Profile For Greg Phillips

I think a lot of it has to do with what you are hauling. It's a hazardous material in a tanker. Takes more skill to drive a tanker especially with a hazardous chemical in the tank. The guys near me in West Texas seem to do ok. Had one tell my dad that it was not uncommon to take home $6K per month. It can be subject to the boom/bust cycle of the oil fields though.

Free chocolate?! Why am I asking about miles? Sign me up!

Is anyone here working the tanker side? Curious what those guys are getting in miles.

Still trying to decide between tanker and flats. Living here in west Texas there are lots of tanker jobs, I just need to get some experience. I have applications in with Melton and A&R Logistics right now. I have already done the phone interview with Melton. Melton actually pays 39 cents/mi now. Their equipment seems on par with Prime and they can run a whopping 3 miles per hour faster than Prime!

The school I am attending prefers we send applications through them (I think it is a requirement from the Texas Workforce Commission or something). I'm considering submitting on to Prime on my own and just giving the school the paper copy they gave me.

I am just about through with the High Road program. Still have logbook left. My school spent about 15 minutes going over logging and showed us a 15 minute video. Guess I'm ready right?

Definitely looking those as well as McElroy. TMC was my number one until the recruiter told me that they had changed their hiring area a few months back and I am outside of it. She said to go ahead and submit an application. Said my military background may help them to overlook the hiring map. I just want to have as much info as I can to make an informed decision.

Thanks!

Thanks for the replies. That's exactly what I'm trying to do, project potential income. I know that I'm not going to come out of the gate banging out 3000 mile weeks but it is nice to know that it is possible to get there in time. I will start CDL school in a couple of weeks so I look to be starting somewhere in late March. I haven't decided on one company yet but Prime has definitely earned a hard look from me as of late.

Bud, how long have you been solo? For the flatbed division, I read that Prime requires that the drivers purchase some equipment. About what does that total out to? I wish I could have done that same with some of the chuckle heads that have worked for my unit. Maybe then they would take better care of it. I think some of these guys could tear up an anvil with a plastic hammer.

Just curious what the current Prime drivers are getting average for miles each week? Anyone here work in the flatbed or tanker side? Any idea what those guys are averaging per week? I found a website saying that it was 2500 to 3000 for all divisions but that wasn't on the Prime site so I am reluctant to believe that. When I use the link to Prime's site from that one it shows average pay per week but that wasn't by division. Doing the math based on the rates the recruiter gave me that puts it at 2200 to 2700/wk. Sound closer?

I am really interested in the flatbed side because it would get me out of the truck and moving around. I've spent the last 7 years flying a desk for the Air Force and miss the physical activity required of me when I actively worked aircraft maintenance. I am also considering tanker for the experience to get on with some of the local crude hauling companies in my home town.

Thanks

Hello everyone. Been a member here for a while now and just now getting set up for my career post military. By the time my retirement date rolls around next year I will have served over 22 1/2 years. After that much time in, I have learned to live out of a bag with the many TDYs and deployments I went on. I've been in a steady position for several years now and have not had to travel very much. I have come to the realization that I miss the traveling which is why this career is appealing to me.

I currently have a CDL-A but have the air brake restriction. I got while I was helping my father-in-law out moving equipment for his construction company using a 1-ton dually and a 32' gooseneck. There is a training school here in Abilene that I have been speaking with since I will have to do that to be marketable. This school has had several students that were picked up by some of the larger name companies.

I know that a career as driver is not all sunshine and rainbows. But then again, some of the places I've been to aren't so pleasant either. I have an amazing wife that supports me along with an extended family (parents and in-laws) that lives in the same town so I definitely have some back up on the home front.

I am leaning towards flatbedding as I would like to do something more physical. The years driving a desk have added more than a couple of pounds to the frame. That and there is some guy on here selling some sort of flatbed crack.

One of the first companies I looked into was TMC. I read the blog someone on here wrote about their training and have looked at every You Tube video I can find about them. They seem like a top notch company with well maintained equipment. I am leaning heavily towards them at the moment but am still looking for information on some other companies.

McElroy Truck lines has a terminal a few hours away from me in Ennis TX and it looks like they have a fleet that runs the southwest. Again, looks like well maintained equipment, say they will get you home on weekends and I can't find any negative reviews that carry any weight. I say that because every company I search for leads me to that OTHER site that everyone here warns us about. If someone had constructive negative comments that laid out specifics, maybe there would be something to listen to. Seem like all the negative comments are laced with profanity, nothing concrete to warn someone off and turns into everyone chiming in about how company X screwed over his buddy Jim-Bob. Never anything specific. Someone even posted on one of those threads that they wish they would get the WHOLE story for a change. Surprisingly enough most of the reviews were wait for it...positive.

Cypress Truck Lines is another I'm looking at. They have a terminal here in Abilene and run regional so there is the opportunity to make it home some weekends. I have seen some of the equipment they have in the yard here and while some looks a little worse for wear, they do have some newer ProStars and Peterbilts coming in and out.

If anyone has any information about these companies, please pass it along. I do plan on stopping by one of the 2 truck stops here in town to see if I can find some drivers to talk to so I can get their views. As I get closer to my last day I will be speaking with recruiters to find out what they have to say about their respective companies.

I have also read Brett's book, the career guide and just about every blog or article on this site. So I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of what to expect. I also went through some of the High Road training when my dad was studying for his HAZMAT (he's a truck mechanic and does some driving for the construction company he's with from time to time). From what I've seen, that may be the best study program ever. I wish I had something like that for some of our Airmen that are studying for their career development courses (they are books that have information about their jobs, different airframes and such that they are tested on). Failure there is a very big deal. There is commercial software available but it doesn't hold a candle to the High Road program.

Well, sorry for the novel. Just wanted to introduce my self and do my due diligence in getting all the info I can so I can choose the company that fits my family and I best.

Thanks,

Greg

Wow, you don't suffer fools do you Guyjax? Jk.

What gets me about this is that instead of Saying "sorry about that guy, looks like the computer system isn't up to date. I'll talk with the people that handle this and get it updated. You have a safe trip" , she goes and makes a FALSE accusation about you. Good on you for recording it to CYA.

But I guess things are the same all over. One of our senior NCOs got "spoken to" because he was giving spoons to the Airmen that he felt were asking questions that they shouldn't be (I.e. Things they should already know or things they could easily look up on they're own). When they asked him what the spoons were for he said it was so that they had one issued to them since they are always being spoon fed. They didn't care for that and threatened to file a complaint with the inspector general.

I read a bumper sticker a while back that said "Common sense is so rare that it should be considered a super power"