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

jasper i will find out this week what they take out for, so ill reply next weekend.

 

The few times Ive dealt with load locks the company provided them. The one time I did have to buy them, i let the company know and they offered to either issue a PO on a comcheck, or let me buy it outright, and then send them the receipts for reimbursement. I chose option 2, and was reimbursed the full amount on my paycheck the next week.
As for kingpin locks, Im pretty sure you have to buy those outright for yourself, since you are not supposed to drop the trailer except where they tell you.

 

I take it you are on the McCalla run?

Im not too familiar with the cobra 29. I just think the galaxy radios are better. I cant afford one myself yet. And as far as range, as long as you have a good antenna, and get the radio peaked and tuned, range isnt a problem with most decent radios.
It is better to have a good antenna with a low end radio than a good radio with a crappy antenna.

 

That's sounds about like the way every company should be. Thanks...

 

I am not familiar with the auto-shifts but I have seen that there are a couple of different kinds. I noticed that the PAM trucks auto shift is located on the steering column while auto-shifts on other trucks are next to the drivers seat.

Do both work the same way or are they different?

 

location is gonna depend on the type of truck, FL are on the steering column, kinda like a paddle shifter, volvo is actually attached to the side of the drivers seat and international is down near where the cut holders are, but all work the same way

 

Thanks, I was just curious...

 

Thanks Chip, I really enjoy your posts. From the first time I decided that I wanted to get in this business, I felt like PAM was the perfect fit for me and I still feel that way. I have done a lot of research on many different companies and it always brings me back to PAM. I haven't been able to attend C1 yet because my wife and I decided to wait until after our son is born but I will either be at C1 or possibly take advantage of the WIA grant since I was laid off from my previous job.

I didn't decide to get into trucking simply because of the economy and being laid off from my last job. I have wanted to do this since I was 12 or 13 years old but I had just never taken the necessary steps to do so. Take care & be safe!

 

Hi all great history of information on this thread! As you can tell from my post here i am considering driver solutions and joining PAM or USA Truck. i am based in Michigan and have no trucking exp what so ever. i start CDL training in march and am looking forward to a new and exciting career! i have been on the forums and the net for a month now trying to get any info that i possibly can to help me understand the nuances of being a OTR truck driver. Driving is in my blood be it cars, bikes, or what have you...if it has wheels and a motor i am down! lol but someting about driving a semi is just soooo appealing to me...being away from family is a pain to live with but i am hopefull that over the years i will be able to get more home time and probably move on to a better company with more pay.

Any words of wisdom from the gods of trucking will be apreciated as i am as green as can be and this is a major career change from a comfy desk job at a small company to driving a truck i am about to be laid off and will lose everything if i dont find a job and PAM/driver solutions looks to be the most promising as i dont have the money to pay for CDL myself. i hear CR England are crooks, and no other company is as accomodating to new drivers as PAM.

This is a major change for me, i am 30 years old, been working at a desk and computer screen all my life and now the call of the open road i dare say is too strong for me to ignore. I want to be the best i can be at this new career and am prepaired to take on the challenges but i need help along the way and this site looks like the best place to start. i need to know if any other michigan drivers out there can tell me about their experiance with PAM and how far do they have to commute. i am in the metro detroit area.

thanks

socutruck!