I can't ever remember being there myself.
As rokue said, it's mandatory at 7 or 8 cents on the mile. It end up being a pretty big part of your check.
I don't understand why you would do this. Even if you never plan on driving east of the Mississippi again once you leave TA, learning to drive in that traffic can't hurt you. And then you add in the tight streets, turns and backs and call it experience. I fear no dock!
TransAm, Olathe KS - Looking Back
Discussion in 'Discuss Your Favorite Trucking Company Here' started by Hick, Mar 10, 2017.
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born&raisedintheusa and Hick Thank this.
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I HOPE you did NOT end up owing more money to either the IRS and /or the revenue department of your state of residence, (I believe you posted West Virginia). That could be or was quite a whopper of a tax bill. HOLY MOSES!
God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!
Last edited: Mar 17, 2017
Hick Thanks this. -
I was a company driver with TA 2012-2015. I think the OP did a good job describing working for TA.
It is difficult to recommend TA as so much comes down to who your Driver Manager is. The OP had a good one and had a good experience. My first DM was good but they changed her required hours so she left the company. Things went downhill quick.
As a company driver you get stuck doing unpaid/low paid work. Recovering loads, babysitting loads when another driver misses an appointment, etc. A lease driver can earn 1,000 miles of pay, load gets swapped out to you and you can earn 25 miles in pay to make the final delivery.
A good Driver Manager will limit the number of raw deals you get in a week. A poor DM will just stick bad load after load on you out of their convenience and think nothing of it.
It also depends on the truck you are assigned. Most cases you can sit 48 hours on a breakdown and be unpaid. $50 per day after. Hit a few breakdowns and your monthly average takes a nose dive.
On the upside for new drivers, they are forgiving of newbie mistakes. As my first driving job, I hit a curb with rear tandems, destroyed a tire, they sent road service to replace it, no one made a big deal about it. One of my orientation classmates got his tandems stuck in a ditch, TA got him towed out and did not make a problem about it.
Front and rear (driver) facing cams in all the trucks. My company truck was governed at 62mph, lease truck set at 65.
IMHO auto transmissions are the right tool for the job in OTR trucking. A few minor problems with them (backing on a rising grade) but overall ok.
I left TA for a small, family run refer outfit out of Omaha. I often make deliveries to the same receivers I did with TransAm, much the same job, without the bad swaps, unpaid work, etc and I make about 60% more than I did with TA.Lonesome, born&raisedintheusa, JustWannaBeComfortable and 3 others Thank this. -
Office politics might play a bit of a role too. They are cooped up together all day so some of that is going to bleed out. You just have to work with what you're given or try to change it up.JustWannaBeComfortable, passport220 and born&raisedintheusa Thank this. -
per diem is .12
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TransAm has a high driver turnover rate. They also have a high DM turnover rate. Unlike some other companies who may try to change a match up to keep a driver, TM will back the DM and be fine with the driver walking away if they can't work it out together. Other drivers told me the same, it is also discussed in the long TransAm thread on this forum.
Even if a DM is following TransAm policy, it is not the best place for a driver. If you get stuck with a bad DM, you are screwed. IMHO.
If you have problems with your driving, criminal or work history you may have to role the dice with TransAm. If you have a clean record, I would recommend trying another company.Panhandle flash Thanks this. -
passport220 Thanks this.
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