Paschall Truck Lines
Paschall Truck Lines (PTL Trucking) is headquartered in Murray, Kentucky and have been a leader in the freight logistics industry for the Ohio Valley region as an irregular route carrier for over 36 years. The company specializes as a truckload, dry-van freight carrier, utilizing 1,150 company-owned tractors and over 3000 trailers for their day-to-day operations. They offer full truckload (FTL), less than truckload (LTL) and intermodal service across North America.
PTL Company History
The company has created a strong niche in the transportation industry- to the tune of $220 million in revenue annually. That includes the 2008-2012 era with the OTR trucking industry took a huge down turn. For anyone interested in a trucking career, Paschal Trucking Lines, INC is about as good as you could hope for.
With their state of the art technologies, customers are able to track their good with satellite communications in real time.
My Experience With Paschall Truck Lines, Inc.
If you are a a recent driving school graduate and PTL has accepted you for orientation, keep these tips in mind before you attend your training:
1. Transportation: Drive your own personal vehicle to their headquarters for orientation.
2. Socailize: While in training and at the hotel for those days, socialize with as many other new guys as possible and find someone that you are going to be compatible with personality wise and agree with each other to be partners for the phase 2 part of your new journey. This step cannot be overstated. If you get stuck with someone you cannot be in close quarters with for days on end, your career with PTL will be over before it even begins.
3. Don’t Be Sensitive: Do NOT take anything personally such as comments made by fleet managers or getting stuck waiting for them to find an empty trailer for hours. Find the nearest truck stop, take a shower, do your laundry, get something to eat and don’t sweat the wait, take a break. Only use the phone when absolutely necessary to speak with them. Try to just follow the instructions on the Qualcom, grit your teeth and get through your training.
4. GPS: Get a Rand McNally GPS with some of the money you made while with your phase 1 trainer. They are $300+ and worth every penny for finding truck stops and getting you to your destination when the Qualcom loses signal. They also estimate time of arrival and/or hours to get to destination, You will have to adjust for breaks, potty stops and switching with partner, but this device will be your best friend, I promise.
5. Pay Your Dues: If you are going with PTL, there is probably a reason. Keep that in mind and don’t get frustrated and give up. Push your way through, don’t be argumentative and realize that you are just paying your dues.
This doesn’t have to be your permanent home, but you need to get the experience and miles under your belt in order to move forward in the future. This can be a very hard adjustment, push your way through it and get in a solo truck before you determine that it’s not right for you.
6. Pick The Right Trainer: After orientation, you will feel like you are in a hurry to get a trainer and get started. I urge you to talk with a few and ask some questions before jumping in their truck. Do not let them tell you that you have to sleep on top bunk while they are driving!
Other things to keep in mind before you get started, is that you will be doing most of the driving during phase 1 so try to make sure you drive during the time of day that you feel most awake. If you feel like your trainer is trying to show off by riding bumpers in heavy traffic and is putting people’s lives at risk by driving dangerously, be prepared to get it on video with your phone and call it in to safety.
It may be uncomfortable, but this is a profession and those type of drivers do not belong on the roadways. You could be saving innocent lives in the future. Most of the trainers are very good people, be honest with them and make sure you speak to a few before jumping in.
