Driver's Reviews / PAM Transport

Team is 17.5cpm solo is 26cpm first year

 

Update: Off medical leave on the first week of Feburary and they fed me to the wolves. I had to go to Long Island, now I have signed up to be a driver mentor and should be picking up my first student pretty soon. Also got chewed out by auto for being late on a load, when I clearly sent in a Macro 13 saying my time had changed.....sometimes I wonder......my driver profile has been noted and I am just like oh well.

 

I drove for two years OTR 20 years ago, then hung it up. It was fun. I had some debts to pay, and I made good money running for a small three/four truck operation on a 40% split, blanket wrap, The company paid all truck expenses.... it was dream gig I landed six months into driving for Burlington Motors. When my debts were paid I quit... and let my CDL expire.

I'm starting all over again, will do school on my dime etc...

Looking over the starter companies, Pam looks pretty good from slim pickins... One thing I must have is no touch freight. One of my first loads the last time I did this was unloading a trailer with twelve different colors of widgets all mixed up.... 53 feet stacked to the ceiling. I had to unload all by myself, and separate the colors into different pallets.... all for an extra $50 bucks after driving ten hours into NYC.... NO Thanks.... not doing that again. I want to spend my limited time each week driving and racking up miles... So Pam's accounts seem to fit me. No reefer and no touch.

One thing I have heard and would like to get some other opinions on is.... I have heard that Pam pressures company drivers to drive team. That's something I will not do. A truck is way to small for anyone to be locked inside with me.

I have driven OTR before... back in the stone ages when fuel was $1.05 a gallon... so I know what I am getting into, I know I can run all the miles they can throw my way that a solo can legally run, but I WILL NEVER run team. Other than trainer time as required, but that will be over fast, and is unavoidable.

So what has been your experience? Can I stay solo, or will they play games and short miles to me trying to encourage me to team?

 

If you sign the contract that says you will team then yes you will team

You can stay solo if you have that in the terms from the start... on the game playing; good luck with that!

 

me i would rather do solo, i dont know if its just a trust thing, maybe thats just me. i will put of with being with the trainer, and would respect the idea of me moving into his or hers truck that must be hard to deal with if you would ask me. so far PAM sounds like a pretty good choice to me. thank you all for your good and honest info..

 

I know my husband drives with PAM and he gets .175 per mile but he has a partner and he gets paid for all of the miles the truck travels whether he's driving or not. He had to be solo for a while cause the partner he started with quit PAM and I believe he was getting .26 per mile when he was solo but just a warning if you drive solo the miles are not there. The max number of miles he made while solo was 2400 only one week and he was driving solo for about 4 weeks, the rest of the weeks he was lucky to average over 1000 miles. If I didn't have a job we would be broke.

 

It's all based on who his DM is and how he runs, if he has a good DM then he will get over 2000 miles a week if he has a lousy DM he will not get as many miles. I personally don't know your husband so I can't attest to how he runs, because PAM also base miles on job performance.

 

Yes it will SUCK!!!

But BOTTOM LINE:

Do your time with PAM.

Be safe.

Don't get any violations.

Keep your record clean.

Move on to bigger and better things!

Be safe drivers!

 

Are you still driving for Pam?

 

Look, I drove 20 yrs ago, I was very lucky I got a very good job outside of trucking. Naturally I let my CDL go, didn't need it anymore. Well, things changed, the only job I could find that was near my former earnings was driving again. So, I had to start all over again like a newbie. I hired on with Pam. I went to the C1 driving school in Ft. Worth. Got my CDL back, refused to drive team, and drove solo with them 2 plus years. I started at .26 cpm like everyone else. I put up with all the BS and paid my dues, and kept my driving record perfectly clean. That's important, do your time, drive safe, and keep it clean. After a year, you can hire on anywhere!!! I now work for Linde Gas, pulling a tanker. I make $20.90 an hour, plus .45 cpm. Home every night. While with Pam get your hazmat, they'll pay for it. Pam is a great starter co. IMO. Pay your "dues" and get your experience, then move on.