TMC Newbie Pay

I know everybody wants to be helpful with this A/F leak issue but holy ##### guys, lets get on topic. This aint no garage forum, TMC is neglecting their equipment, putting their good drivers out of miles and money cause a "lead tech" with his CAT certified degree says to put a bucket under the truck over the weekend... W T F ?!? I had 2 do that 15 degree morning A/F fill up myself a few times, it aint fun. I kept saying something to my FM about it and sent in the maintenance macro (19 I think) so the next time it went in for service they fixed it. I reminded the service people when I got to the SC terminal about the leak and a few other things that needed fixing so they knew how much work they needed to do. Took em 2 days, but got it fixed. Bottom line, if you want something fixed, you gotta keep talking about it to your FM.

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease"

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and sometimes the squeaky wheel get replaced...

 

back on topic, I have been bringing home between $500 and $700 running between 2000 and 2500 miles a week on mileage. only got 2000 miles on 4 loads last week, but got home at noon on Friday. haven't really been running that hard. should be a productive week this week since I'm staying out.

really my only complaint this week is WHY for the love of GOD do they call me when I'm off/at home. hey we know you have a 700 mile load for Monday, a guy wants your load, his is 300 miles, want more time at home? sure just what I want to do after getting home on a Friday, go back to work and swap trailers so I can have 4 more hours off on Sunday. they called me all week when I was on vacation too.

 

So what"s the facts and the actual pay for a TMC driver per week in the first year? I am a rookie in the industry and I have read the TMC post listed below named TMC Newbie Pay but I did not read any cold hard facts in the post about pay. One post stated they made $650 dollars per week after taxes. Another driver in another post says 2650 miles, on a good week and made a little over $1000 on mileage.

Is there any one who works with the company that can give a rookie the cold hard facts on what I can expect pay per week will be with this company on average in the current economy?

Thank you and god bless.

 

It is literally different for EVERYONE. Nobody is going to be able to tell you what you will make. The best you can do is find some people that have posted their earnings that live in your neck of the woods. There are to many variables from driver to driver to make an accurate specific guess at how much you will make. No matter what you are going to be diving into the pool and the best you can do is hope the temperature of the water is comfortable, no amount of dipping your toes in the water is going to really tell you how it's going to feel when you just dive right in.

 

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Thanks cpl. I have been thru the forums over and over and finally realized there is a large variance and decided to just put my nose to the ground and work as hard as I can. We will see how it comes out when I get a paycheck with my name on it

 

Thanks CPL. Are there any TMC drivers from the Nashville area that can answer some questions from a rookie. Thanks

 

oh, that was $1000 before takes. I take home about 67% of what I make.

can't speak for percentage, I get one or two productive weeks a month on milage, this week it was all short, stupid 375 mile runs. I made about $800 on 1952 miles this week, that was with one oversized load. made $1200 the week before.

this might help more, I made $39,640 at TMC last year, that was when the economy went to hell, with things picking up, I'd say $45,000 a year is reasonable to start if you run hard, or an average of $865 a week, maybe more. so many variables.

 

sdelong,

I live not very far from NashVegas, just a bit east of there. I've been w/TMC for 2 yrs. I will give you some cold hard facts from MY last year. [YMMV=Your mileage may vary]

Days on the road: 286
Days home: 79*
Gross earnings: 38k (approx)

*Those "days home" are calculated based on which bed I slept in. Most are NOT full days at home.

Use your own math, but mine works that out to a bit better than $700/wk gross. [recommend you claim at least 2-3 dependents if single; more if you have them. (if you use the tax laws wisely, irs will still owe you $$)].

Also recommend you switch to mileage pay asap. Your 1st 6 mo.-1 yr. you'll probably be better off on the percentage scam plan.

About the best I can hope for is to get home late afternoon Fri. and leave late morning Sun. Lots of times I only have time to stay home for 34 hrs. If I can't be home for that long... well, I just don't even bother with going home.

With only one exception (and that "mistake" was corrected the very next payday), I can say they have been very accurate w/my pay checks. My only complaint is, that since they've taken the Pre-pass away, I have to wait sometimes 3 weeks for my toll reimbursements.

There are many things about this company that displease me. BUT I am new to this industry, and I am still wet behind the ears (so to speak); this is my first job driving a truck.

While I was born at night, it was not LAST night; so I prefer to not hear someone tell me tell me how hard it's raining, while they are pi$$ing on my leg. [there MUST BE better driving jobs out there]

All the above being said... I've read & heard many other stories from new (& not so new) drivers that are much worse off than what I've "gotten used to". For this reason, I think that there are definitely much worse places to get your first few years of experience at.

My recommendation is that you use TMC, just like they are using you (cheap labor), get your 1st couple years experience, then move on to a more lucrative job.

I will say that I found their training to be top-notch. If you don't know a thing about about flat-bedding, they will teach you how to do it the right way; IF you'll pay attention during the orientation. At least that was how it was for me. I've heard they've changed the trainer, but I'd still expect a new driver will get VERY good securement & safety training.

You MAY have to stay after them to get your equipment repaired/replaced when needed. It seems to me they are slacking in that area lately.

Well, I've covered more than what you asked for, sdelong, but if you have more questions, I'll be happy to try to answer them.

Good luck to you.

 

Well, that might be a pipe dream, but that's what my pipe's dreaming about.