Flatebed is hard work but I enjoy it. I been doing it now for over ten years and love it. I could never go back to s winging doors. There can be times when it can suck.loading in the freezing rain.when you get back in to your truck and all the window steam up . But when passing cars especially kids breaking their neck to get one more look at that new shiny caterpillar that you just loaded in the rain makes it all worth it . arthritis and weather don't get along . I would consider tanker but they spend a lot of time in all weather conditions allso.arthritis is something I hope I never have to deal with
as far as I know ohio . We don't get to fl a lot . That's to bad I like running 77to. 26 to 95 south. Use to do it twice a week. My new com is not hard to find just have to know were to look
And where would that be. I dont know "where" to look. I've seen it on alot of threads here, where somebody states there "new" place is better... yet the name of the new place never gets spoken.?? Why is that I wonder?? Its almost like a deep, dark, guarded secret. If I knew of a "great" place to work....I'd shout it from the roof tops!! I'm not starting anything, I'm just saying.
Ok like I had said, 62 MPH sucks o yeah I hate qualcoms but at this day in age most trucks have a QC in them and almost any company you go to will have there trucks set under 70 MPH. Now those things I am willing to settle for since the money here is great and I have yet to be talked at or down to.
I have read most all of the TMC threads; I think this will be my company. I am 39 years old so I would like to work somewhere I can call home not just a stepping stone. They were my number one pick and they were the first to send me a prehire so I could get a dot grant through Sage at my tech school. But most of all I am going back to trucking because it is the closest thing to what I was in the Army my last few years and I really miss it. Tmc looks to a perfect match for me, so after I Graduate I think I will go to work for them. Does anyone know if it will be hard for them to pair me up with a trainer close to where I live (Nashville NC, right on I95)? Any info would help.
Too bad I couldn't have spoken to you sooner. My experience was very bad. I have over 30 yrs. trucking, hauled all kinds of machinery, coils, steel, O/D loads and had to sit through the most asinine orientation I ever could have imagined. Beware! TMC is run by some pretty psycho people, including the owner. From the top on down, they thrive on drivers backbiting and turning in one another for stupid little things. This was told to me by several veteran drivers there. They said to watch everything you say and do. People are watching and listening to everything and will report what they hear and see you do. I went through the experienced drivers "training" class and had a roommate who was just back from Iraq. He was upset because he had to go through the same bs again, as if he were a new hire. He'd been with TMC for some time before he had to do 13 months over in Iraq. By law he should just have been rehired. The baboon who did our class (Dave?) was the sorriest excuse for a teacher I ever met. Besides being a complete idiot, he took great delight in pulling this bs about being a boot camp and insulting you any chance he got. I knew they were just trying to get to guys who had a hot temper, but I couldn't really say much to him since I knew I'd be paying my own way home. You just had to put up with the bs and keep your mouth shut and not let the stupid stuff bother you. Don't be surprised if you feel like smacking him and taking him down. When I decided to go through their load securement class (instead of getting my own truck right away) just so I would be sure to know the TMC way of doing things (which they are very big about and you can get fired for for not adhering to), this guy would show up very late for the class at the garage where the trailers were set up with loads on them and say a few things about tying down loads. Then he'd go upstairs on break to bs with a guy up there (or who knows what) and return downstairs in about an hour and a half or so. We'd be hanging around waiting for this idiot for a good 1/2 hr. He'd go over the "lesson" a bit and then we'd go to lunch. After lunch he'd arrive another 30-45 min. late and repeat the same antics the rest of the day. What a waste of time! There's more but you get the picture. I actually am so glad the driver "trainer" I had to go out with (because I never ran their brand of computer, they said I had to go a week with a trainer) gave me a bad report and that ended my career. Actually, he and I didn't see things eye to eye. He was a 2 yr. plus wonder and didn't have a clue of what team driving was all about. He expected to be able to dictate what radio station I listened to when I was driving, whether he was riding in the jump seat or if he was in the bunk. At one point, when it was my turn to drive, I told him I was going to go wash up in the rest room (just wash my face and brush my teeth), he said, "We ain't got time to clean up." I just told him, "Well I'm going to wash up" and I just headed into the rest room. When I was taking a leak, he came in and started ranting about not having time again. I told him, "LOOK, I'm gonna wash up, you can wait in the truck, and I'll be out there when I'm done!" Didn't talk to him much after that. He was a jerk. I also caught him trying to cut corners on not using proper strap protection (edge protectors) on sharp steel and tried correcting him on that and other things he was doing wrong. He was too proud to acknowledge them though. He "knew" too much. After evaluating their pay and seeing how they force the drivers into hurry up and wait situations and then having to hustle all night driving, I saw that this was not such a good place to be anyway. I do hope thing work out for you though, but if you see the same bs there that I did, maybe you can check out Daily Express, Carlisle, Pa. I just found out that they hire co. drivers. It might be just up your alley.
Man that sucks true blue. When did you go through orientation? They must of changed guys for the securement part of it. Ours was work work work for that whole weekend that we were learning to do the securement. I have actually met other TMC drivers that have that I dont have time attitude. I have learned there system pretty good and I dont put up with that well this has to be here and then to here and blah blah blah. I will still stop and take a shower and stop to use the bathroom and that kind of stuff. I dont really care but I also can still run 600+ miles in a day and thats not running at night. Some guys are just dumb with how they operate a truck and the way they look at things. If you dont have 5 minutes to spare so you can use the restroom and brush your teeth and stuff, screw that!
True Blue I hate it for you. I must have missed the part where you stated if you were hired on with TMC?? Milskired, glad to see you. Can ANYBODY shed some REAL light on this please? Sounds like yet another story of a driver taking the "TMC challange." And coming up on the wrong end of it. If TMC has orientation every monday, does ANYBODY post here where they "make it?" Really?? I have made the decesion to become a driver, have started school, and possibily destroyed my life. As I have stated in the very beginning, If I cant drive for TMC, then I dont want to drive. However, I already have a student loan that I am now responsible for paying. Im a retired Infantry Drill Sgt, I DONT do drugs. My MVR is clean, my back ground is clean. If you can lift the tarps, then so can I. Thats just the way I think about things. If the man in front of me did, I can too. I have asked some questions, that were important to me, only to be "overlooked" by expierenced drivers. I gotta ask, what have I done to make the "black list?" If a driver would rather "pm" me, I can respect that, and I thank you in advance for anybody's assistance. Anybody??
