TMC Transportation, Inc. - Des Moines, Ia.

Save your self alot of trouble.. don't get hired by an if-y company..
not only ask questions forums like this, google and bing them ... research them in news reports, check their DAC and Safety stats...
Ask to many questions... the only dumb/stupid question is the one that is never asked...
good research goes along way...

Go to a truck stop near you and ask the drivers questions about the co they work for...
No you are not going to get much of an answer from a driver that is parked at the fuel island(that driver will be in a hurry)...
ask a driver that is off duty... ask one that is eating and looks loney, offer to pay for His/Her meal in exchange for getting to visit with them...

I will add a word of warning...
I'll not bad mouth and lower my standards...
But at this time anyone could do better than TMC
If you are with them, CYA
IF you are thinking of going with them, CYA

 

Never heard the Trucking Marine Corps, In '95 when I started driving I was told it was Training Mommas Crybabies...just saying

 

First of all, I'm a wife of a driver w TMC. He's an owner operator now. Anyone thinking of buying a truck from them, DON'T DO IT!!! Buy your truck from somewhere else. If you want to lease on to them, that's your business, but I wouldn't. My husband was a company driver for them since 2001 until he bought his truck from them in 2007. He also used to be a driver/trainer. Now, I've read the above posts and those are the ones I'm going to respond on. I don't know who your trainer was or who your driver manager was, but it is not nor has it ever been their policy for drivers to "cheat" on your logs. My husband never told his trainees to cheat on their logs. They were taught the proper way to do them. If after they went out on their own they found that they needed to "use funny papers" then so be it. My husband has had to use "funny papers" also in the past just so he could get in the hours so he could make the runs to make enough money for us to live on. But that all came to an end. He quit training when they started letting 6 month drivers start training new drivers and when they cut the trainers pay. Also they cut down on the "funny papers" when they started really tracking you by the Qualcomm satelite. If your logs and the satelite don't match up, you get hauled in and you have to go back and sit down with safety and get your but reamed!! AND they do this whether you're a company driver or an owner/operator. As for who's running the show, Pappa Arnette came back last summer and took over after Junior bought up 3 or 4 flatbed companies and was the only sponsor that his grandson, Michael Annett had. BUT as of the 5th of October, TMC HAD NOT filed for bankruptcy. I have a PACER account number where I can look up any Federal court case that has been filed in any of the 50 states. Whether it is bankruptcy, criminal, civil etc. They have been served with papers by companies that they have leased equipment from to come to court. That's all I know right now. But with the economy like it is, if anyone knows of another flatbed company that is leasing on owner operators and is paying really well, let me know because we haven't gotten a "real" check since March. I think that we now have gotten 4 checks over $1000 since March. But on the whole, if the economy would pick back up and TMC would get their customers back, I think they would be a good company again.
Oh, before I forget. Prepass has nothing to do with your safety rating. Prepass has to do with the number of trucks you own and the areas you run where you will be paying tolls. I know this as I have contacted them about PrePass for my husbands truck. We couldn't get it even for the scales because we only have 1 truck. You have to have at lease 5 trucks before they will even consider starting an account for you. If you don't believe me, just call them they'll tell you. I'm not taking up for TMC by no means, I'm just dispelling any bad rumors from getting started. Good night all and everybody stay safe.

 

Three of my friends, who are all owner operators leased to the same place that I am a company driver, each have their own Prepass/EZpass. They each got them on their own and not through the company, that way if they ever leave they still have it in their truck.

 

someone is feeding you a line of bull at the prepass office, it all has to do with your dot safety rating. if your rating is above 65 the scales would pull you in for a check. as far as getting one, i have friends that drive for companies that they own their prepass. you should talk to a supervisor not a temp employee. sorry for your bad luck at tmc, i wouldn't drive for that slave driver anyway

 

please clarify you statement. your personal safety rating? or the company? Cause if you're going to say the company safety rating, that is a load of B.S. i drive for Swift, their rating is like 500 or something (grin) and i get green lights all the time to by-pass.

 

It's not Arnette, you might want to figure out WHO owns the company you are talking about, or at least how to spell his name correctly before you come here dispelling anything. You lost credibility with that, in my opinion.

 

This trucker's post is suprisingly accurate. From sun up to sun down, he's right. You never hear when your'e doing something right and when you're trying to get a load from here to there, you have to make THE decision of whether or not you want to be responsible if a load is going to get someplace on time. When you're new and try to comply with everything and everyone, by phone you'll usually end up getting, "you're good to go driver." Now, you get stopped by DOT, guess whatty what'n?

It's out of your pocket unless you get something in writing. Since you're on the road, electronic qualcom is what you'll always upon always have to get or, it's your fault for not avoiding scales and going out of route which counts against your paycheck.

Times are tough but they're tough all the way around and having to cover your tail on top of it, while you're being told you're not doing enough - what i can offer is a reminder to get everything in writing, even if it costs you a 1/2 hour in delivery. A message sent is a message pending and you'll see a little hustle on their end when they want something - uh... getting a customer's load there on time!

 

Newbs really shouldn't consider entering the OTR trucking industry on flatbed, just learning the "ins and outs" of driving and delivering freight interstate is more than most people can handle.

You can find yourself without sleep and money just hauling van - driving point A to point B with no physical effort. Now consider having to handle hundreds of pounds of chains, straps, and tarps at most every load and unload. Imagine doing this in single digit temps, or blinding sleet and snow.



Hope you're young and in great shape, and no not too many women choose this kind of trucking. Climbing up and down the trailer, lugging rain soaked tarps, dodging snapped and flying chains, numerous stops to re-secure the load, potentially severed fingers every time you snap the chain binders, soaking wet and filthy clothes after picking up most every load. Granted many true O/O's make great money with this, but as a company newb - forget it.



Marines may well be the best equipped to handle the job, but why on earth would you want to? The same money can be made in van or reefer - as a company driver.

 

Aw, it ain't that bad. Skateboarding ain't easy but it sure is fun.