My 16 Week Experience with TRANSAM

Thumper · Aug 12, 2010

Hi Pan, Got the 2010 with the new motor so far its getting about 7-7.5 loaded mpg.
I rem when I got the new cat it got like 5.5 . come up 75 north with 43 in the box from knoxvile up thru ky and into il got down to 7.1 not bad with 2700 miles on the truck sofar.

Panhandle flash said: ↑

Welcome back Thumper. What year model trk did you get?
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Thumper · Aug 12, 2010

Hi Im guessing your a L/O if your not tofar into the truck ask them to order you the new motor truck out of the box its beating the cats.
If you got a new cat it will suck untill 30-50k miles
Also turning the truck down they say helps but i wont turn mine down as everynow in then comes in handy to be able to mash it when your in a hurry are got some jack arse puttin beside you that wont get out of the way and keeps breaking your cruise.
On my cat I use to run 62 and avg'ed 5.5-6.5 when it was new panhandle has one thats broken in and getting better then 7.

angelochris7 said: ↑

Hey thumper and panhandle flash would love to talk to you guys. I've been here a few weeks and my fuel mileage sucks. I set cruise at 64. Does it help to have truck governed at 65. I'm only averaging 5.9 to 6 at 64 6.2 at 62 is that pretty normal here. What kind of mileage are you getting. I would appreciate any pointers
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zentrucking · Aug 12, 2010

Rollover the Original said: ↑

Search the word Prime in the search menu and make your decision or read about leasing trucks AGAIN as it apparently hasn't sunk in yet about what a lease really is!
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It's really a shame your wisdom just seems to be going in one ear and out the other in this thread ...

Have to wonder if any of the later posters even read the OP (Original Post) ?

In that he mentioned how hard TA employees and (drivers) pushed the lease ... must be a great bonus for them ...

Panhandle flash · Aug 12, 2010

You know what I find strange? It seems that the pushing of the lease.....hard, is a fairly new thing. I'm coming up on my 2yr mark, (yea...can start looking fow a quality company!!!), And I don't remember the lease being pushed at all. That was about the time tho, that they had started orientation at Rockwall and maybe they hadn't got the word yet. Even when I tested out in Olathe, all we had was a 45 min. bit on leasing which I ignored. Knew it wasn't for me. Now they did call me up once a month about leasing till the day they called me that I was going to my dad's funeral. Not very smart of them, eh?? Told them what they could do with it and to never bother me again!!!!! They haven't.

pinballwizard · Aug 13, 2010

Rollover,I was told by the trainer and the Rockwall shop they were set ths way so as you'd run off the road should the driver fall asleep at the wheel.With no offense intended, I've accepted the fact that I'm an idiot for leasing but I honestly don't believe anyone is prepared to be raped on the job, no matter how much they prepare.
No , the tire was only 261 and change. This on a 2007 tractor wth 350,000+ miles that hadn't been driven by me enough miles to be serviced.The rest is for the so called scheduled pm on a 2010 yr tractor with 7000 miles,in which I drove for two weeks before driving it to Olathe and handing in the keys having put a whopping 3700 miles on it.After turning in the rquired 2 week notice.After being refused a load.After 8 straight weeks of negative settlements. This is after the fact of receiving final settlements showing a zero balance in May.After all, remember I'm new AND an idiot

Rollover the Original · Aug 13, 2010

zentrucking said: ↑

It's really a shame your wisdom just seems to be going in one ear and out the other in this thread ...
Click to expand...

You have to excuse me on this one as I don't understand this sentence.
Please explain so the dead zone between my ears can figure it out. I'll be sure to put a finger in one ear! Just type slowly so I can capture the whole meaning!

angelochris7 · Aug 29, 2010

Thumper said: ↑

Hi Im guessing your a L/O if your not tofar into the truck ask them to order you the new motor truck out of the box its beating the cats.
If you got a new cat it will suck untill 30-50k miles
Also turning the truck down they say helps but i wont turn mine down as everynow in then comes in handy to be able to mash it when your in a hurry are got some jack arse puttin beside you that wont get out of the way and keeps breaking your cruise.
On my cat I use to run 62 and avg'ed 5.5-6.5 when it was new panhandle has one thats broken in and getting better then 7.
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Thanks I have a new truck coming on the 17th sep..I have made a few bucks but fuel is killing me..everyone says new trucks are the way to go

Thumper · Aug 30, 2010

I pulled 43k in the box from k town town all way north thru kentucky .
Thru jellico etc and got 7.2 truck still only has 9800 miles cant wait till she got about 50k
The load I am on now is the first time i have ever got 6 mpg I am stuck on 6.5 as this pos 4 digit trailer is dog leggin bad it suckin the fuel badly.
Good luck on the new one i like mine alot
I spend about 40 bucks a week on the def but the mpg makes up for that

zyk285 · Oct 3, 2010

Old Guy 56 said: ↑

Hello,
I got a CDL like so many others because my 30 years in the construction industry came to a halt without my being independently wealthy and able to retire. I had hoped the CDL would allow me to make a decent living until the economy recovered and I could go back to managing woodworking shops. I have come to the conclusion that the trucking industry (as it is presently set up) is nothing but a scam. It seems to be based on the principle that another sucker will be along after the present sucker is used up and discarded.
When I reported for orientation at Transam Trucking at Rockwall, TX I had a totally open mind about the industry and the company. They did push the leasing program very hard, and the employees of Transam who are training you will make money if they are your sponsor into the leasing program. That is why they push it so hard. They will tell you all sorts of things about the lease, but they do not know how it really works because none of them (that I met) have ever been lease drivers. They will tell you to expect 2700 to 3100 miles per week as an average. This is baloney. They will tell you that it takes 1500 miles per week to pay the costs of the truck. This is a lie. They will tell you that the fuel surcharge will cover most of the costs of the fuel. It does not.
I had no intention of becoming a lease driver for Transam. When I got off the road with my trainer and tested out, I was going to be a company driver at least until I learned how to make money in this industry. I was 20th on the list for a truck. The guy who was first had been waiting 2 weeks for his truck. If I had known that $350.00 per week was more than I would average as a driver, I would have sat there and waited. I let my desperation and general destitution overcome my reason and signed up to lease a truck for 6 months. It had 10,216 miles on it. Someone else had already gone broke in it in less than a month. I was dispatched on my first load and picked up and delivered every load I was given on time for the whole time I worked for Transam. My average settlement was $265.00 per week. I had 3 checks over that amount and 1 that was a negative $312.00. I was dispatched an average of 1800 to 2100 miles per week.
I complained and #####ed through their approved channels. I sent in updated eta's like I was supposed to and averaged 3 to 4 days a week sitting somewhere (usually at a meat house or in the middle of nowhere without even a truck stop available). I drove 600+ miles per day when I was dispatched on something. I got good long loads when I got them, but never got enough. I learned that no matter how perfectly I performed, I could not make any money if my driver manager did not fight with the planners to get me dispatched. He didn't.
The secret that no one will tell you is this: Neither Transam nor any one else at that company cares if you make any money. Drivers are the diposable element in the system because another 10 will come out of the CDL mills to replace you next week. The companies that train have you by the short hairs until you get one year of experience. This is not an arbitrary amount of experience that is required. It gives them a long time to make money off of you before you wise up and move on. In that time, they will get their loads delivered at a discount. In return you get the experience to cash in somewhere else(assuming that you do not screw up somehow and end up with accidents or tickets or some other disqualifying event). This means that you will not make much money for at least a year no matter what you do unless you are lucky(and some are). I was not lucky.
To make money as a lease driver you will need all of the following:
1) Pick up and deliver every load on time.
2) Treat every load as a profit center (ie do not buy too much fuel)
3) Get at least 3000 miles per week.
4) Do not have an accident.
5) Do not have any tickets.
6) Do not log illegally.
7) Drive creatively and at least 600 miles per day.
8) Do not take home time.
9) Do not refuse any load or swap.
10) Do not drive faster than a company driver.

The above are the most important, but I am sure that there are other things that will help. All of the above except for #3 are to give you credibility when you complain about not getting enough miles. If you do not get enough miles you will not make money. You are totally dependent on you driver manager to make money. No miles = no money.
Deadhead miles cost you more than you will be paid for them. The truck costs about $1000.00 per week for the lease by the time you add up all the expenses. Fuel will cost around $.35 to $.55 per mile at $2.50 per gallon (4.5 to 7 mpg). A new T660 will not average more than about 5.5 mpg loaded no matter what speed you drive, but slower is better. At 2400 miles per week the lease costs $.42 per mile, fuel costs ($2.50 per gallon at 5.5 mpg) about $.46 per mile. Add these up and you get $.88 per mile as costs. The fuel surchage that you will be paid at $2.50 per gallon is $.25 per mile. You are paid $.84 per mile as a lease driver for Transam. You can do the math, but at 2400 miles you will make $.21 per mile. The starting company driver will be paid $.32 per mile.
My conclusion and experience are that the lease program is a bad business to be in. The upside is so limited and the downside so unlimited (including death and incarceration) that I am better off at home back on unemployment. My opinion is that the industry as a whole preys on the new driver from the CDL mill to the training company to the eventual disassociation of the new driver with the whole corrupt mess. It was summed up for me by the response of Johnny Jacobsen (owner of Transam) when I expressed to him my concerns with what I was experiencing as a lease operator with his company. His response was "Well, So." I learned in that moment that his system works exactly like he designed it to. I voted with my feet.
I have been home about a week at this point, as far as I know, I will not get paid for the miles I drove the last week and a half (approx. 3600) Transam has not paid me and will not return a call to explain to me what charges they have come up with to not pay me anything for the last miles I drove for them. Just a last parting shot on their part (and not unexpected on mine) despite complying with all their rules and regulations about notice and etc.
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sounds like you had a bad experience w/TA! I ended up w/a great trainer. no one ever pushed the leasing thing on me. I heard about it at orientation but no one pushed me on it. My trainer actually told me to STAY AWAY from leasing w/any company ever. I was a company driver for them on their FAC dedicated acct out of Rocky Mt, NC. I normally averaged around 2500-3800 miles a week. They ran the crap outa me, although; I rarely took home time. I made excellent money while i was w/TransAm. I was with them from jan06-june07. I regret quitting that company. Good luck to ya! hope U are having a better experience w/another company. I will def tell you to stay away from JB Hunt wether you are lease or company!

Panhandle flash · Oct 11, 2010

Gawd, but I'm glad I wasn't driving when I read the msg that the yahoo brigade sent out today. Laughed my ##### off. Seems their selling clothes and stuff with the TA "logo" or whatever on them. Wonder just who buys their crap or is proud enough to do so?

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