Trans Am Still

I think Magnum is a good company and I was thinking about going there right out of school.
But then I heard you need a year experience and then maybe not ????
Seems like a good place after TA to go to , Maybe lol

 

Magnum hires new cdl grads.

 

I have researched quite a bit on them as@chinatown had mentioned them to me. ! of the things I like about TA is the short training period. Can anyone tell me what TS's rider program is? I have looked and I know they have 1 and they have to be I believe over 10 but I can't find what the process is.. Do you have to fill out paperwork is there a maximum length of time? Thanks

 

I agree though @dennisroc they look like a pretty good company as far as I could tell. I know that after 6 months to a years many options open up. I have come to the realization that that is what I need to focus on is getting the experience in OTR driving. Which has been eluding me..

 

That's what I thought but then it seems someone said they do not hire new CDL grads ???
Maybe too much research for my small brain

I think that you have to be solo for a real long time before you are allowed to take a rider ( wife )

 

well it doesn't say about when but the rider policy is 19 dollars per month 10 years old and older..

 

I don't think company drivers lose money but you can very easily owe the company money leasing. Lots of decisions can lead to losing money. Knowing how to run is one of them. It seems simple but there are tricks to it. Getting stuff repaired and the timing of it can cost big $$$s. Lots of the new drivers who lease leave owing thousands and haven't collected any money for weeks even months before they leave.
As for the miles if you run hard and make on time deliveries they will keep you running. Keep that driver side door closed. Get to the receiver or in the area as fast as you can legally and safely do it and they will run you. The name of the game is on time delivery. If you take your time and screw around they will decrease your miles. I run like I have no extra time. 10 hour break then roll. I drove over night cause it was the best miles you'll get. Less traffic, get through cities quickly, weigh stations mostly closed, truck stops wide open when you stop. Lots of reasons. All equal your time usage in a more efficient manner. Trip planning is important. Get an atlas the Rand McNally one. GPS are nice but map is way better that little box can get you in big trouble.

 

Thanks jaso. I have traveled throughout the Lower 48 for work. While at times I did fly but because we installed and serviced the equipment we manufactured I would end up checking on multiple jobs on my way to a particular job site. Got very good with maps how to plan trips etc. Lower 48 Eastern Canada Nova Scotia England the Nietherland's and western Europe would be gone 6 weeks to 8 months at a time. Also experienced and certified in Heavy Equipment operation from a forklift to 300 ton Overhead cranes and port cranes and mines. But still not a truck.? I am hopeful that this experience from my previous career while by no means makes me a professional OTR driver but I do hope it will help with my learning curve.. Love to drive at night. Also my career has required me to load and unload equipment dealing with shipping receiving guiding drivers in to construction sites in the middle of no where to sites on Michigan Ave down town chicago.. I do not believe a person has truly lived until they have had to coordinate 5 trucks at a time loaded with escalators and elevators trying to get to the barklays center in Brooklyn.. nerve racking and educational..

 

This is what the TA company driver handbook says about it:

A complete copy of the handbook, in PDF is here:
http://www.transamtruck.com/Resourc...books/Company-Driver-Information-Handbook.pdf

I think no sign-on is needed to grab the handbook, if you do need one, let me know and I'll figure out a different way to get it to you.

 

It is an impressive list of accomplishments. But it is not about you, it is about TransAm when it comes to the leasing decision. TransAm holds all the high cards.

TA writes, interprets and administers the lease. They have full control of the loads, the money and the trucks. You may think you have control of the truck, but the lease driver whose truck I did a recovery on, still loaded with his personal belongings because TA sent a wrecker out in the middle of the night and towed "his truck" away, would likely beg to differ.

For a lease to work, for starters, you have to have a good driver manager and have a good working relationship with that DM. As a new driver, you have no idea who that person will be, don't even know his/her name, no control over who it will be.

Old avation saying when sitting, trying to sort out a mechanical problem: It is better to be on the ground wishing you where in the air, than to be in the air wishing you where on the ground.

It is better to be a company driver, wishing you were a lease driver (because you can switch) than to be a lease driver, wishing you were a company driver (you can not go back to company once you go lease).

Get to know your DM, make a few pick ups, run a few routes, get to know your truck, THEN decide if you want to commit to a lease. A small percentage of drivers make more (on a cpm basis) as a lease driver than they would as a company driver BUT NOT IN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS. I submit, as an educated guess, from working in the system, 100% of company drivers make more on a cpm, than lease drivers make in the first 4 months. You can always sign a lease later, after you learn the TA system on TA's dime.