Trans Am Still

The roads in Missouri are extremely dangerous tonight. I 44 is covered in ice and numerous accidents are being reported. Someone posted a picture of the ice covered parking lot at the truck stop in Strafford -

 

Have you made it home yet, crazy driver?

 

In Avaco, Ia. For the night

 

How's it going I'm new here I start orientation for trans am on the 8th of March and wanted to know some personal experiences about trans am. Like the pros and cons of driving for them and how there trainers are for the training period

 

Alright everyone, I am feeling better .....thankful to be alive and having no more fear of post mortem canine consumption! I even made it out of the driveway today in my wimpy little jeep. Our house sits back from the main road and has a tree lined drive. There are two 90-degree turns and an uphill grade to get out. I just put it in low gear and never let off the pedal ....it was a bit of a wild ride, but we made it. It is not something that I want to repeat so I am hoping for some sunshine and warmer temps to get this mess melted off.

Welcome to our little corner of cyberworld, YouFearMe. If you have some specific questions we will be happy to try to answer them for you. The number one thing we tell drivers is DON'T LEASE. We also suggest that you read back through this thread, I am sure it will answer many of your questions. To save some time and skip some of the general chatter, there is a search feature for the thread. It is at the top of the page, just above the first post on each page, right-hand corner.....Search Thread. Training has changed dramatically since my husband first started with TransAm so I will let some of the more recent drivers fill you in on that. We also have a small blog that has some information there that may be of some help to you. The search engine for it will be in the top left-hand corner. Just type in Orientation to get you started. The blog is at www.roadmaptota.blogspot.com

We'll do our best to help and will try to provide a source of information for you as you start your career. Wishing you the best of luck!

 

I am going to think positive thoughts ....warm weather is just around the corner .....I have the summer time tiara ready to go ...

 

In Columbia NJ for the night. 70 miles away from my first drop. My preference is to not stay in urban metros. Rather stay on the periphery as the safety factor goes up and the number of lot lizards go down. Welcome to the thread YFM. I never went through TAs training, just orientation 3 days then on a yard load to Florida. But as our queen has said, we highly discourage leasing from the getgo. Learn the industry, learn how to drive your truck. Develop your trailer awareness (huge!) and enjoy the experience. Nothing like it! With reefer work you will need to have your patience cap on as you will spend hours waiting on docks to be loaded or unloaded. Sometimes an hour, sometimes 5-7 hours, and once I had to wait a whole weekend. Why reefer then? If and when the economy tanks and I am sure it will, people still gotta eat and they like to eat meat which we carry a lot of. Our sector will slow down less than dry van and flatbed. Just something to consider. Best wishes on your journey. I have been with Trans Am nine months and they have been good to me and patient with me. They let me learn to drive the truck and I made my mistakes in the beginning (banged a few trailers while learning the trailer awareness thing and learning to use my mirrors-"the best friends on your truck", they will save you EVERYTIME IF YOU USE THEM. I believe we drive the best equipped tractors in the industry. The APUs are a really big deal staying comfortable in the winter and summer as many places don't allow idling. Automatic Tranny, microfridges for your food. Sirius satellite radio built in (just order the subscription less than $20 month for music, sports, talk radio. Now, we use a fuel solution where Trans Am tells us where to fuel and how much to put in. Sometimes a boon, sometimes a pain. And an alert messaging system when you don't fuel the reefer under a temp.controlled load. I can say I have enjoyed the TransnAm experience, but at some point, I, like many others before me have moved on and I will too. TA is regarded as a starter company and the pay is comparable to other starters, but still on the lower end of the spectrum. Once you get a year or two in, you may look for greener pastures. Also the medical benefits aren't very good, though cheap. No max deductible, no out of pocket maximum. If you are younger, no worries really, but for us older guys......hope this helps.

 

In Green Bay. Was able to deliver load way early. Now I get a 34 hour restart. A little bit chilly up here.