Info on PTL

Discussion in 'PTL' started by Lwood53, Oct 13, 2014.

  1. jamboogie

    jamboogie Bobtail Member

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    Feb 24, 2013
    God's Country,ALABAMA
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    I do not know about a contract you'll have to ask your recruiter about that. You will want to stay with em a while anyway to get some experience at least 6 months to a year.. get your time in and learn the business and how to be a safe and productive driver..always err on the safe side you can't haul freight in a ditch..when are you going to Murray ?
     
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  3. Lwood53

    Lwood53 Medium Load Member

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    Aug 5, 2014
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    Probably around late December/ early Jan, just trying to make sure this is a good company as far as decent pay, equipment and home time
     
  4. Trick or Treat

    Trick or Treat Light Load Member

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    Oct 26, 2014
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    If you like waiting on the side of the road all the time for road service to come out to your rescue and don't mind spinning all your time in shops, then they are pretty good company to work for. Also, the fleet managers can talk down to you, but don't dare talk down back to them if you like your job. Also, when they tell you to pull that trailer that is illegal to be put on public roads to a truck stop for repairs in the middle of the night, you better do it if you like your job. Also, pray you don't get pulled over for a DOT inspection, because you will fail every time. Overall, though they are pretty good if you like working with rot gut thirty year old trailers with tons of problems you never even heard of before, don't mind long waits between loads and loads with way too much time on them, and don't mind making no money. Indeed, work for PTL and quickly learn why they are one of the absolute best companies out there to work for.

    By the way, recruiting won't ever tell you this when you call them, but they only pay .33 cents a mile on all loads west of the Mississippi River. Meanwhile, 75 percent of their business is west of the Mississippi in Texas alone. So figure it out.

    Not to mention that their main criteria for what they consider to be a good driver, is a driver who is willing to do anything and everything for them no questions asked. That is until they lose their career because of it. But overall though they are pretty good. They may ask you to go pick up a late load for them every now and then after your 14 hour clock has expired, but don't worry it won't happen too often.
     
  5. jamboogie

    jamboogie Bobtail Member

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    Feb 24, 2013
    God's Country,ALABAMA
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    Funny I drove there for a year and I might've been lucky..I had good equipment but everything breaks sooner or later and when it did they took care of it pretty fast..I had a dispatcher that I got along with and he kept me moving..like I say maybe I was just lucky..and they ARE NOT the best company out there..I had elogs and was never asked to run illegal..matter of fact safety QC'd me ya couple times to remind me I needed a 34 soon then got with my dm and he never gave me a problem about it..like I said it might just be me but I did ok there not great but ok...Where I drive now is lots better than ptl ..I heard bad things about ptl but after talking to some drivers that told me it was changing for the better I gave em a try and dont regret it..this is just this drivers opinion..
     
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  6. Hard Worker

    Hard Worker Light Load Member

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    Nov 1, 2013
    Columbus, GA
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    That's a pretty strong over exaggeration there, Trick or Treat. PTL is not THAT bad, and some of what you said isn't even correct.
     
    Big Ugly, jamboogie and Up^on^two Thank this.
  7. Big Ugly

    Big Ugly Light Load Member

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    Feb 9, 2014
    North Carolina
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    Actually the overwhelming MAJORITY of what Trick or Treat has written is factually wrong or flat out lies. I'll not get into a debate with him/her over it either as it's not worth my time. I'd suggest to the author of this thread to ignore what is blatant venting of anger over what probably amounts to their own mistakes that has them unemployed.

    In short. No contract that I am aware of unless they actually sponsor training for you at a school & foot the bill. Then you might have to commit to a year & that's perfectly fair. Yes they split your pay east & west of the Mississippi at .33 cpm on any loads west. And no the majority of their freight doesn't originate from there. Trainers with student drivers & P2 teams run almost everything to the west. Solos are kept predominantly to the east. Lots of equipment issues with the Maxxforce engines, every trucking company has them by the way, & trailers. But new trucks & trailers are arriving daily & the problem its being rapidly fazed out. Benefits are comparable to almost any other company but do your research. Home time is dependent on where you live. I too live in NC & get home as often as I wish. 1 day off for every 6 days out. And there are some variables to how you take that home time. Lots of I40, I81, I35, I65, I75, I20, I10, I95, & I85. You get the idea. It's heavily concentrated in those running lanes. Lots of traffic to deal with too. That's trucking though so get ready for that reality.

    Any more questions feel free to ask.
     
  8. Lwood53

    Lwood53 Medium Load Member

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    Aug 5, 2014
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    Cool appreciate Big, being in NC right off 1-85 near Greensboro would that be a good area? And about how long would you think it would take to finish both phases of training
     
  9. Big Ugly

    Big Ugly Light Load Member

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    Feb 9, 2014
    North Carolina
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    I regularly travel that route so you'd be in a good area for getting home. I myself live close to Asheville & home time is easy to accommodate when I request it.

    Now for training what I suspect the average is for students out of school is 2 or 3 weeks. Your trainer, & it's important to get a good one & milk them for all the knowledge you can, will really hammer you down to mush in that time. You're required to drive a minimum of 2000 miles per week until you get your time in for Phase One, which is 6000 miles, so that's why I say between 2 to 3 weeks. Phase Two is a different beast all together. You are quite literally trapped in a truck with another novice driver for a period of 30,000 miles. It can go quickly, around 2 months, or much longer if you can't get along & they have to split you up. I myself have now taken 3 Phase Two drivers with me to finish their time out quickly so they could upgrade to solo status. The message there is if you are a problem with other novices you'll be given a few chances to get it together or you'll be gone. So endure all you can & persevere this phase of training & it'll payoff in the end.

    Now there has been a recent change to Phase Two training & it's a good one. The FM that used to handle those drivers exclusively recently had so many issues the fleet was broken up & spread out to other FMs. She just wasn't being a good FM to those drivers & they weren't getting the proper coaching & preparation for when they went solo. Trust me it's a good move that she isn't totally in control of this aspect any longer. My own FM has a number of Phase Two teams now & he assigns some of his more capable drivers, myself included, as a coach for those drivers to ask info of & get help when needed. That again is good practice & it's being used throughout the company now.

    Bear in mind that all companies have a certain training regimen for student drivers & they vary widely. This is just PTLs method so again do your research on other companies to see what fits your tastes & needs. Also, not to promote my own little thread that I've neglected to update here, but I have lots more info if you haven't read it. Give it a once over & I'll answer other questions there.

    http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/ptl/256379-my-ptl-experience-log.html
     
  10. DenaliDad

    DenaliDad Retired Wheel Dog

    They still feed you that evening meal at the buffet. As for home time, you let them know no less than 6 days ahead and they'll do what they can, which is oretty good. Their trading in the older machines for new Freightliners with double bunks and APUs.

    The ESOP is a good deal for those wanting to stay for a long time.
     
  11. DenaliDad

    DenaliDad Retired Wheel Dog

    There's no contract.
     
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