May Trucking

Good luck with new job!!!!!

 

Only two weeks on the road with a trainer? That doesn't sound right at all. The complaints I hear from new drivers at a lot of companies is that they had to stay out too long with their trainer. 3 weeks is usually a minimum, and that's if you do everything right.

 

I just completed my first month with May trucking, and a friend of mine was just upgraded to Solo from training status.

I did 15 trips between 4/20 to 5/18 and did 10,826 miles at .37 per mile with 11 stop offs at $15 per stop for a grand total of $4170.62. My longest load was 1007 mls and shortest 152 miles. I ran everyday I was out and sat in Layton, UT 1 time for 1/2 day waiting for hours to drive. I spent 1 night in a motel while my truck had recall on front axle repaired by freightliner which is across the street from terminal in Brooks OR. They use trip scanning, so no trip envelopes to worry about getting to payroll. You keep all your bills reciepts and logs. Their trailers need to be better maintained but so far my truck, which is a 13 speed frtshaker Century ST, has had no problems. I like getting paid extra for not idling which they pay for anything less then 30% of engine time. My idle time is currently at 4% and change. I have not spent more then a hour on a dock and most of the time my loads are preloaded or dropped in the yard. In my short time at May I have heard some drivers complain about miles and some say they are getting plenty of miles, which is common at any company or at least the 3 I have worked at since 1992. I follow the company policys and use the Qualcom macros the way they want me to and have had no problems getting miles or home. If you don't, you will. Their payroll so far has paid what they owe so know complaints there either. They are quite stricked about logs matching receipts, fueling and scales unlike USX, which just wanted something the machine would not reject. The company seems fine to me so far except for their trailer maintenance and the none air ride dry vans .

My trainee friend had 2 trainers. The first for 4 days then got off truck becuase he was a screamer about anything and everything, and had a problem with my friend wanting to take shower and be clean. The trainer did not change clothes or shower while my friend was on the truck. He did all the driving while the trainer sat in pass seat and loged "on duty". The 2nd trainer my friend hooked up with ran teams and seemed to have a problem with taking time out for hygiene also, but seemed to be less stressed out then the first. After 5 days running teams the trainer found out that his license had been suspended for a unpaid ticket. My friend sat at the trainers house for 3+ days waiting for the trainer to get that squared away, even though he lived 45miles from the brooks terminal. By now, my trainee friend was ready to quit becuase of the training problems, but I suggested that he tell the company to give him a road test and if he passed, a truck. He passed, and they did.

May trucking is a private company. They are not some huge outfit like Swift who uses money to pay stockholders and claims instead of their drivers. My friend was paid $900 during his 13 days as a trainee and makes .32 per mile 2 months out of school, not a year or 2 from now.

There is no set training time at May. When you are deemed ready by the trainer or safety, they will test you on backing, gear selection, proper turning, mirror usage and safe driving. If you are deemed not to be safe in your operation of the truck, like the trainee above, then they might give you the boot instead of take a risk on you . I have been driving on and off since 92 and becuase I did not drive for almost a year, even I took the same road test the students take. In my opinion if you can't pass it, then you don't belong behind the wheel of a truck and should get your money back from the school you went to.

 

I left out one other detail that came as a shock to me on my first drive after dark. When you have your headlights on in a May truck it disables the cruise control. Yep, May don't want you cruising at night so I try to run mostly during the day where before I only cared about that if the weather was bad.

By the way I like to flash my lights when another driver is clear to come in front of me since I am usually in no hurry like many I see on the roads these days but stopped doing it during the day becuase it requires me to reset the cruise control.

 

I am glad you have something good to say for may trucking I did not completely cross them off of my list just for the time being.
I did until thankfully some one like you a hard worker chimmed in.
One of my instructors at the school I attended told me that I am one of the best students he ever had a drive with him all the while decending a mountain.
He told me if we were driving otr and I had my cdl he would be comfortable to sleep while I was driving.
He said alot of the students scare the fudge out of him.
He thought I had someone train me how to drive brefore I came to school.

 

Thanks for posting that. I am scheduled for orientation with May next week. Since I am a recent "graduate" I will have to go thru the training program. I am more than likely going to cross May off my list after reading the above. May sounds ok perhaps for the experienced driver but not so hot for the trainee.

 

Well I will be leavibg for May on July 14th do not any other choice I can not extend not driving past 60 days from graduation from school.

I will defenatly go there with a good additude not thinking of people as rude sob's I let things roll off of me.

 

I have above adverage driving skills for the amount of training I did recived.
Manny told me that I was a verry good driver could not belive that I did not get trained by others ie freinds or relatives. But I did have alot of experince pulling long trailers with a full size truck it may not be the same but it did give me experince backing,parking and going arround corners..

Just because you had a bad experince with May does not mean that everyone will have then same however it may be more likely that it will happen again.
Rob was mad because I did not want to leave now. I told hime I got a job now I need to pay up bills and then save back some money just in case.