My 16 Week Experience with TRANSAM

If you can stay out 3 to 4 months at a time... your a better man than I am. After 4 weeks, trk starts to get real small and all the company stupidity starts to get real big and then its time to take a break!!!! Trucking maybe a life style, but it dang sure doesn't have to be your life!!!!

 

Hey when wrking for Transam Where do you go so you have the stops over and over .what area do they run

 

A recovery is where they send to get a truck that has been broke down or the driver quit and left the truck somewhere......

 

I just quit TransAm myself, got tired of sitting for 5 days at a meat house, or doing a 34 hour reset while under a load when I've got 62 hours left on my 70. Sick and tired of 1500 miles when I've got a 100% on time delivery record and have complied with everything they require of me. I'm not saying don't work there, it just didn't work out for me.

-+

 

This is crazy, between Olathe and Rockwall, there must be over a 100 mty trks. Thats almost 10% of the fleet, with 20% on hometime, that means that almost 30% of their trks are idle. Makes one wonder how they manage to make any money!!!

And this isn't a training company according to Mary Hoyt. HA!!!!!

 

Make money? Why when they have "company" drivers bulcrapolaed into believing they are "O/O's" with that rental program they have calling it an L/P program!

They ARE making money by charging these guys to drive their trucks for them!

 

Ahhh come on Rollover, let it all hang out and tell me how you feel about it!!!

 

Was stupid enough to sign on as a company driver back in 03! And been out here long enough to see through these fleece errr lease programs and I goofed! TA's isn't a rental it's actually a sub lease! You'll never own the truck!
Just pay the bills to drive a POS FL!

 

I just completed a 6 month lease with TransAm. Longest 10 years of my life. According to my final settlement, I grossed over $80k, netted just over $13k in six months. I managed to come home 3 times in the 7 months I was with TransAm. Couldn't afford to come home more often. My lease ended on a saturday, so I sat in Olathe terminal until monday in order to complete the paperwork and officially turn the truck in. On monday, I had to sign a lease extension thru monday.

Been a month since I turned in the truck, still haven't gotten my 'lease completion bonus'. They also withheld my maintenance escrow account (around $1200) and another $1850 from my final settlement until they can get around to inspecting the truck. From these funds, they'll pro-rate the mileage I drove since various PM's and services, rubber on the tires, and anything they might find wrong with the truck.

All in all, it'll be interesting to see how much of my $5000 or so I actually receive when they get done.

TransAm Lease--there to make TransAm money. Just say no.

 

Okay, got my final settlement. Got $2143.

Looking over the paperwork, there's no 'squeak room', I got what was coming. No more, no less.

When you finish a lease, you are charged pro-rated amounts for PM's, based on what TransAm shop charges---PLUS---a markup of 21% to 42%. Again, acceptable except TransAm shop charges 150% to 200% more than you can find the same service 60 miles from any TransAm terminal. Got no problem with being charged the full "TransAm" price, I expected it, but the 21% to 42% "Mark Up"??? Gimme a break. Overcharge, then mark that up, if you please.

Looking over ALL the paperwork, TransAm charged exactly what it promised (except forcing me to sign a lease extension because the office was closed on the day my lease expired).

My only suggestion is. Do not lease from TransAm. The lease program is not set up to help you succeed (as you will be told it is), it's set up for TransAm to make money...both from the freight you haul and from YOU.

There are a handful of Lease drivers that are successful with TransAm, but invariably, they are Trainers (share that tiny T660 cab) because TransAm wants students to finish their required hours quickly and impress them with all the miles they get. Guaranteed.

Company drivers make fair money, again, if they are trainers, the miles are much better because there are students to pump through.

TransAm was a trucking company to look up to 10 or so years ago, it sure isn't now. It's like the JB Hunt/Swift of the 80's. They rush through training, students are graded more on whether they intend to Lease or go Company rather than skills, and they really don't care about their drivers.

By company policy (in my opinion), TransAm doesn't have DRIVERS anymore, only TRUCKS.

Too bad Johnny handed over the reins. Used to be a great company.