Profile For Chris aka Shep

Hey Ms.Donna. I work for PAM now and you have nothing to worry about. Me and my girlfriend have been team driving for them since September of 2014. Like any company people have things they like about it and things they don't and for the most part the things we like outweigh the things we don't like and the things we don't like might not necessarily be a problem for you.

As for them charging you out of route miles for missing an exit is horse crap. They will charge you out of route miles for instance if you're excessively over for instance of upwards of 250-300 miles or more but they will call you first to see what's going on. I've seen people get charged for quitting and taking the truck home instead of taking it back to the terminal and then taking the bus.

We get upwards of 4500 miles a week and that's on a bad week. We usually average between 5800 and 6200 miles a week which isn't bad. Yes they do have deductions from your check but if you're working and running like you should you won't even realize it was gone. They take out the company insurance if you choose to get it, the weekly payment to pay back the amount for your schooling and they take out for an escrow account that's pretty much a deposit on the truck they give you incase you return it all messed up. You'll get that back once you turn your truck back in if nothing's badly wrong with it that they have to repair.

Our deductions come to around 127.50 and we still have money to do plenty. Yea they might take money for the first year but they have several bonus opportunities you can take advantage of also like $500 for getting your hazmat endorsement and another $500 for just keeping your hazmat for 90 days, $200 dollars for finishing school, they have a $1000 dollar team bonus if you chose to do so for the first 6 months and $10,000 split bonus if you decide to team for a year after your first initial 6 month team contract is up.

Half of our checks goes to savings and a 1/4 toward any bills we owe and the other 1/4 toward whatever we want to do while we're out on the road. First it can be a little nerve wracking getting on your own for the first time going solo but eventually you will get the hang of it and be on your way to being a seasoned veteran in no time.

Everyone we have went to trucking school with have already quit the company because they weren't patient enough to wait till things got better and they aren't in much better shape than they were while they were here at Pam. I keep in contact with quite a few of them and they might be getting better pay but they aren't getting the miles. They go hand and hand. We work closely with our DM and that is the key to being happy and having success out here in your first year. We run hard back to back runs for about 2 weeks nearly running out of hours and our third week we take it easy by getting loads that have several days to get to its destination and we stop to see and do things along our route like stopping at a mall, flea market or a movie or even a bar from time to time to entertain ourselves. Our DM usually always have our next destination and pickup time planned out so we aren't sitting around wasting time waiting on a load.

If you and your DM don't get along try to work it out but if you can't request to get someone else. The DM'S are getting new drivers on the schedule board every week so it might take a week or two for them to get you into a rotation and see what you're capable of. They aren't going to give a driver the 1000 plus mile time sensitive loads if they have a habit of being late.

So far PAM has treated us well they gave us a brand new 2015 international with an apu and we've already put over 180,000 miles on it .

MS Donna I think you will be a great driver for PAM or any trucking company because you seem to have the right attitude and I think you will enjoy yourself once you get started. We have been from Laredo,TX to California and from California to Miami Florida then from Miami Florida to Laredo then Laredo to Detroit Michigan so we have literally been from coast to coast and border to border within one week. It's an awesome experience. You will make mistakes and see things that will make you want to crap your pants but if you can make it through it the day the next day is always better. I hope things work out with you and your decision and if you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Hey Kazi, there are quite a few starter companies that's out there but I drive for Pam Transport and I don't have many complaints about them and the ones I do, you would probably find at any other trucking company out there. They have all fairly new and well maintained freightliner's and internationals. They do have some dedicated lanes and accounts but it depends on where you stay if you can get them or not. With you only having your license for only week or so you might have to go though new hire orientation and 2 weeks over the road with a trainer then you would get your own truck or they might send you through new hire orientation then give you your own truck depending on how much driving experience you had while you was at swift. I've seen them do it both ways when I was going through orientation. You would get 300 a week until you get your own truck and even then the least you would make is 500 for the first 5 weeks even if you drive 0 miles. They try to work with you if your having problems with anything and they've gotten me to my destination on "home time" everytime I've requested even if wasn't my actual home.

I know Con-Way does it and so does the Fed-Ex freight division. I used to be an operations manager for the Fed-Ex Smartpost and Fed-Ex Ground divisions and I tried to get in through the freight division to become a driver but it's extremely hard to get into and when positions open for them to train they fill up really quick. With Con-Way you should be to apply on their website and with FedEx you can also apply through their website through careers tab and search for "driver apprentice". Hope this helps.

Hey Richard I was curious to know if you had started training with CRST on the 21. I actually started training with CRST myself on the 21 in cedar rapids, IA. Studying some for the permit tests tomorrow, I have no doubt that I'll past.

I'm glad things worked out for you guys, I'd love to see how things go for you in training separate from each other. Keep us posted, out must be cool trucking with your spouse.

Hey Tim, I might be able to help you out with this. I had to take a physical with prime and when I had to see the doctor he made us squat and take about 4 steps forward, walk like a duck I'm 6'3" 235lbs and had no problem doing this. There was no test around a truck or anything. Our physical was done in 2 steps. When you fill out your paperwork you see the nurses where you take the drug test, then they test your eyesight by reading the eye board, right eye, left eye, both eyes. Then they tell tell you to distinguish colors on a board. They test your hearing by telling you to turn your head and they whisper words like January, November, and you have to repeat what they say. Then they hold two.small poles in their hands and have you pull on them. After that they have you bend over and pick up a tote of weights with about 50-60lbs in it. Then they check your blood pressure. After that we had to return to a different office later that day to see the official doctor. When he came in you had to have your shoes, socks and shirt off. He checks your eyes, ears, listens to your breathing with the stethoscope. He hits your knee to test your reflexes He holds out his hands and tell you to press down on them. Then squat and walk like a duck. After that it's the good Ole hernia check where you drop your drawers, he cuffs your boys and you cough. After that is over he'll tell you whether your qualified or not depending on your medical history. Usually 2 years if your fit for duty, maybe less if you have any blood pressure or health issues, or maybe not at all depending on if your on disqualifying medicines or you need to be cleared of something first. I hope this helps.

Hey Brett, I've always wondered how different it is in other types of trucking such as over sized heavy haul, car hauling, ice road trucking and oil field trucking than it is from your normal vans,flatbeds and tankers. I read your book and it covered the latter 3 and dump trucks. How much different is pay in these areas and what qualifications would you need to have to get into these type of jobs since they are much more specialized and more risk are taken. I'm still trying to get into regular trucking first but I thought I'd ask any way just encase there may be others wondering the same thing.

Hello Bobby, you can check out this website to get more info. FMCSA Rules & Regulations. I searched this site thoroughly to see if my medical condition would disqualify me. I didn't see anything about brain tumors disqualifying anyone unless it would cause epilepsy episodes. I'm not sure of your whole health background but I saw that you could get exemptions by filing a waiver on certain issues but you have to certify every 3 months instead of every 2 years. I hours this helps.

Hey Jason, I can attest that a suspension will hurt you and haunt you if your trying to get a job trucking. At the company I'm going to training at you have to have 12 months with a valid license with no suspensions to be considered for hire and I'm sure it's similar at other companies. My license got suspended a couple years ago for failure to pay a ticket. I took care of it as soon as I found out but unfortunately I was pulled over by a cop and found out the hard way. Even though he didn't take me to jail he gave me a couple more tickets on top of it. They grilled me several times about my suspension and I had to explain it thoroughly to several different people but they gave me a shot. I have to be very careful though because I'm at the limit of tickets I can have on my record without getting into trouble with the company.

Hey Tim, I'm in a similar boat as yourself and I'm just getting started in trying to get into the industry of trucking. I can tell you how I got my stuff set up and maybe this will help. I'm 30 single, and no kids. I gave up my place of residence and have my things in storage in the basement at my brothers house in Atlanta. As far as my car I will driving it to MS to let my mother drive it, her car is starting to be on the fritz, and my motorcycle I will be keeping at my brothers house in his garage. So if I take home time in either of those places I have something to get around town. As my place of residence I have my brothers address on my license but my important mail for bills and such I've routed to my moms home in MS so she can open it and tell me whats going on if any issues should arise. I've already talked to the people within the company I'm trying to drive for and they say it shouldn't be an issue to take home time at a location other than the place I call home. Before I considered getting into the industry, my previous job I was always off on weekends and I would travel to see certain friends in different states, so in these places I have what I call "To Go" bags which are basically just overnight bags where I would change clothes and wash n dry the old ones and put them back in the "TO Go" bag and leave them there for the next time I come through. I have about 12 of these sorted in 5 different states. Everyone on the site is always saying that the first year is always the roughest so I figure what better way to relieve some stress and tension of the job by taking a few days off in a resort in Fl and going to an amusement park or in Vegas or any other spot I choose to hit the reset button before I get back out there and get truckin. I hope this helps.