Thanks for the encouraging words! And yeah the miles have been pretty mediocre lately, but the busy season is just about here. So the pay should steadily increase until winter rolls back around

Amen

Does TMC hire out of California????

I’m thinking of going there to start my flat bed career, I have 5 years experience Otr experience no flatbed though do they pay pretty good ?

@@brandonchambers45 Good enough for me at the time. 3 weeks out 4 days home. You might check with current drivers before going.

Thank you!

Thanks! Good luck on your journey

Yes good point! I use trucker path and an atlas to verify/ modify the route that google maps gives me

Thanks for the comment! And no Melton doesn’t have team positions as far as I know. And I liked the oilfield because I was closer to home, but I didn’t like the hours. We serviced rigs/ drill sites that run 24/7 and you have to be ready to go at anytime they need you. And work was slow while I was there so I didn’t have the luxury to pick and choose what jobs/ times I wanted to work

I don’t think I’ve been to that one, but I can imagine it’s bad lol. Nothing involving a semi truck is fun in Houston 😂

All the trucks at melton are automatic. But I do recommend you get your CDL in a manual transmission truck. That way you aren’t restricted in any way and you’ll have more opportunities if you decide to drive somewhere else

Sorry to hear that man! This job is very seasonal, I just learned that this winter lol. The miles were terrible. I think it’ll be worth it to stick it out tho, summer is when we get a ton of miles because construction and manufacturing pick up a lot and the demand for flatbed increases

@@ianelbert yeah i hope so

Have the loads started to pick up? Or is it still dry over at melton?

See you there 🫡

I was thinking the same thing lol that thing looks 70 foot long

yooo i start my cdl training on may 6

Good luck man! I finish CDL school Friday and road test that Monday 🦾🦾

The wide angle lens on my phone made look a lot longer lol, it’s a normal 53’. Good luck!

I actually don’t remember for sure, but I think it’s 1-3 months. That would definitely be a question that someone in recruiting could answer though

Mostly similar loads. Also a few of the shippers tell you how many straps and how they want it.

A lot of loads are similar, but they’ll all follow the same rules. You must secure for the total weight of the load, or have at least one strap every 5 feet. Each strap or chain equals 4k lbs of securement. There’s some more nuance to it, but those the most basic rules, you’ll pick up a lot more details and information over the next few days and with your road trainer

Also I forgot to ask do you recommend Melton and is there other companies that I should look into with no experience and lastly could you take a weapon with you in the cab I asked a instructor from Melton they came in to my school yesterday and he said technically you can't but if you gets stopped they cannot search your cab with out a warrant so do you know if drivers typically carry a gun in their cab? I'm just curious

The decision to go OTR is gonna depend a lot on your life circumstances, and goals for your trucking career. It’s an amazing opportunity for someone to save a lot of money really fast, but it’s going to be difficult if you have a young family or people who depend on you to be around. You’re young tho so I’d say you should go for it if it’s something you want to do, and cut as many expenses out of your life as possible. You can live on roughly $1k/ month if you’re otr with no expenses, which could allow you to save $3-$4k/ month. As far as weapons go, Meltons policy does not allow drivers to carry firearms on the truck

The best you can do is keep your situation exactly how it is for as long as possible. If you keep your bills low and stay out of debt then you’ll be able to save almost all the money you make while driving. You can live off roughly $1k/mo if you’re otr with no bills, and if you make even just $4k/mo then you’re able to save $3k a month. Do that for just under 3 years and you have $100k. If you invest the money along the way you’ll likely get there even faster, so by 25ish you could have a really solid financial base and head start on most people your age. That’s a perfect scenario though, there will be distractions and things that come up along the way. But the best advice I can give you to stack money fast is have a plan written out, stay disciplined with your money, and work as hard as you can to learn and perform the skills necessary to earn that money.

Buy groceries don’t eat at truck stops. If u eat out at truck stops ur going to be dropping 300-400 a week on food

Yessir, 8 days of learning at the Tulsa terminal and 3 weeks with a road trainer

@@ianelbertAfter you complete your 1 week of orientation and your 3 weeks with the trainer, does Melton let you go home briefly to get the rest of your stuff before you set out in your own truck? I’m only bringing a backpack and a duffel bag with me initially since I’ll be sharing a cab with the trainer. I have plenty of other stuff I’d like to bring though once I get my own truck.

@@mattdarwin6497 yeah once you get your truck they’ll get you a load going home if you ask them to