Tmc holiday

Great post! I'm currently active duty and will be discharged in June. I'm set-up for orientation in June. I feel TMC will be a good fit for me since I'm a new driver and I hear their training is quality. Plus, they're culture seems that it will match with mine. Do you think it's reasonable for me to clear $1k a week as a new driver? I'm looking to run regional and get home one or two weekends a month. And who knows, when the divorce is final, I might just stay out for 2 or 3 months at a clip.

 

Where do you live (or where will you be based at after you REFRAD)? That'll probably help answer your income question a bit more. And just to clarify, are you asking about $1K gross or take-home?

 

I think they have a minimum pay of 1000/week for new drivers for 4-8weeks. Can’t remember exact time frame. That’s gross of course. I started 8 years ago and they didn’t have that then so I know little of it

Take that time to learn some. Knowing what you are doing at a shipper Monday mid-morning for a Wednesday delivery determines if you will deliver Tuesday before cutoff. That’s how you increase revenue

Someone new to trucking will struggle at first at shippers and receivers. It’s only natural. It’s possible, but not probable to net 1k a week as a new driver at TMC. A few months and your odds increase dramatically

 

For the next year or so, I'll be running out of southern nj.

 

Roger that. Clock management is a big factor in keeping your pay decent.

 

This may have changed since I left there, but much depends on what side of (or how far from) I-95 you are. But Jersey really ain't that big so you should be ok.

I'll say this about the northeast: loads tend to pay much better going up there from out of the area. Going back the other way (like say Mass to Chicago), probably not so much. That said, once you learn the game you should have no problem maintaining a $3400/truck revenue line. And being from Jersey you're already familiar with the traffic boondoggles up there so that's a head start--but everything changes once you traverse that territory from the driver's seat of an 18-wheeler. And of course...parking. Best of wishes with that...

(For a while I ran based out of Pittsburgh...the struggle is real, bro. Parking, that is.)

What will really help is delivering into NYC...if TMC still does this, its $100 borough pay if your drop point is in one.

I never dropped directly in NYC, but have delivered all around the city. Most people HATE the northeast; I eventually got to a point where I was cool with it, especially once I saw my revenue jump. (When I started I lived in Indianapolis, so the midwest was my primary zone...steady $, but I noticed I made more when I ran the northeast.) The key is patience, and keeping yourself calm. (That's true anywhere but especially the northeast--and Chicago. And Atlanta--but those are different stories.) I had some fun with it. Hopefully you will, too.

 

@Buc, thinking about TMC after I retire from Army. I'll be living in Saxonburg, just north of Pittsburgh, PA. How did you like running with TMC out of Pittsburgh? I have a place to park a truck so parking won't be an issue. Thanks.

 

Mind you, I left in 2015. So I can't speak to how it is four years later, but I can tell you this: you should have no issue makein it home for the weekend (winter weather notwithstanding, of course). What many people don't realize is that the northeast pays (or paid, at least when I was there) better because no one wants to go up there. The main problem is finding some place safe--or even available--to park during the week of running. And, of course, traffic, once you get past Philly.

I did a lot of upstate NY, PA is full of freight, and of course, what I call "the Dungeon" aka WV. Upstate NY is beautiful and, last I knew, wide open as far as traffic goes. Much of PA is open, too. Overall, a bit more challenging to get around than the more open flat plains of the midwest and wide-open (but less-paying) greenlands of the south, but if you're used to the area, you'll be fine.

 

I'm in CDL school - looking at TMC or Melton as top FlatBed choices afterwards (N/E FL area) - what's the 8 from your 4 clock series? I'm familiar w/the 14 hour day: only 11 continuous driving hours w/10 hours off...34 hr reset after 70 hours of work (of straight driving back to the 11 or factored into the 14 full work day?) I'm not familiar with that 8 hrs, can you explain what the 8 is please?

 

We all have the glorious FMCSA to thank for this one #Facetious

The eight-hour clock works inside your 11/14. Thanks to the mandatory 30-minute "rest break" rule, the eight-hour clock is basically this: once you log onto line 4, your have a maximum ofoeight hours to do whatever you're gonna do--work, drive, whatever. After eight hours, you MUST take a 30-minute break either on line 2 or line 1 before you can legally drive again. (Now of course you can take your 30 before you hit 8:00, as well.) Now, if for some reason you take a 30 after, say 3:00, and come back on line 4 or line 3 at 3:30, this eight-hour thing starts all over again, so depending on how you use(d) your drive time, you would have to take another 30 at the 11:30 mark of your day to be able to use your remaining available drive/on duty time. (Eagle-eyed observers will notice that this scenario also essentially costs you one full hour of your 14, as well.)

Now, having said all that... here's an additional quick hit they may not teach you in school concerning your HOS: theoretically and hypothetically--and realistically, though the right scenario would have to present itself--you can stay on line 4 all day long and not get popped for a violation (depending on how much of a prick DOT decides to be). You could also remain on line 4 for a period of time after completing your available 11 hours of driving, or even on line 4 after your first eight hours (yes you'd technically be busting both the 8:00 and 14:00 rules, but still)---however, you cannot legally drive again until you have completed your ten-hour or 30-minute rest period. (I have found myself in situations where I've had toto remain on line 4 after my 8:00 and after my 14:00--however, I'm certainly not advocating anyone purposely doing tjis.) Always remember this: LINE 3 IS THE VIOLATION LINE. That's where they'll bust you.

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Side note: You're in northeast FL, huh? A while ago I saw that TMC extended their hiring zone to I-10 in FL and the area between it and I-4 in central FL. What I can't tell you is if that'll get you the "guaranteed 46 of 52 weekends home" that their primary zone gets, or if you'd be on the home-every-14-17 days rotation, although I did see several guys in the Jacksonville area who could get home most weekends. But only the Jacksonville area, so if you're there, it'd work out better for you. (There's reasons for this...as far as I know, TMC still has dedicated accounts at Continental Building Products formerly known as Lafarge Gypsum down in Palatka, and their Home Depot distribution operation in Tampa. Much less known is their Lowe's distribution center operation down in Frostproof.)

Hope this helps.