TMC , need to know the TRUTH about them

Here is some advice to what to do about bathroom/food. A plug n fridge/cooler is a MUST, you can spend alot of your pay each week eaten out, not to mention, put on weight, I pack up leftovers thru out the week in doubled foil packets and slide into freezer bags(making the size of brick basically) and label, then freeze. when hubby comes home, before he goes out again, i pack his cooler for the week, frozen leftover meal packs, lunch meat stuff, odds/ends, for breakfast, which is hardest to master, he takes polish sausage and buns to cook himself verses then buyen at truck stops, he has yougurt and cereal/protein bars to suppliment, or boiled peeled eggs to, all mainly for protein to keep yourself "fueled" for day. if done right, ya can pack up to 2 weeks of food in a cooler, which sell for about 90 bucks at most Pilots(save and use your fuel points to cut cost more) also, buy a "oven" hubby got the type that looks like a old fashioned lunch box, it will heat up a partially frozen meal withen 2 hrs or less, a thawed meal withen a hour, and keep warm long after unplugged, alot of guys live this style "cooker" in morning, he tosses couple dogs in, drives and then when heated, eats, same with supper, just time it so ya put food in early enough to be ready when you are. bit hint, use those little foil pans to line your cooker, easy clean up and can be re-used, hubby also found he can heat can of soup right in can. also, get one of those plastic storage caddies with drawers,*big lots, etc) and put in your closet, this is great to keep dry food/supplies stored away so they dont clutter and slide allover, TMC will nail ya if truck is messy, inside or out. Also, (thou will flatten some) keep pop, drinks, etc with you, my husband carries empty quart juice bottles or milk jugs and refills with water on road to drink, alot cheaper. ya can spend under 50 bucks a week with this advice verses well over a hundred eaten out. as far as bathroom breaks, well honey, sad to say, but do what truckers do, use a "pee bottle" and plan your other "duty" so its taken care of before you stop, have water so you can brush teeth, etc before bed right outside truck, etc, think of it as camping. Just please, be a clean trucker, dont toss pee bottles/trash, etc out on ground, so many do and its terriable,(makes ya wonder what some truckers live like at home...lol) it takes some adjusting, but since you will basically live in your truck, find what makes it work for you. TMC that I know of doesnt "force" you to fudge your books, but we all know truckers do it, you will feel some "pressure" to, but you need to call the shots to, and think ahead prior to load, if it will cause you to be illigal, then speak up, if you get caught fudgen, you will get caught, time your fuel stops, breaks, etc, you will get your system down, from what i gather, log your miles, not your hours for most part,(what most trainers say at least...lol) best of luck, sorry so long, hope this helps. Happy trucking!!

 

Good stuff, Southernharley.

You actually gave me some good ideas. I always try to carry my own food and avoid spending gobs of money at TS. At least with the last local, fly-by-night, no-paycheck, startup flatbed company I just worked for (and filed a wage complaint with CA DOL about). I didnt have a fridge, but I think if/when I get back to TMC (they put my name in front of the board for rehire), I'm definitely going to get one as soon as I get out of my trainers' truck.

 

That is good advice. I like doing the same thing if they let you park there overnight. There are some places that will not let you and you are not allowed to park on the street. I always carry MRE's with me. I know there not the greatest but they keep me full and if I get broke down I always have something to eat.

 

Although I have a carton full of MRE's, I only kept one in the truck for emergencies. Man, those things will bind you up something FIERCE!!


It's funny though how some folks LOVE em!

 

Meal Refusing to Exit. Being a Marine I got used to them but you need to drink a lot of water. I only have them for emergencies. I was thinking for him if he did not have a fridge or microwave it was a solution.

I am not sure if I could live without my fridege and microwave anymore. I am not as lean, not as mean, but still a Marine, but I like to be comfotable now

 

After Ten years in the Corps, I had enough of MRE's. Always loved that quote by Eleanor Roosevelt but my favorite is from Reagan when he said" Most people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a differance, the Marines don't have that Problem" I start with TMC on Monday, hope my experience is a good one, I really based my decision on a lot of things I read on this website, so thanks to everyone who post

 

i had to laugh at the MRE eat'n, my husband is retired AF, I think he ate more MRE's thru his career then normal food...and yes, he loves the dang things.....think he still has some in storage that i havent found and tossed yet....lol. but yes, likehe says, trucking is basically camping, most times without benefit of bathrooms. but i must say, his peeing in bottle over past year has big time improved his aim at home now....lmao. And as far as the "bind ya up" comment, im going to be frank here boys, as a mom and former nurses aide, ive seen it all, im not shy, but be honest, trucking alone binds ya up, between the lifestyle and food, it does a number on ya no matter what, so here is some "mom" advice, drink lots of water, hubby keeps jugs of it in truck, get some fiber in your day, my man has resorted to fiber bars, your butt will thank you, cuz as every trucker knows, hitten the "library" isnt always easy when needed and hemmroids are no picnic either, sitten alone all day in truck gets ya those! i just talked to him and he wanted to pass this along to newbies, there is alot of shippers that dnt allow parking, he will get as close as possiable and even walk up ahead of time to see how close he can park truck without risking being told to move, or, is its close to interstate/hywy, he will just sleep right at exit ramp. Truck stops and rest areas are great, IF you get there early enough, he finds that if you know you are due to stop and its nearing 8pm, might as well forget it, he pulls into nearest off ramp, pull off, etc, cuz rest area/truckstop will be full, if not over full, and he says thou its like primitive camping(he lived in fox holes sleepen on his helmet, so he can sleep/live anywhere) he says off ramps, etc, canbe quieter for sleepen. He doesnt refer to home as home anymore, he now calls home his high end hotel where he visits now and then, he refers to his truck as his "mobile home". He just came out of truck service in colombia, and there was alot of newbies, good luck to all of you!!! Happy trucking!!

 

hey all, just another try at this, figure someone from out west will read and reply eventually, we are in east TN now, loads are getten slim and none, and load pay is taking a big hit, which yes, is big issue for alot of drivers right now. we have been hearing that this area sucks worse for it thou, and have been told to go west with tmc and its better. hubby loves the loads he gets in and ot of TX area, but downside, makes it hard to get back for weekend. his FM said she had drivers out of OK(tulsa) and out that way that was still pullen good revenue and home time, any TMC drivers out that way give comment on this? we was mainly looken at OK, MO, but would like to hear from folks in AL(huntsville), AR and TX, to see if they feel their loads(pay) and home time are truely better then compared to east coast, when he is over there, he does do better, when he is back east, he sits alot and since we keep track of loads/pay each week, we have noticed that loads east have dropped near in half for revenue and sitten time has doubled. he likes trucken, but like most, says he didnt get into to sit. so if any can reply, great, and since pay is personal, feel free to reply thru PM, just need a ball park figure of take home right now in those areas and mainly from drivers out 1 or 2 weeks at a time. Our rent lease is up soon and love it here, but dont love the hit were taking, and looken at moving wit tmc to another area. thanks to all who reply. your help is appreciated. also, since tmc mainly hauls building materials, is anyone else worried about recession and its affect on trucking? with less and less being built, who else worries about how this will affect future loads/pay and such? march usually picks up, but from what we read here andhear on road, TMC drivers have been taking a hit for past year, not just thru the winter.

 

Semper Fi, brother!

Like you, I remember those long nights in the field not being able to "lose a couple pounds" if you know what I mean. Then it gets worse when your on the move. THATS when it decides it wants out. Then the cold sweats, then..... well, you get the idea.

I got in the Corps when we still had C-Rats. THAT was food!!!

 

Ahhh C-Rats. We never had those, we had T-RATS and the OLD brown MRE. The new beige ones are not bad. I remeber being on patrol and having to just stop a dig a cat hole. Some of those were rough "times".