and can burn your clock if you’re doing it in a big city. Sometimes its drop and look everywhere for a hook. They still have some dinosaur trailers in their fleet, though they’ve gotten most of them out.

    I dont know where you live but PTL runs mainly south of I40 and east of I35. Hope this helped.
     
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  3. L.A.toTX

    L.A.toTX Light Load Member

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    Definitely helpful. Everything sounds great and what would typically be expected for a company hiring a driver without experience.
    What is the training period like? I got very little training when I decided to go to TransAm because their approach is that a driver comes in (even without experience) having the skills needed from CDL school and the company needs only refine those skills a bit. So, anything more than a few runs a day on a practice pad is an upgrade. Whether it's a couple weeks out with a trainer or a couple of months, as long as I am being given the information that I need to know to successfully haul the loads and deliver them on time, then anything else is gravy.
     
  4. L.A.toTX

    L.A.toTX Light Load Member

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    I am in Dallas, so really conveniently located no matter if companies typically go west or typically go east, so long as they come south. I do have a soft spot for companies running west because I am originally from CA, but I also don't know how crazy I am about driving those mountains. It's basically a trade off there.
     
  5. Turbodriven

    Turbodriven Bobtail Member

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    They’ve changed their training program quite a bit over the years. Last I heard it was mandatory 7500 with a trainer if no experience and then you get upgrade tested. This is new and if you pass then you go straight to first seat. If you fail then you would have to do a phase 2 with another phase 2 driver for 10000 miles. This use to be mandatory if you passed the upgrade test or not but my understanding is they made the upgrade test a lot harder so if you pass now you go straight to your own truck. Used to be just the driving/backing they tested you on, now they do qc stuff too. How would you handle a multi stop load, things like that.

    If you’ve never been out with a trainer before allow me to say if he’s not teaching you stuff regularly get someone else no matter where you land. 20 years ago I started at Fastway with a trainer that didn’t let me back the truck til the 5th week of “training”, I didn’t last a full year. Decided to give trucking another shot in early 2019 and got a great trainer that was just showing me everything, and I’m still going strong. It makes a big difference not feeling like a fish out of water out here.
     
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  6. L.A.toTX

    L.A.toTX Light Load Member

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    That's one reason why I am actually a bit thankful that things did not workout for me at TransAm. The training there was less than I received at CDL school, and we all know that CDL school is only teaching enough to pass the examination. Anyway, because of this, I really look forward to being trained to succeed, no matter how long the process takes.
    Whichever company I go to, I will not let the trainer get away with not training me in all aspects of driving the truck and successfully delivering loads.
     
  7. laaylor

    laaylor Road Train Member

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    He’s right: a lot has changed this year!
     
  8. laaylor

    laaylor Road Train Member

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    I’m out of Indy but do dedicated Sams Club……
     
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  9. Metacoyote

    Metacoyote Light Load Member

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    I take it from the pup in your pic that PTL allows dogs. Any size or breed restrictions? Thanks
     
  10. laaylor

    laaylor Road Train Member

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    I’m not really sure: I was a Celadon refugee and Lola just came over here with me. They do allow dogs… I’m not sure what the rules are with them, tho…
     
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  11. laaylor

    laaylor Road Train Member

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    It’s based on your experience…. I have 18 years under my belt, so I get x amount… someone who has 2 years under their belt gets paid less; 25 years gets paid more… up to .65
     
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