TMC Newbie Pay

mileage is more consistent. percentage used to be the way to go until rates fell severely.

on percentage if you bounce less than 150 miles, you don't get paid for the bounce. I had an awful lot of 148 mile bounces when I was on percentage. on mileage, you get paid for every mile you drive. I was at $0.385/mile until the new pay package went into effect, now I am at $0.375/mile, which equates to about an $1100 a year pay cut. I am not sure what rates are like right now but unless they are back around $1.50/mile average, you are probably better on mileage. mileage + longhaul loads + staying out can be productive.

when I was in orientation Randy told us the fleetwide average was $1.70 a mile. not too terribly long after that I was hauling freight for $0.76 a mile. a good week for me recently was 2650 miles, little over $1000 on mileage.

 

I've been on percentage for about two years it works out better for me than mileage.
I figure it both ways on every load i get. I guess it depends on how you run your truck i try and get to consinee every night so i get empty early and get the best load possible for next day. You just have to watch your bounce miles and stay on top of the game.

 

Pay really depends on you and your FM and how you run your truck. Home time my firstyear was hung out four times last year i was out more weekends than i was home.
You can't expect to be home every weekend and make good money but there is a happy medium. Don't let them dick you on hometime they will if you let them. Just talk to FM about what you expect to get.

 

For the first year percentage is the way to go. I started out on mileage and six months in I realized the error of my ways. Mileage is good once you've been there for a year or so.

 

I averaged $650 before taxes, it really depends on your FM and your operations manager. Both of mine were crap. I stayed out 3 weeks at a time more often than not, but some of those weekends were spent pulling 500 mile loads that really didn't make staying out a weekend worthwhile. If you stay out, make sure you get a load that pays you to do it.

 

What kind of dollars we talking about each week, percentage and or milage. TMC is a company I'm also looking at, but man do I read some stuff on here that make me think about looking elsewhere. I want to drive flatbed, but I also need to make my mortgage payment each month. I start CDL school in a week so I'm looking hard at the different companies out there that hire recent school gradutes.

 

Let me give you some good advice. Take everything u read with a grain of salt. not everything people post is false and many guys are well intentioned but if u look around on forums (any web forum for that matter)you'll typically find that only a handful of people regulary post and many times they are those that eitehr no longer work for that company or have some bone to pick. like all walks of life you'll find more that spend their time complaining then praising.tmc has it's ups and downs like all companies and for the most part most jobs are what u make them to be. just go with your gut and make the most of it. dont let a few select voices sway u one way or the other or otherwise 5 years from now you'll be one of those guys with 10 job on your dac. ive been here a few years now and there's more pro's then con's. hope this helps and good luck!

 

gort,
Thanks for the comments, since you have been there a few years, what kind of income could I expect to make a month given the way loads are right now.