TransAm Trucking.....MUST READ!!!! inside story

I've been driving for transam for almost 2 years now and can tell you a couple things

1. Your given the option of going lease during orientation, but no one makes you. If your a company driver but decide to go lease you can do that. Ive also seen LEASE DRIVERS BECOME COMPANY DRIVERS. why would they allow that if all they wanted was lease?
2. Ive never heard of anyone being charged for their bus ticket or hotel or anything. even those who lied about their MVR and got caught and sent home didnt say that. You probably owed the government back taxes so they took it.

 

your going to hear that about every company. ive been here almost 2 years and its not bad. if you cant stand being on the road running miles then maybe you shouldnt be in the trucking industry. but if you are a hard worker you will be fine. just like at any other company. simple.

 

dude is crazy. if they only wanted lease drivers they would only contract drivers and not hire them. it would be a lot more effort going his way and companies arent going to spend that kind of money just to save a little money. lol

 

I am a former company driver for TransAm. I was there for half of 2014 and half of 2015. I told Jonette recruiter that the only way I was going there was as a CD. No way was I doing lease. She trumped Superservice and I went to TA. One penny more a mile, nicer trucks buy no lease. I was never pressured, hassled to go lease. NEVER!! I went in with no idea how long I would stay there, but was going to get the experience I so badly needed and learn the trucking industry. I truly enjoyed my time there and the experience was one I will always look fondly on. I made friends in safety, risk management and recovery. Yeah, lease recovery. I rescued 5 trucks from unsuspecting souls looking to make the quick buck in my time there. 84cpm sounds good compared to 31-32cpm until you have to buy fuel, tires and other repairs. Must have been depressing to see negative settlements on their pay stubs. Learn the business FIRST. ON THEIR DIME. NOT YOURS! Abandoned equipment goes on your DAC and is a guaranteed express exit out of this career. Don't be that guy or chick!!

This is a great career. Go company and learn the ropes. The shippers and receivers don't care if you have a $800 WEEKLY payment on your lease. You are gonna sit in docks 5-6-7 hours at a time. Maybe more. I once waited 32 hours on a meat load in Amarillo Texas. Thank God I was company driver.

Five years in and I hope I got another 15 left in me. I turn 57 on Sunday. TransAm was a great proving ground for me, but alas I Couldn't keep grinding for 32cpm. Lease was or never will be an option for me. Besides, I make close, not quite to that 84cpm as a company driver now. Get your experience. TA is a good stepping stone. No more, no less.

 

I find that funny since when I called them to return there as a company driver they specifically told me I would have to be become a lease purchase driver. I pretty much went back to an old rule I had against returning to past employers once I leave them.

 

This post isn’t intended to sound mean or talk down to anyone, but how in the world can ANYONE think 84cpm is anywhere close to enough to run a truck and still pay yourself a decent wage? Shoot, you get a heavy load into a strong Midwest headwind and fuel alone will cost nearly that much.

Now I’m not standing up for these mega companies and their shady, misleading business practices, but I’m saying I think it’s just as much the drivers’ fault for not crunching a few numbers before signing on the dotted line.

 

Basically they have people right out of their “driving academy” leasing trucks...people who are completely new to the industry... much like prime does, so they are easier to sucker into the LP scheme at those companies.

 

Yes. Those are the trucks wobbling down the highway with a huge scrub mark on the front bumper and the shattered hood with four bungee straps holding it together.

 

I was working for them when they 1st started the leasing bull crap. Got so I would be sitting at a meat plant 2-3 days waiting for my load and watch a lease truck bring in his empty & leave loaded while I was still waiting. They talked me into coming in to at least talk about leasing. I tried but couldn't wipe the grin off my face as Mary (She was in charge of the lease program at the time) was showing me numbers on the computer & telling me how rich I'd get if I operated my "very own business" at .86 per mile right. I thought she'd hit me because I really was trying not to laugh. That was almost 15 years ago & I would never recommend anyone go there. It was good for me at the time, just out of trucking school & it was a decent place to work when I 1st started. It became clear that once they (Russ) got a taste of the enormous profit from the fleece program that they started trying to force all of us existing company drivers into leasing.

 

Well said, that makes sense. I talked to one of their recruiters who told me they pay company drivers .32/mile! I laughed and said .40/mile is about as low as it gets right now. She immediately asked if I wanted to lease instead. So they pay an absurd CPM to make the lease seem like a great deal.

 

Company Leases are a SCAM! Don’t let any company trick you into thinking their lease program makes you an owner op or a business owner. Leasing = renting, and you get all the risk. Think about the cost of fuel alone (which can only get more and more expensive in the future). At $3/gallon, if your truck gets 7.5 miles per gallon, your fuel cost is .40 cents per mile. So when they say they pay $1/mile for lease ops you can subtract .40 cents right away. That’s .60/mile. Now imagine the routine maintenance. As a company driver, in one year my company probably changed my trucks oil 4 or 5 times, fixed 2 flat tires, replaced 4-6 more tires, replaced 3 windshields, replaced a headlight, and my inverter caused an electrical issue that shut the truck down. Add in one breakdown and that .60 cents per mile is going down fast. My truck had to get towed 50 miles when the coolant system failed. That alone cost over $1,400 !! It was in the shop for 5 days while I sat in a hotel. Add up the repair cost (I never saw the bill but $10,000 is probably a low guess) plus the hotel and food on top of missing a week of work. The company always wins. They basically rent you one of THEIR trucks, make money on your loads, and give you all the costs and liabilities.