Drivers Solutions/PAM Transport Training Log.

Okay so things last week moved fast, the instructors got up and were even coming in on Saturday to get our class moving out the door. As of Thursday (4-2-15) I completed my CDL training at Future Truckers of America which put me and well over half my class finished in under a month. Me and a few others went to the DMV with our papers and got our CDL Class A.

While I could have hung around until Sunday afternoon I decided to go ahead and head back home and start enjoying the downtime that I do have available. My Orientation date with PAM Transport is 4-20-15 which means I will probably be leaving Charlotte on or around 4-18-15 but that I will not know for sure until next Monday when they send me the information in regards to travel time.

Man it feels so good to have completed the school and be another step closer to getting in a truck and hitting the road. While I wish I had the extra funds before school to get the finger-printing done so I could have all my endorsements on the CDL, I only have Double/Triple as of now. I will have to pay a $15 fee plus the Tanker & Hazmat once they are finally finished digging through my life.

I know I'm not the best Blog keeper but here it is. If nothing else it will be a reminder to me of what happen while there at Future Truckers of America. I feel that the instruction that we received was sub-par and you can definitely see how rushed it really is but if you are here on TT and follow the High Road Training Program you will be so far ahead of most that enter any school. With the help that the program here gives plus watching countless videos on YouTube and all over the web I was more than prepared for the task and am grateful that it is here for us new comers to use.

I will try to keep an update going in the general section as things progress further Though I am not big on Blogging I do follow the forums daily to see what's going on.

Thanks again for the support that was given through this training/schooling and I look forward to sharing some stories with all of you in the future.

Sammy

Nice report. Thanks for sharing!

Great info Sammy...congrats on getting through school. I am heading to PAM when my school faxes whatever they need to. I just retired for the mil. and need to get back to work...goin crazy. Please keep us/me updated so I know what to expect when I go to Arkansas. Maybe I'll see ya around. Take er easy.

Alright Guys and gals, I have took my time off after C1 in the waiting to C2 (Tontitown Arkansas PAM grounds).

Here is what you can expect when continuing the journey there.

Left out of Charlotte NC @ 2:20am Saturday and arrived in Fayetteville AR Sunday 7:20pm. Had a 13 hour layover in Memphis TN and a 10 hour layover in Ft. Smith AR (Which is less than 1 hour from the Hotel where you stay at)

Non the less we made it to the hotel in Tontitown AR on Sunset Ave. Plenty of places to go and see here, throughout the week a couple of us made sure to get out and explore some instead of staying in the hotel all the time, stretching per say. General overview to keep things simple while offering knowledge on what to expect while at PAM.

5 day Week (Monday - Friday) Instructor will tell you to forget everything you learned in C1. Once in class on Monday they will split the class into 2 Groups. You get 3 days in class, 2 days on the range each.

(First day in Class) The class is huge (50+ people in 1 room) They will split you into 2 groups (Group 1, Group 2) Group 1 will remain in the class for the day, Group 2 will go to the "range" and start practicing maneuvers. Group 1 will begin with paperwork and listening to the instructor cram your face with tons of knowledge and you have to take test (7 by Friday, 5 done first day)

(Second day in Class) Classes switch, Group 1 is on the range, Group 2 is in the Classroom. You go over things like Safety, Hazmat , Backing, Turning, Logging and Some Map reading and meet some of the staff within PAM that you will be dealing with while employed here.

(Third day in Class) - This will be Friday, you will learn the Qualcomm system and logging on it, you will also spend the better part of 4 hours doing benefits and insurance paperwork as they insist on reading almost every single line of information to the entire class. Its very tiresome and boring ( in my opinion anyway) Best bring some red bull or something to help you stay awake.

(2 days on the Range) - This is the best part in my opinion. It is a nice sized square dirt lot with 6 trucks pulping 53` trailers. They split you into 6 groups and there is 2 people per truck at a time (The driver and the rider). You start on one side (Straight backing or 45* Backing) You pull out of the alley, left turn, stop sign, right turn, Small serpentine, stop sign, right turn, set up for your backing (Straight or 45 depending on the side you are on at the time) and get out and look, get back in and back it in. Wait for everyone to get ready and return to your starting position, back it in and change drivers and riders.

What ever you do DO NOT BACK TALK OR WALK AWAY FROM THE INSTRUCTORS WHILE THEY ARE TALKING TO YOU!!!!

You've been warned. They will not hesitate to give you a shot attitude and yell at you then send you to the front office for a "talk" with upper staff. Saw it happen with 3 different people. Then you have to write statements and I can imagine it is a pain in the ads.

Friday you will find out the name of your Mentor and where you will be going to wait for said Mentor. Some of us were lucky enough to stay kinda close and not have to take another 30+ hour bus ride to wait again. While others have upwards of 36-40 hours on the bus to get to this destination.

All in all It was a very good experience and I enjoyed if allot.

I am currently waiting on my Mentor to call me and tell me when he will be coming to get me so we can ride. It is a 2 week (14 day) ride that is mandatory to complete before doing your final testing at a PAM center to be upgraded to First Seat.

So here I stand and here is the information that I hope helps some others in their journey with PAM Transport. If you guys have any questions or need some other information please feel free to ask. Since the biggest hurdles are over now I can keep an eye on the forums again and keep things updated as I see fit.

Thank you for reading so far and I will be adding more information once I get on the road with my Mentor and giving my experience about that as well.

Good day mates. Be safe out there.

Again...great info Sammy. Did my physical/drug test Monday in Columbia. Got a call yesterday..all approved and scheduled for orientation this coming monday, 4 May. Thanks for the update...been waitin for it :) Good luck on the road. Maybe I'll see ya. Take er easy!

Any new info Sammy? Heading out this weekend for T- Town.

Sorry for delayed response Disco. Nothing new to really add so far. Got picked up by my mentor a day late which was fine. He told me first thing the rules and how he runs things. Most notable rule was that no student drives at night during the first week.

Day 1 was a short 30 min backing practice in a Loves lot, aced it.

Day 2 was a 1 hour trip in AR delivering a load.

Day 3 was the first real driving day where I got to show some real skill.

By night on day 3 we were running team and have been since. Got 2200+ miles under my belt in just over 5 days. He drives days. I run the night and its been great.

Got my first week evaluation today and he had to keep himself from giving me all 10's. Says I can't be perfect on the first evaluation. Aha

Just chilling in the Sleeper for now waiting on some time to catch up from those 2 very short days.

No problem at all! I'm on day 3 of DDP. Things are going well. Getting good practice on the range. Where did you meet up with your mentor? Hopefully I know Friday or this weekend. No issues with anyone here....know I made the right choice. Great place to start out, especially for vets. Talk to ya later. Good luck, safe travels.

Alright so it's been awhile since I updated this. Haven't had any Internet for some time but it's back now so here it is.

I upgraded on the 20th of April and have been running the road since. After 2 weeks out here I can tell that it isn't as bad as I anticipated it to be or by what others have mentioned. There are definitely the ups and downs for sure but it's trucking right? How easy could it really be?

Since I am waiting on a team driver I have been running solo and it's okay but I think I would prefer team but that we will know for sure soon (II pick him up next week sometime) . I just hope he can keep up and keep this new 2015 International looking as good as it does.

Other than the small details I don't really have any complaints about PAM other than the fact all the load assignments they have given me have been wrong. I spend a average of 1 hour on the phone and Internet looking and finding the correct places, addresses, times associated with the load. Said something to them and they told me that they didn't know where loads were going until the driver received the Bill of Laden, I call B/S. But I'm new to this, what dilo I know.

**Though it is probably Irrelevant by now, I upgraded and met my mentor in N.Little Rock AR.

A Meer 6000 miles under my belt but it's steadily climbing.

I am curious if the pay is decent? I am starting the school in Asheboro July 6th. Ibdo appreciate this post because it is the only sane, recent review of this company that I have found. Thanks for all the info.