May Trucking new driver training

Thanks for your story. I am going to start driving again and I am looking at May. Keep it coming!!

 

HG can you give me some dates. Like when you started and when you soloed. Im a May Driver from P-cola. Did you go 11 or 48? Ive been with May for 3 months. Opal was my recruiter and she is great.

 

I worked for May last year for a little over 6 mo's and thought it was a OK company to work at but I did not like a lot of the runs because they were to short and required to much of my time for free. Many where not drop and hook nor ready to pu on time. Examples would be Jeld Wen down in Or taking 6-12 hrs to get my preloaded done after the 2pm appt when the load was going to either Portland or Sea-Tac area. I did 10 loads in one week that were under 200 miles and all where live unloads but 3, What a waste of time. Example Bi-mart pu 0700/1000 on Fridays. Had this load x3 and the first of 3 stops Roseburg, did not del till the next day at 0600 and last at Noon down in Medford or Grants Pass. Thats 29hrs on a run that payed me around $130 bucks at .37 plus stop offs. I can do a load from Seattle to Woodland in less time and make $262 bucks but they would only give you this load if the lease drivers got a load to LA instead.

I did get my miles each week but was usually at or past the 14hr rule to get them. They tell you no monkey business with logs but what it really boils down to is matching fuel and scales and don't get caught doing anything that will bring scrutiny to your logs.

I find it hard to believe that their turn over is 65% since while I was their I would be at the brooks terminal at least 2x per week and most drivers had worked their less then a year and most less then 6 months.

Their trailers where in the worst condition I have ever seen at a company and non air ride and high cube with many of them being 8-12 years old (dry side). They do not care much about keeping equipment clean and well maintained and their Mechanics are bottom of the barrel like at most otr company's. I had to shut a Costco load down and get Cindy the terminal manager in brooks to ok a truck wash because I was tired of driving a filthy truck around. In the Winter your truck needs to be washed more then one time a month if you do lots of mountain driving.

My first DP got fired and the second one was very nice and always got me home when I needed and did her best to keep my miles up. There is virtually no wknd support so you need preplns before the weekend or will sit in most cases.

A friend of mine who quit just last month and did Ca reg said they promised to stop sitting him at the Yolo yd on the weekends but then gave him a load from Phoenix on a Friday that del Mon at noon in LA and would not let him drop. this was the 3rd weekend in a row that they sat him for the weekend 5hrs from his home so he gave his new Pete 387 back and said adiós. He had just gone past his 1 year service with them and was one of the last trainees they hired at .32 a mile and not the .30 they now pay. They will run you for awhile but cannot sustain it because they have fresh meat they need to keep happy and give miles to and they just don't have the freight base needed to keep you rolling without sitting someone else.

I did not quit because of any of the negatives I have listed. They served my purpose, which was to get a local gig after taking a year off from driving, but I could not see me or any experienced driver that wants to do at least 2500 miles a week staying their more then a year. Many drivers at May average less then 2000 miles per week and the only reason I did not is because I was ready to roll on anything 24/7 and can pester the heck out of company and get under their skin until they get me work.

It is also my opinion that a company that has so many customers that delay the driver, should pay det after 2hrs not 4. You would be surprised how many of their customers will get you loaded or unloaded right at the 4 hour mark.

Their payroll is good and they did pay me accurately and what they owed me and use transflo which is better then trip packs.

By the way OP I almost laughed when you said they gave you a old beat up 379 because they were short on trucks. THEY SAY THAT TO ALL NEW DRIVERS. I and my trainee friend had ungoverned ftskr century's with superior turn radius because we where doing short haul with multiple stops most of the time. If they told you it was temporary that probably means till they sell the truck then they will give you one of their 387's that have had the power cut back so you will crawl up every hill with even light loads.

They call Phoenix and Fontana terminals only because they have a office. Both are really just yards like Yolo but have a office they don't really want you in. The only real terminals for Dry side are in Layton UT and Brooks OR. If you live in the NW wait till you see the yard in Auburn Wa which is in the back of trailer dealership and full of big potholes. Seen many a driver trash trucks and trailers trying to park in that hellhole. They used to have a nice yard in Pacific Wa but Mays owner does not like spending money to keep the trucks from getting stuck in a mud hole or bent up trying to squeeze into a yard that is designed for half of the trailers it has in it.

May is a good place for someone to get some experience at and pay pretty decent for a new driver and better then going to Swift or Werner but they are cheap as misers and don't have the miles IMO for a serious OTR driver who has a family to feed and bills to pay.

 

Hey! Hula Gal, What is the tuition you are talking about in the post on May Trkg? Do they charge for driver training or is this for something else?

 

She was talking about tuition reimbursement. You have to have a CDL already to train at May.

 

Hula Gal, thanks for the great posts on May company. Sounds like you are in the dry van division, not the refer division. What do you do with your truck during home time, and tell me about bargaining for lumpers and other such stuff. Does May reimburse for lumpers, or what? An update on your experience would be nice too.

 

I've heard that they also won't let you deviate from their routes that they give you for every load, and if you do, they'll charge you for it! Anyone hear about this??

 

I was talking to a May trainer who I knew when I worked their last year and found out that their trucks are now governed at 60 mph. The only ones doing over 60 are the ones who have avoided the shop, but sooner or later you will be having even Swift trucks blowing your doors off.

Sounds like they are trying to keep a ship from sinking or down sizing.

 

Hey HG does May trucking hire in Louisiana and is May Trucking a good company to work for. Thanx and be safe