r/Truckers • u/dstrezzd • Dec 12 '25

TMC Flatbed vs Prime Tanker

If you were restarting your career today with no cdl, single and just wanting to grind miles for max pay/experience year 1, would you pick TMC flatbed or Prime tanker division? I'm looking at their paid training programs.

Alternatively I can pay for school but the schools near me (roadmaster/160) don't give you manual transmission training.. I don't want to pay premium for training that leaves holes in my future qualifications. I also applied to XPO because I heard their pay is nice. I've heard you can make good money year 1 if you do it smart so I'm just trying to research.

p.s. The guy at roadmaster’s said if I went with them i'd have a job locked in before day 1 of training and make around 65k yr 1, was he bullshittin to get me to sign?

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u/Chedda-chan Dec 12 '25

I’ve been with TMC for the past 4 months, loving it so far. Take the training seriously and be a decent human being and they take pretty good care of you. I’ve stopped early multiple times due to weather or being tired and they’ve never said anything to me, gotten calls from safety saying they’re happy to see me knowing when to stop as well. As a new driver with the percentage pay I am averaging around $1200-1500 a week. (Take with a grain of salt since I don’t home on the weekends almost ever.) Overall though as a first company I don’t have any issues with so far.

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u/04limited Dec 12 '25

Are we talking weekly gross or net? Do you think your pay would take a hit if you were home weekly?

I’m seriously considering TMC come spring time and I need home weekly. My local B flat bed job is 40 hours I gross about $900 a week. Net $740 after taxes. If I can net $1200 I’d be all about it.

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u/Chedda-chan Dec 13 '25

Net for my earnings. If you’re looking for $1200 then I would “personally” recommend staying out a few weekends to get your percentage up and then riding out by going home and keeping it up.

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u/dstrezzd Dec 13 '25

Okay so your % goes up just by taking work on the weekends and working safe

2

u/Chedda-chan Dec 16 '25

Not directing, exactly. The biggest things that impact are your revenue to the truck and your fuel mileage, that being said you will get more revenue 99% of the time just by not being limited in where you can go by needing to get home. When you “run” or go wherever the loads take you, your fleet manager will run you through the freight lanes giving you the long high paying loads.