Transport Corp. Of America - Eagan, Mn.?

if you do a search of this site (just type in 'transport america') you will find a lot of opinions. unfortunately, TA is now a privately-held company, so you won't find a lot of "business" info online. all i can say, is do a lot of research before you make a decision. i just finished school last week, but have been researching about 5 or 6 wks now. (just made a decision today, actually.)

if you'd like to send me a message directly, i'd be happy to share the info i have. i'm nothing if not detail-oriented... kept a 4-pg spreadsheet on the companies i was looking at, with 8 categories (training/orientation, routes/freight, pay, equipment, fueling policy, hometime, benefits, and misc). may save you some work, but you'll still have to decide what's best for you.

good luck to you. you'll find lots of good advice & info on this forum!

 

i just read ur post and i would love the information you have i have 2 wks till i am out of school and TA have pre hired me ...please respone asap ty and have a safe travel...karen...this is for bittersweet

 

6 loads in 4 days, actually ran out of hours friday morning, today...

which is $861.38 cents worth of good...

now for the bad news... I didn't get paid for 76 miles back to the terminal this a.m. because they don't pay deadhead miles to send you home...

sounds like free repositioning of an empty trailer to me, since they had me hook onto it and drag it to the terminal for them.

is $22.00 dollars worth haggling over...??? probably not... but a month of trucking has given me the "attitude". hehe

off to take a shower... and for any newbies... don't plan on $861 a week out of school... yes you can do it... but dang I'm tired... and the 700 mark is much much easier to hit than running til you're to tired to spend the money...

seenya

 

Great posting. Thanks for taking the time and updating your experiences.

 

Hi guys, I am back. I completed all the training required by TA. I went solo OTR this past week for the first time and believe it or not, I quit. The company has nothing to do with my decision, I just decided going over the road wasn't for me.

A few people on this site contacted me to give my opinion of this company. I have to say, I had two trainers that were mentally whacked out but I think you will have that with any company. TA is concerned that their new drivers are thoroughly trained before going OTR. I really liked that. They do treat their employees well and I would highly recommend them.

I did a no-no when I quit, I turned renegade. I made my first run without sleep, had strep throat, waited two days for my relay, it was a hot HAZMAT load. The relay made me an hour late but TA took care of contacting the consignee. When I got there, my fifth wheel wouldn't release, was rusted underneath and no mater what their Emergency Roadside Service said to do, myself and a yard jockey took an hour trying to get the blasted thing to drop the trailer. Finally, one of the consignee's maintenance men were able to get it to release and I dropped the loaded and hooked up to the empty.

While sitting there covered in grease from under the trailer, I started burning up with fever, got my trip plan for my next pick up, became overwhelmed by all the trip planning one has to do in this industry [calculating miles to next stop, how many hours left to drive, what routes to take -Hazmat loads are not given route and fuel stop plans, you have to do that on your own]. I got my pay summary for working from 6:30am-2pm and I only earned $78. Now, I didn't make any stops for lunch or anything, I drove the speed limit, took the turnpike and I still managed to make less than $11/hr. In my mental state at that time, I decided I had enough and this really wasn't for me. I called my fleet manager and told her I was sick and wanted to go home. They said I couldn't but told me to go to the nearest terminal and someone would drive me to a clinic. I told her I had no money and insurance so she said I could rest at the terminal a couple of days [making no money]. They were trying to accommodate me but I went home anyhow and parked my rig at my pre-approved site.

Now, I have messed up my career as I am sure my DAC will show I abandoned the truck. I did call, Qualcomm, and called again about it. Instead of them being nasty on the phone, they actually thanked me for checking on the truck. Can you believe it? Now, unless they are going to send me a bill, sue me, or do something else, I think this company was very gentle in their response to me and I would highly recommend anyone pursuing a career with them. I was treated very well [except for the mentally ill road trainers]. This company really wants you to be safe and trained before going solo. I give them a high recommendation.

 

Sorry, haven't checked the posts in weeks.

Yes, the physical was not only the doctor once-over, pee in a cup, eye chart, and whisper test, it was climbing two steps to the beat of a metronome for 3 straight minutes, pushing 200 pounds on a dolly across the room and back, lifting a crate with 70 pounds in it and picking it up 3 times, placing it on a shelf, taking it back down to the floor. Then, the finale is that you have to walk like a duck, squatted down from one cone to another. Most men came out into the waiting room panting. I thought, "Oh great, I don't stand a chance." Well, I am a 100 pounds overweight and have been sedentary. If I can pass it, anyone can. I was proud of myself though, I didn't fail!

 

I just last week met one of my new company drivers where I work now. He is selling his truck,a 98 century class,he said he was leased to transport america for quite a while,a number of years,he and his wife teamed on their own truck for them. He decided to sell his truck and leave transport america after his wife stopped teaming with him,he is over at hartt transport out of maine where I just wanted you all to know what he told me.oo for 12 yrs and is 55 yrs old.

 

I've just arrived in Scottsburg, Indiana. I will be attending orientation with Transport America, beginning tomorrow morning at 6:45. I hope to add a record of my own experiences with TA to the ones that have already been described in this thread.

 

DirtyDragon, congratulations on reporting to orientation with Transport America. Please update as often as possible.

 

Quick overview of orientation with Transport America at Scottsburg, first day.

Scottsburg in general: Small and quiet. Everything you might need is pretty much within walking distance of the hotel that TA puts you up in.

Hotel: The Mariann Travel Inn is clean and quiet. I have no complaints about the place. The water is hot, the air conditioning is cold, and housekeeping runs every day. There's a continental breakfast served in Room 101 each morning for people who are attending orientation with TA. It won't fill you up, but it might keep you from gnawing on your fellow drivers until lunchtime comes around. A bus to the Scottsburg orientation facility leaves from in front of room 101 at 6:45 AM.

Orientation Facility: Clean and well maintained. Classrooms might be getting a little small for the number of drivers who attend orientation, but that depends on whether or not my class is a typical one. There are 27 people in my class currently. TA provides its new drivers with an intimidating amount of books for orientation. SOP Manual, Orientation Guide, the usual array of pocket-sized reference books, etc.

Yard: Gravel. The space is huge, however, and there are no chuckholes or washouts.

Equipment: I haven't yet encountered anything that wasn't in perfect working order, and that is a pleasant surprise that I wasn't prepared for. 53' trailers and Century class Freightliners seem to comprise the bulk of the equipment at the facility.

Staff and instructors: Seems pretty friendly. Definitely professional in their attitudes. I haven't heard anyone curse a blue streak yet, and that is also surprising to me.

Food: TA will feed you. You get a small, snack-like breakfast at the hotel, a full catered lunch served on-site at the orientation facility, and a meal voucher for dinner that can be used at one of our restaurants in Scottsburg. (McDonald's, Ponderosa, The Mariann, and some other place I've forgotten.)

The first day of orientation was divided into thirds, starting with four hours of paperwork and some classroom instruction, followed by drug tests and physicals, and finishing up with a short trip out into the yard to brush up on pre-trips.

The physical was nothing challenging. Other than the usual DOT stuff, there were three minutes of stair stepping exercises, followed by wheeling a loaded dolly back and forth in an empty room, and then repeatedly lifting a milk crate loaded with an increasing amount of weights up onto a shelf and then setting it back down on the floor. There was an 8' duck walk included at the end of the physical.

The classroom instruction seemed clear and well conducted, although it is difficult to judge when things are just getting started. The lectures were remarkably free from personal anecdotes, which is something that pleases me. I like for class time to be all about business, and it irritates me when I end up having to spend twenty minutes listening to a teacher rambling on about the time his bulldog mistook an electrical extension cord for a rattlesnake.

The time in the yard was short, and the awkward way in which the class had to be divided up and bussed across town to take their physicals had a negative impact on the clarity and focus of the session. Hopefully, yard and time will be used more efficiently in the next few days.

Excuse me for any typos or if I've brushed over any details. I'm racing my laptop battery, here.