My honest, no BS, opinion of P.A.M.

How long does it normally take to get in the truck once you graduate?

 

depends on how fast you are ready to roll out, and when they have an available trainer in your area

 

I would think they would have one real close as seeing as I am right down the street from their Jacksonville yard

 

Do they take the $45/week schooling fee out of your $300/week check or does that not start until you go solo?

Also, thanks for the info on the trucks. I figured they were plain jane but just wanted to be certain. What is the most affordable CB for a new driver with little extra money to spend on knick knacks?

 

when do you start class?

 

I was supposed to go the 11th of January in North Little Rock but my wife is due in 5 weeks and they couldn't promise that I could make it home between classes & training to be here for the birth so Brian told me to hold off. Right now I am just trying to take in as much info as I can from Driver Solutions/PAM & Central Refrigerated. I have narrowed it down to those two choices for schooling, just waiting on my son to get here!

 

Don't worry about a radio at this point, you'll need to focus on the job and survival.

But a little black Cobra18 at the electronics store is good enough for reports, and customers that use CB channels for communication.

 

23 and a baby on the way !!!

Good Luck !!!!! Hope you can find local work soon after school !!!

 

yeah well that would be nice but I'm not counting on it. I had worked at the local factory since I got out of school until I got laid off in March. As far as local jobs - there aren't any local jobs unless you work in the medical field. And the few local trucking companies are not hiring either - especially somebody with zero experience. The best I can hope for is to get a regional position after I've been OTR for a year or two...

 

well i lucked in to a decated run from dallas to burmingham al and back . we run 4 or 5 times on week days and off on week ends but i was hired as a choctaw express driver . we run teams only, so im told. but now i know they are doing away with the choctaw name and we will be just pam driver. more then likely your trainer will have a cb so worry about having enough cash for food and showers. they will only let students get a 50 on an advance so plan good when it comes to meals. also trainers that like to run hard frown on having to stop and let you go pee. just a lil fyi. if you dont get on your truck on saturday morning your first ck will not be the full 300 either. i started on a tues just after midnight and we ran straight till sat morning and they told me i was only on the truck for 3 days. it should have been 4 days but they cant read the calender. pay days run from sat morning midnight to friday at mid night. so i ask you was i working 3 or 4 days my first week?
tues weds thurs fri sat
i thought it was 4days but i did not graduate from college so all that tricky math is beyond me...lmao
take atleast a weeks worth of clothing but unless you go shower and change durning your fuel stops or at your hub they will last you a long time....
if you drink coffee get a good cup that will keep it hot and a thurmes colman has some good ones. or one of them big 52 oz cups. my cup keeps the coffee hot for hours . i head out of dallas and first stop is exit 540 eastbound on I-20 for fuel coffee and pee break. then i try to make it as far as i can before i stop again . most of the time i can make it all the way to the central or east side of mississippi befor i have to stop for a pee break .
my run is a 23 hour run there and back on good days we make it in 24 hours on bad traffic it can take alot longer.
623 miles zip code to zip code we get paid for. not actual hub miles. so you give them alot of free driving. and running it 623 there and back times 5 times a week we make out with 6230 miles on a pay ck but as a team driver i get paid all miles at a lower rate then a solo driver
been in training for 2 weeks next week will be my 3 week and my trainer said i could do this run solo or teamed up but i have to have so many driving hours to move to first seat. then ill get a whopping 0.145 cents a mile while the truck is moving.
just my 2 cents if you can talk to a local company and get hooked up with them i would say take that after training and just pay the loan off. i am waiting on a local wrecker company to finish up the paperwork so i can start with them . i like to haul the busted truck 10x more then doing otr. towing is in my blood ... have fun stay awake... and watch out for deer 4wheelers and lil old ladys riding skateboards and lil boys walking poodles...lmao. thats what one instructer at c-1 trucking school kept telling me.. by god she was right.lmao any one going to c-1 in benbrook tx in fort worth terry is a good instructor . my road driver instructor was peggy. those are good ppl but they get you out as fast. time on the road before i tested was 5.75 hrs. and i passed the first time but i have experience in heavy wreckers and such. i know how to shift and float. once you get to pam you get to drive a computer controled manuel truck. they are like autos ...
stay warm and awake.
cb handle krashin kris. ill be on i 20 at night east bound mon thru fri... cya