Freight question for tmc drivers

If BMT stands for Beaumont TX, then yes, you are in a good zone. As a matter of fact, there's a Gerdau Ameristeel plant a little east of Beaumont (off the 856/Old. Hwy 90 if memory serves correct) that TMC pulls a lot of slinkies (coiled rod) and steel billets from...know the olace well. And, beong what, about an hour and a half, if that, east of Houston, a MAJOR freight mine for TMC? Yeah, I'd say youre in a good area.

 

Cool. You will most likely find yourself running along I-10 anywhwete from San Antonio to about Mobile AL, up into LA and AR, possibly even Missouri—and Oklahoma. I live in Indianapolis but dor a time I was running TX like I lived there, so I know ALL the little hotspots for freight and whatnot.

The only thing I will warn you about TX right now is this:spouse pay very close attention to how you use your hours. The (joking) rule of thumb is: if you ain't parked by sinset, you ain't parking PERIOD. (And I'm sure others can attest to that, lol.) Of course, if you're overnighting at a shipper/consignee, its a different story—you can park rigjt there. (And if you want to be home come the weekend, that's your goal—do your best to be sitting at the consignee the night before, or if you can, the shipper.)

 

No prob, my man.

What I meant by my last comment (and this goes for anyone else who may be new to the business of trucking in general and TMC in particular) is this: provided you live in TMC's primary hiring area (bounded by I-35 to the west, I-10 to the south, I-95 to the east and I-80 to the north, although it kinda changes a bit up northeast), they will guarantee you 46/52 weekends home per year. What they DON'T guarantee, however, is what time you'll be home, or which day. Some go in thinking home time = Friday afternoon/evening, gone Monday morning. Doesn't quite work that way all the time. Provided you have the right fleet manager, he or she will do all they can to get you to or at least through the house for the weekend. (Bear in mind that there will be weeks that you may not make it home on Friday...it may be sometime Saturday.) But the driver also has to do his part. Chief among these is using your hours wisely. Run hard through the week, and if all works out, come Friday morning you'll either be at the same consignee or very close in order to get empty as early as possible...that way you set yourself up for the best chance to get a good homebound load—may not be the best paying load, but it'll at least get you through the house.

Now here's the rub: even if both you and your FM bust tail all through the week to set yourself up in position to get home on the weekend...it won't...always...happen. More newbies need to understand this. All sorts of things can go wrong on the load planners' end, or even the Drivers (truck breaks down, slow-### shippers or consignees taking forever to load or unload, stuff like that). The important thing to remember is WHEN this happens (not "if", "WHEN"—and it WILL happen, just prepare yourself), do your best to remain calm, keep cool and understand the whole situation. Sometimes things happen...every single one of us who've spent time in an OTR fleet has been through this. That's the part where most new guys lose it, and wanna start spitting vennom all over the place—hell some vets do it, too. But just keep in mind that if you do your best to manage your time wisely, smart trip planning, and keep those tires turning, come the end of the week you'll have put yourself in good position to get to the house.

I spent two years with TMC, and if not for having found a local gig I'd still be out there with them. So I know from experience how well they are capable of taking care of their Drivers...just bear in mind that works both ways. They'll do their part...but you also have to do yours.

 

Thanks for that!

 

How is the freight around tyler/longview texas? Right off I-20 looking at tmc to get started with.

 

Buc hits the nail on the head here. This is good advice to remember

 

We have what they call Texas dedicated. It's an awesome area. Bunch of short runs that pay well. Good luck