TransAm Trucking, Inc. - Olathe, Ks.?

Spent last night at the rest area, mm 401. Nice quiet place it was. Left out @0745 this morning. Picked up my load in Schuyler, NE and am in Avoca, IA as I type. Got a 2 drop load.
Guess your handling things ok now that your on your own.

 

Now that I'm on my own I'm seeing all the stuff my coach didn't teach me. It's both easier and harder without him here. And I'll be happy to get a Tyson load that doesn't have a conflict with the temp on the BOL hehe. I'm right off ot I-70 in Kansas and about to head to I-35 down to Oklahoma and then Texas for two walmart drops. Can't wait till I get some paychecks under me bigger then the training checks so I can pay bills and start to outfit the truck. Any suggestions for stuff I should get?

-+

 

negativepositive
hopefully i will be heading to roadmaster in a couple weeks and then to TA in tx for there training. i already have there prehire packet but not sure i want to sign and send anything into a company yet. can you give me any heads up on there training. as what to expect and what to avoid lol.i tried sending you a message but my post count is to low.any help is appreciated.

 

-+, a cb for sure and a microwave. Trk stop food is expensive. Between dry goods like soups, chilis, and other nukeable foods and what you can put in the fridge, you'll save a boat load of money. A tv and dvd player would also be nice when you can afford it. I use mine when sitting at meat plants and doing resets. Course I also have a dish for those times. For city areas, you can buy a out door ant. mount it on a painter's pole, and raise it above the trk to not get interference from all the trks going by. In Indiana now. Kind of cutting things close again but its not as bad as Cheyenne was.

 

save up as much money as you can comfortably, you know the rainy day scenario.

 

As catfish replied... bank as much as you can. When you're starting, its important to be conservative in your spending. First, its very easy to blow every cent you have in the truckstops... they're expensive - much more so than everywhere else. But more importantly, you're subject to the yearly freight cycle in reefers - just like the rest of us.

In late spring, shipping picks up and goes gang busters until July. It drops off a bit for awhile, but picks up again as fall approaches. Sometime in the fourth quarter - as shipping for the holidays starts to fall off - its going to get real slow. Until late spring. You need to have some money in the bank to deal with that.

The best way to save is to not spend - and definitely keep track of any advances you take. You should learn to cook in the truck, and buy food at WalMart... eating in the truckstop every night will bankrupt you quickly. Its also very unhealthy considering that we don't get much exercise either. So spend a little on something you can use to heat food up, and store it. A small fridge works best for storing, but the Coleman coolers work well too. A Burton stove or crock pot? I have a microwave and small electric frying pan - it helps if you have AC power in the truck from an inverter. See also the thread...

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...m-new-drivers/23149-cooking-in-the-truck.html

Also, if you're going to buy something relatively expensive - say a TV - find a way to buy it somewhere besides a truckstop. TVs run $250 to $300 in the truckstop, and half of that at Walmart or BestBuy.

 

Yea lucky for me I'm pretty well outfitted in the truck, all I can think to need is an internet hotspot, and new CB. I've got pretty much everything else on your lists. Well after three or four days of the AC belt on my TriPak squeeking like mad before it finally caught it up and decided to break on me. Brurned clean through the belt and threw it as I parked in Pauls Valley, OK to break before delivering to WalMart. Lucky for me though TransAm put me up in a hotel since it's 105 degrees down here. Got up at 2am and made my delivery, drove to Texas for the 2nd stop and am now sitting in another hotel. I'll make the delivery tomorrow morning early then goto a ThermoKing in Dallas and get a new belt installed before getting another load. I'm hoping to get a quick run so I can get it on this paycheck so I'll get a nice rent paying check next week hehe.

Psycohunter, as far as what you'll learn at RoadMasters, they will tell you what you need to know to get a CDL and some basic skills. Learn what you can, and get used to lane controll in the truck. Hopefully you'll know the basics of backing and trailer controll by the time you get out of there. TransAm orientation\training isn't hard at all, just alot to remember. You start on Wednesday and by Friday or Saturday you should be out with a trainer in their truck. Hopefully you'll get a good trainer, mine wasn't too bad but I've heard alot of stories. If you and your trainer aren't working out just call the # TransAm gives you and you can hook up with another trainer. You'll drive around for 3 weeks learning the ropes and more backing, mostly the paperwork and Qualcomm codes you'll be useing every day. Then you'll come back on a Monday, or the weekend if you're lucky, for a week of testing. You'll turn in the homework they gave you in orientation. Do 3 tests, a road test where you call out all the signs you see, DO NOT miss a bridge height or you fail instantly, a general knowledge test and a backing test. They will teach you how to back and it amazingly work. I learned more in the 3 days of backing then I did in the month I was at RoadMasters. It's really not hard at all to pass these tests so don't sweat it.
Let me know here if there is any questions you have, I'm sure between Panhandle Flash and myself we can answer most everything.

-+

 

well T/A called if they can get with my last employer if think i have a JOB.but getting up with them will not be easy i always have a hard time getting intouch with them even if i did not want money lol..I Might have to knot on his door to get him to fax the stuff back to TA, but what ever i have to do i will. At least i don't have to go with CRST......cant wait to pass you on the road!

 

-+, right there with you on the APU. Mine has quit also but don't know why. All its doing is blowing air. Unfortunately, I'm not near a freaking motel!!!! Luckily tho, I'm also not in a big, concrete, trk stop, parking lot. Hopefully I'll get this fixed soon.

Had an 0600 appt. this morning, that had 15 pallets of combo, and it took them 4 freaking hrs to unload!!! Sigh.

 

Oh yea, am at my final now, supposed to be an 0700 appt, 2nd trk here, and oh BTW, We'll call you at 0430 in the morning with a door on ch 2. Answer or lose the door. GRRRRR, might be worth it to me to lose it.