what do i need to know about tmc roadtest

Are you experienced in flatbedding at all? If not and since you want a bit of practice with this equipment I would recommend the full two week orientation. Technically as an experienced person you would probably qualify for the one week quick orientation, but the two week will give you several hours of backing practice, several hours of road practice, and several days of load securement training, followed by 2 to 4 weeks out with a trainer. After the time with a trainer you will have your final road test.

If you are really experienced in flatbedding it is possible to attend the one week orientation, take the road test, and then get assigned a truck, but that does not sound like you.

They only care that you don't grind them. It is a 13 speed transmission, so almost everybody experienced or not needs some practice with it.

A 180 degree turn is a U-turn. I think you mean 90 degree right turn. For the road test they want you to keep in the right lane of the road you are leaving, and take as much room as necessary on the road you are entering to miss the curb.

And they don't fail you, they will mark off points for every error. You can make three or four minor mistakes and still pass as long as you were safe.

No, but you do need to prove yourself to them. If you are a goof-off you will not get any respect from the instructors. They want you to at least pretend to pay attention. They have a lot of things to cover and they dont' always take the time to hold your hand and ask you if your feelings are getting hurt.

The amount of fuel you use while idling will decrease your fuel economy. Fuel economy directly affects the points towards higher pay levels. So most of us idle as little as possible. My trainer idled all the time without any problem, except his fuel economy was very low.

It is a change. This isn't a simple or easy job. Look at it this way: The orientation is the way it is to weed out the people who aren't going to be able to handle the job. They want you to pay attention in class, on the road, and at shippers. Being inattentive around a forklift that is loading you can result in heavy things being dropped on you. Shippers, consignees, and other drivers are going to treat you like dirt and TMC checks to see if that causes you to lose your temper and perhaps lose a shipper or pull out your Uzi and kill a few people. They also measure weather you can wait doing nothing without getting mad, because they don't want people screaming at their Fleet Managers or abandoning trucks when they have to wait somewhere. If you don't want to put up with the orientation then you don't want to put up with this job, plain and simple. I would rather have it this way instead of a company that sugar coats everything until you are in your own truck and then you have a reality check. When you attend orientation you will see some of the things complained about on here, but it isn't nearly as bad as some people claim. Good luck.

 

I didn't make quite that much in my first year at TMC, but I also had trouble getting in and out of Maine for a good rate. I ended up bouncing home empty frequently on Fridays and getting loaded on Mondays. If you live in a more freight rich area you should make more no problem. Also when I wanted to be home again within 2 weeks I sometimes had to choose lower paying loads to keep me on the eastern side of the big river. You should be able to make what you want, but sometimes you will have to choose between money and home.

 

hey rawlco

tmc is on the top of my list, how is the freight down in baltimore?? Whats better long haul or regional?? Mileage or percentage pay? Ive got 6 weeks of school left and trying to make a decision on where i want to go for my first truck driving job. Any info on tmc that you can enlighten me with is appreciated

 

Freight should be decent in and around Baltimore. I crossed baltimore many times, usually once a week, so it shouldn't be a problem to get home. You will probably get good at securing steel coils from the steel mill on sparrows point. I was always slow at it because I didn't do it often enough and would have to think about it, but with practice that can be a quick load.

I liked long haul. With the regional line haul you have more loading and unloading to do, and you will stay on the I-95 corridor quite a bit which would drive me nuts. You would get home quite easily on line haul, perhaps even once during the week sometimes if you have a great fleet manager. You can always choose line haul and stay out for a weekend to get a long run if you want to get away from the east coast traffic for a while.

I did very well on percentage. There was some time last winter that I would have done better on mileage, but not enough better that I wanted to switch, and then I had a few good weeks where I made quite a bit more on percentage. Especially in your area you are going to find a lot of short 200 to 300 mile runs that will pay you as much on percentage as you would make on a twice as long mileage run. You could easily spend your week going from Baltimore to Connecticut to New Jersey, to Virginia, then Ohio before going back home. The only run there with any miles on it is to Ohio and back, the rest you would need to be on percentage to earn anything. I also one day had a load out of PA that paid ME in my paycheck $168 for only 90 miles, you can't beat that on mileage.

Well I can't think of anything about TMC that I have not posted somewhere in this TMC section. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Good luck.

 

Rawlco,

I have heard there is a good seafood buffet as you come into Maine do you anything about this location? I want to head up to Maine my wife and get some Maine Lobster. Any recommendations for that area?

Rob

 

There are a lot of tourist trap seafood places down on the coast where I 95 enters the state, but I live quite a bit north of there so I can't tell you much.

For good seafood I recommend the Weathervane chain. They have them all over ME, NH, and VT. I think they have a website. The one in Yarmouth ME at exit 17 on I 295 is one you can get a truck into during OFF PEAK hours. At noon or 5pm the parking lot is full though. There is also a Weathervane in Waterville ME where you can park at the former WalMart behind it.

 

Does TMC have much freight in or out of California? I have been running flatbed and heavy haul equipment for the last 14 years here in California, but i'm interested in getting my own rig and leasing on with TMC. Any info would be great.