New driver seeking some answers

hehehe...good one! Needed a good laugh and that was a good one.

 

I made the mistake of telling Prime I was single and didn't need to go home too much. I was lucky to see home 3 days in 3 months after that. Plus the miles we drove back then (I hear they're still running illegal to some degree) would burn anyone out. It did, and that was at .18/mi.

 

ROTFL......

 

Hi work work for pam and i am going to tell that road will get lonely and you going want to get out of that truck sometime. But that will be up to you but for me I have no children but I sure didn't want to be stuck in that truck especial with a 34hour restart but I wish you the best and may God bless and keep you and stay safe out there.

 

Howdy guys, my name is James i am supposed to be starting the Driver Solutions course in Springfeild on March 30th and going to work for PAM after that is completed. I have nationwide non-cdl driving experience and enjoy this type of work. I know i have a bit to learn and am certainly willing to put in my year or longer to get it done. My questions and concerns are mainly based around the quality of the company and the legitimacy of the things i have been told, will be told to do, and have read on many forums including these. Hopefully all will go smooth and i can be one of the success stories i have read about. If you have the time and interest to answer some of my questions with real answers and not "i hate pam, i love pam rants" then thank you very much, and as i learn i will do the same for others.

1. There seem to be alot of critics of all trucking companies i have looked into which offer some form of paid schooling, the 2 i have most interest in are USA Truck and P.A.M. for which i have been told i can choose from and the lady i spoke with at Drivers Solution was reluctant to direct me to one over the other. I realise both are entry companies but for anyone that has knowledge of both, what are the major differences and is there a significant reason to choose one over the other.
Dont pay atttention to alot of the gossip of people trashing compaines ALL big carriers will have people that hate it as well as people that love it id pick whichever one seems to suit your needs best and go with it.


2. I understand pay will not be great at first or for a good while. However how realistic are the miles per week on average, i have seen most people referring to 2200-2800 being normal and good, others saying they get 1200 and some saying they are flooded with over 3500. is this based on routing, drivers themselves, location etc. what is a realistic average for starting thru the end of my first year.
This will depend on 2 things , your dispatcher and here it comes the part noone wants to hear......YOU .
Most companies will give the new guy all the #### other people dont want.Why well a few things would you give that new guy your million dollar account to be late on ......... well no
2nd they will use the new guy to get rid of the crap loads and shags untill he knows you and how you run alot of time if you do well and get along with this person whether you like him or not will have ALOT todo with your miles later
It is ALWAys important to not be late and not miss loads but it is really important when you new if your late or have a acciendent it will affect you for ALONG time to come.
AND lastly the other thing no one wants to hear your log book learn to use it and you will make it dont and you will be one of the truck stop junkies

3. Noone knows for sure when something is going to break down but i have also seen some people saying trucks need repaired on a regular basis, and some that say these companies take very good fast care of thier trucks with little breakdown. I dont mind an old beat up truck with no ammenities, i simply want to be able to run solid with limited hassle. So do the broken down people simply have too much spare time to be posting ? or are the trucks really that bad.
Most big carriers have nice trucks they dont make money with you on the side of the road and they dont want to pay the wrecker anymoe then you would.Things happen they will happen to new trucks
I post whenever i rem to drop by nothing todo with being broke down thing about lappys you can take then into the truck stops when your eating and doing clothes etc

4. If you agree to work for these companies for the year and then you are a good worker with no accidents, tickets, etc or reason for them to terminate you what is the likelyhood of completeing your first year. I see alot of posts about people getting fired for no reason etc. i simply dont want to sign into a captured 1 year one sided agreement where i can be terminated for no reason 9 months into it and be liable for 5k worth of schooling. A
I dont believe most of this i see posted.IF you get down to facts id bet 90% of them have done something they dont want to admit maybe run over something .F"ed up something ........
Well you get the point
5. Asian girls are win. yes/no simple question.
Asian girls are a win yes they are hot
I am sure i will come up with more questions but these would be very helpful to me atm, thanks for reading and good luck.

 

lol my bud works there about 5 years now he loves them and is married.
Last year he was home about 10 days all year

 

I've been with PAM now about five weeks. Miles have not been the greatest. only about 1800 a week average. But then all the other PAM drivers I've talked to have said the same thing. Miles have gone down since before Christmas. It is due to the economy, fuel prices, etc. No one is moving like they used to. I sat in Jersey on the turnpike for three days waiting for a load. There were 17 other PAM drivers sitting there with me. There was absolutely nothing coming out from anywhere. Crack happens. That's part of trucking, the days when there is no freight for anyone. As another member pointed out, the newbie gets the crap loads, short runs, etc, as they are not going to put unproven drivers on the "good" loads. But if you put your head down, make your runs on time, or even better early, and don't give your DM a reason to hate you, you will start seeing the "good" loads.

Be careful of night dispatch, they sometimes don't understand log book rules or that out of hours for the day means you can't move anymore till the next morning. I got into a pissing contest with them a few days ago, and finally had to send it on the QC that what he was telling me to do was run illegal. That made him mad I think.

Some of the shops suck and are slower than frozen tree sap, and some are ok. Tontitown is hell to get out of, one of the guys sat there for ten days. I haven't had any problems with N. Jackson or Willard shop but I didn't need much there. Just little piddly five minute stuff. I haven't been to any of the other shops yet.

Some of the trucks are good, some aren't. It depends on the particular truck, and how well the shop has worked out all the bugs on it. So far I've had a decent truck without too many problems.

Your DM is your lifeline to the miles and the paycheck, so always be respectful to him/her. But don't let him/her walk on you either. So far I have been happy with them, other than the lower than I like miles, but I'm going to stick with it.

 

I've stated on another thread, that P.A.M. had a huge contract with GM. Since the U.S. auto industry is in the crapper, there are not a lot of parts to be moved. So, things are slow.
When I was there, I mostly drove Macks. And, one Freightliner. None of them were all that bad. What few times I had problems, help was pretty quick. Never had to have one towed. But, the shop in Oklahoma City didn't like working on any truck that didn't say Choctaw Express on it. CE is one of their affiliates. They would do oil changes, and simple easy things. But, I had a problem with an air valve he didn't want to mess with. One of the mechanics was told to 'tinker' with it to see if he could get it to work. He got it to work, and I was invited to leave. Only to have it replaced elsewhere. Same thing with an alternator.
But, all in all, during the two years I was with them, I had a great dm for most of that time. She was good. A lot of the other dm's were pains in the butt.

Oh, yeah. I like Asian females.

 

killagorilla, Ur the man. Im signed up to go to c1 on the 20th of july.I also will be working for PAM. I cant wait. I scared and excited at the same time. you had some of the same questions I did. Thanks ebonsaint for the input. Im starting to gather that trucking is what you make of it. If you give 110% then you should do well. Good luck out there and I will see you on the road soon.

 

Hi, james i dont know everything but been out here for 20+ years as for where you should go,go to which ever to get started as for the miles you may get, do a good job be on time dont give the dispacther a hard time THINK they are the ones that gives you the miles,if you do your job and are on time they know they can count on you you will get more miles than the driver thats always late always fussing dont want to go there or do that, they will be sitting in the truckstop crussing that they are be not getting the miles,what you have to do is get about 2 good years in then you can go just about anywhere you want to work, if you dont understand what to do ask someone. be safe this job is not a place to party like alot of drivers thinks, I know that i may not be to clear this is the frist time that i have ever posted any thing but what i have been seeing out here latley has really got me to thinking that may be i could help some new drivers out with some things, although i am from the old school, BUT i think it would be much better if more of us old timers had to show you newbes the old school way of doings things dont know just a thought. fell free to email me i will try to help if i can,