TMC

thank you for answering my questions i was told by some one that you had to pay for the toll i appreciate the help.

what exactly is line haul with tmc and one guy was tellin me if you go over your milleage fuel milleage or driving miles you done get paid as much is that true if so do you know how they figure you fuel mileage.

on the drivin mileage if its true i remember the recuriter i talked to said they will send a suggested rout to take wouldnt that be the best one to take then you probaly wouldnt go over your milleage.

thank you for takin the time to answer my questions i am really interested in tmc do you feel it is a good company in your opion?

 

Apparentley, the driver that told you "you don't get paid for that" is confused on book miles versus actual miles (from what I can tell).
See; the recruiter is try'n to tell you, that you will be dispatched, routed, and paid on book miles (i.e. practical, shortest, zip-code to zip-code etc...)--and if you do not follow the route that the computer generates for you (no different then Mapquest, Google or Yahoo Maps etc...) you are not going to get paid for the extra miles you run out-of-route----you will get paid what their systems says the miles are for that trip.

Your odometer may say you ran 2,680 miles for the week.....but their computer says you ran 5%, 8%, 10%, 12% less than that depending on what THEIR system says.
There are VERY, VERY few companies that pay actual miles ran---99% of them pay on one form of computer generated miles or the other.

Best paying system these days is what companies call "Practical Miles"....that system atleast is set up to figure in truck routes, speed limits, current detours and stuff like that. "Shortest Route" and "Household Movers Guide" are the two worst----shortest route takes NOTHING into concideration, and house hold is zip-code to zip-code as the crow flies.

The industry claims that they pay "book miles", because that is the easiest way to charge shippers BEFORE the product is shipped. Years ago, trucking companies were paying actual miles ran....but you had the bad apples that would run out of route, or take 15 laps around the truck stop to pad the odometer before they shut down for the night----they screwed it up for everyone.

Any company that is left that is willing to pay actual miles, still have a good idea what the actual miles are on any given regular run----so if you turn in your mileage sheet at the end of the week, and it looks way higher than any other driver on a simalar route....they will take a good look at it and question you about it.
i.e.- Harry just turned in a 3,000 mile week.....but Bob had the same run last week, and did it in 2,750 miles---how could this be Harry?

 

Deductions from pay
500-600 bounce miles per week. Always under 150 miles so they do not pay you.
Junk trucks with bad tires. You blow a tire they will deduct $ 300 from chk.
Long wait times to get loaded and unloaded.
Logging dept. wants you to log that you are in sleeper when loading, unloading and installing tarp. That way the US Govt. thinks you are resting.
Drove tired everyday.
Home on weekends? Joke
Regional driver? Joke
Good pay? Joke
Stay away from this awful company.

 

Thats funny 2 Dog. How long did you work for them? I have had a blow out and never did they take out any money for it. I am home every weekend unless I volunteer to stay out and I still end up getting home those weekends for a little time. Pay is more like great! Obviously you can log how you want when your tarping and securing. DOT only requires you to log 30 minutes for loading and unloading. If your driving tired you probably are not managing your time correctly. Long wait times for load and off load is not TMC's fault, that is the shipper/ consignee's fault.

Sounds like you just did not fit in there which that is fine because you have to find the company that agrees with you and vise versa.

O and junk trucks??? Really???? I guess you got unlucky on the truck because mine has 630K on it and I got in it with 549K and I have yet to have any mechanical problem on my truck.

If your going to complain about 500 bounce miles a week then I dont know what to say, I average I would have to say anywhere from .40-.50 CPM on the % pay and that is not dispatched miles that is actual Hub miles with the bounce included. I guess your exp. is just much different then mine but good luck to you where ever it is you decide to go and drive.

 

Does anyone know if TMC takes into account BMI (body mass index) when doing the physical? Im 5'11 and about 250 if that helps.

 

TMC,, stands for Trucking More Cheap, Like their trucks though, so much i bought 1, But owner/operator flatbed and step deck drivers HATE them ,cause they are rate cutters.

 

I don't think they do. As long you can pass the physical and perform the physical tasks during the load & securement part of orientation. Tasks like carrying a rolled lumber tarp, (about 100lbs or so) and putting it on the trailer, and then getting yourself up onto the side of the trailer without any assistance or use of ladder or using the front or rear. Also climb a ladder to the top of a cargo container that is mounted on a flatbed, then walk to the edge and have you toes dangle over.

When I was there I seen guys your size and maybe even bigger do it without problems. I was 6'0 230lbs and I passed the physical and completed all the tasks without too much problem. I would suggest though to try to practice some before going to build up some strength.

 

That is news to me. All the rates I see are not cheap rates and I have not talked to one owner op that pulls a flat or step that does not like TMC or thinks we are cut rate. I have had O/Os pickup the same load as I and deliver it in the same spot and they gross the same to the trucks as I do, and they are Mercer O/Os and they seem to do pretty good.

 

Yeah right. And I guess you don't have to run but one log book too? I went for weeks at a time only sleeping about 3-4 hours a night. I was really lucky that I didn't kill anyone while driving sleepy. But you had to get the load there the next day no matter what.

 

How true how true. Sleep about 3 or 4 hours a day. Load, unload or driving all the rest of the hours. Try to log that in your book.