Please Help!!!

I'm biased on that, Wannabe. I went with PAM straight out of school and would recommend them to any student. However, many people would disagree with me on that. My situation when I entered into trucking was most certainly do or die. I was single with no kids (still am), flat broke, owned nothing, and was living with my parents at 28 years of age. I did whatever it took for me to make it. And make it I did. I believe that attitude is what led to my success with the company, and I quite possibly could have made a success out of almost any company. I rapidly gained the respect of my dispatcher after just a couple of months. She actually told another driver (who I had became friends with) that I was ranked right up there with senior drivers she'd been dispatching for 5-10 years. The only key to this success that I can come up with was my determination to be the best at my job. I didn't whine or complain about a short haul with an absurdly long pick-up/delivery window (i.e. 36 hours to cover 300 miles) nor did I complain about tighter schedules. I always did what was asked of me without discontent. If there was a problem, I communicated it immediately to the appropriate person.

Through all of this, I found a successful start to a rewarding career. Shortly after my first year with PAM I bought a house, furniture, and a used car.

The best company for you would be Determination Transport, my friend.

 

Mine too, if you're willing to share him with me.

Reading Scarecrow's post I realized it coulda easily been mine. Just replace PAM with Schneider and y'all have my story.

Dispatchers --
Can make a driver, or break a driver.
Never leave a bad taste in your dispatcher's mouth.
HaiL!
I even sent mine post cards and brought her shot glasses for her shot glass collection. When I presented her with a REAL Cheer's shot glass, after a dispatch to Massachusetts that turned out to be a dawg load, I thought she was gonna cry. She did too, because she was expectin' me to read her the riot act about the load. Said I SHOULDA been upset.
I told her I'd make up for my lack of anger on the NEXT dawg load.
But, I really didn't.
Actually, I enjoyed being stuck in Three Forks, Montana for three days. And I told her so.

But she made up for that by dispatching me on back-to-back loads from Fullerton, California to Jacksonville, Florida -- and back. Notice the mileage. Around 3,000 one way.
Cha-ChinG! $$$
That was a great paying two weeks.
All things considered, like, .....................
Mileage pay -- with a trainee aboard for an extra $25 and whatever miles he put on the Big truck -- running semi-team,
And bonuses totaling another six-cents a mile -- for ALL miles the Big truck covered, no matter WHO was driving. Running around 15 hours a day, and the option of a motel every night -- if I wanted it, ....... those 750 mile average days chalked up real moolah real quick --- but NEVER at the expense of the trainee with me.
Nope!
My trainee on those trips had no problems eatin' miles -- and I was always awake. Just sharin' a log book, really. And INSTRUCTING -- along the way.

I gave my trainees all the time they needed, sometimes at my own expense. Pulled strings for and kept a few after school. It's the product that counts, not so much about the paycheck with me. Well, I did set limits. I refused to allow a trainee to blow my bonus. NO reason to do that.

Easy ---- all ya gotta do is ........
1. Keep engine idle time down.
And this was back in the day -- 1980's.
Permission to idle depended on the weather.
When running the north/east in the winter, Schneider usually called me and reminded me TO idle, -- DON'T shut it off.
Over 85 to 90 night time temps, they weren't too hard to convince -- but HeY!
I was with trainee -- and, back in the day, that rated a motel every night -- no double bunks, yet and Qualcom was just gettin' started -- that bonus wasn't hard to obtain.
Shut 'er down if you ain't around (it).

2. Keep speed below 55.
But much of the fruited plains still posted a limit of 55 MPH -- back in the day.
Schneider dispatched their BTTDrivers based on a 40 or 45 MPH average, 8 hour breaks figured in.

But the Big trucks, back then only had TripMaster to keep track of all that. Primitive by today's standards -- the Big trucks were actually governed for 65 -- 68 MPH. So it was the Big truck truck driver's right foot that made the difference. I liked that. Made a game of it and got pretty good at it, too.
And that paid off on the ol' paycheck.
And, I think a better method than running a trainee like a dawg to get ALL them miles in, is to learn how to take advantage of the situation.

But the option to run faster than 55 was still there. However, if you take away the potential bonus, the mileage difference didn't pay as well as following the rules.
Why run longer for less pay?
Some drivers did though.
And usually complained about not making enough money.
Imagine that and go figure.

One of MY trainers at Schneider taught me how and WHY to do that. It sure taught me how to keep a steady pedal and a watchful eye on my limited gauges, as well as the terrain and weather conditions along the way.
That's the way I learned -- and to this day, although I sometimes use it, I don't really like cruise control. I'd rather pedal my Big trux.
And I'd rather drive a Big truck with a max speed that isn't the bump speed.
Blow a front steer tire -- the experts say gouge on it UNTIL you regain control or to maintain it.
Shux Howdy!
If you're already bumpin' the governor, how ya gonna do dat?
I assume, with that option removed, one would only be out of control.
Some choice, eah?
Ya reckon.

The last bonus was for Customer Service.
That was worth a whopping two-cents a mile on TOP of the four-cents for the above! And all I had to do is get 'er there on time, OR CALL "EM -- for a more realistic arrival. Just don't make it a habit of calling for that reason.
I found that to be fair.

Others complained about that though.
Go figure.

But after around 4 or 5 years, I wanted to try something different that Schneider couldn't provide. Nothing bad about that.

I wanted to drive the nicer Big trucks with ALL the dash gauges I wanted to read -- doin' really interesting stuff.

The second company I drove for contracted with several of the MAJOR motorcycle manufactures and handled their hauling and warehousing needs and PR stuff including trade shows, where the Big truck truck owners loved to be paid (around a grand a day, I heard. I think it's rude to ask, so I can only go by what I was told), to sit in a nicer motel or posh hotel -- for days or weeks at a time.
And a rent-a-car or two. Too.

HaiL!
I was born to drive!
And I was a company driver.
Let me pull that empty wagon around with a few loads -- then be back here, when the empty trailer will be needed agin, in two weeks!
Sittin' in the San Francisco area for 14 days in a motel, ain't my idea of havin' fun. I've seen it there MANY times.
Even spent some time touring the prison out on the island. But I wanna drive.

They gave me the choice, sittin' money or movin' money. But not both.
Hmmmmmmmm
Do I REALLY wanna drive THAT bad --- or, maybe good?

Did I mention I've seen a LOT of the Bay area and crossed those beautiful bridges many times, too? Maybe too many times?

Often, I made the sacrifice though -- and chose the door at the motel.

ONE time, at a hotel further south, that room was on the same floor as the Governor's Suite.
Just across the wide hall.

I know, because ......................
Another of our employees had that room -- in a 4 or 5 Star Hotel -- top floor facing the beach in Sandy Eggo, Caifornia.
Mine faced the street -- with a view I can appreciate.
Gold fixtures and a wet-bar.
Stocked.
Only rooms left. BuT! -- without US, the show they were expecting hundreds of thousands to attend, would NOT go on.
Reality took over about then --
we even got valet parking ----
In the underground garage with a clearance of about 7 feet.

Let's see, ....... 13.5 minus 7 equals,......
On my gawd!
How day gonna doo dat?

HaiL!
They were havin' so much trouble parkin' our 4-door Chevy peek-ups and Ford box vans, that they reserved the number one spots, right outside the Hotel's front doors, for our vehicles. The Big trucks stayed down at the beach.
I kinda wanted to sleep there at the water's edge. If I threw a sea-shell, I coulda hit the surf, I could sure hear it -- but it was against the law to spend a night on the beach.
Even in a Big truck.

Bummers?
Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Did I mention that the room at the hotel was nice.

The event was the Lifeguard Nationals --
Lifeguards from all over the world were there to compete in the surf and on the sand.
Went pretty well, ---- thanx to us.

And a chick ridin' in a Corvette convertible driven by a guy -- flashed me on the way home.
It's twue!
It's twue!

 

More pointers?
Try this -----------------

When a chick flashes you, pretend you don't notice --- as you peek out the side of your eyeballs.
That makes 'em stick around longer, waiting for you to notice.
Then, when they give up and pull away, honk the air horn.

 

i dont have to visit, i had a few apartments there years ago, one on base, one off......

just anouther of the many reasons i have for not goin into kali!!!!

 

You can't possibly judge all of California on the armpit know as Barstow!

 

...... Yermo?
Calico Ghost Town?
You don't miss those places?

 

Had a friend move down to Thermal, if that doesn't sound like a complete heckhole I don't know what does.

 

Besides that, the Mickey D's in Barstow was the sales leader of the whole country -- back in the day. And, for all I know, it still is.

Just don't ask me why.