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@@killcharge4338 Melton training was 3 weeks when I was there. They spoils be able to get you up to speed

@@grovesiderabbit crazy!

@@JesusHernandez-cq7yl yeah. I believe it was 100 bucks when I was there

@@Lonewolf_1776 still great friends

@@Tytrades I’m just glad to be out of the industry. Good luck on your next adventure

@@batman6749 I like to enjoy life and not work it away.

@@RetherfordFam19 per diem

@@rodmenzie6159 not a clue. I’ve been gone over a year

Either be okay with losing it or undo the tarp/securement and take it with you.

@aKEPsoul damn thas crazy they won't pick up the tab... souns like u gotta keep buying... its a tax write off yeh but this is w2, im sure equipment get expensive

@@Jerm_tha_truckdrivah yeah it’s wild to me. The whole industry really just screwed over drivers. Hence why I’m no longer in it

​@Jerm_jking510 nothing I's a tax write off. A tax write off just means money you spent stupidly and will never get back. Something being a write off doesn't make it better

​@aKEPsoul what are you doing now?

Nice man! I hope you're doing well. Sounds like you're enjoying ABF. I'm enjoying the change of pace and new industry so far. Working from home is amazing.

@@aKEPsoul awesome! You’ll go far whatever you choose to do! I’m home everyday here at ABF beats OTR by a long shot!

lol this clown tryn to recruit

I don’t remember lol. The picture is also very small so I can’t see what you look like.

Its all good brotha. Im sure it will come to ya. Have a good one. ​@aKEPsoul

That’s is something I don’t know. I do not believe they do. It drivers do go through Canada occasionally

Thanks man! Life’s going swell!

Per diem pretty much makes up the difference.

Maverick is a flatbed that hires new drivers I believe. So does TMC. The pay for trucking your rookie years is relatively standard across the board. Best of luck!

@@aKEPsoul yeah that I do understand that there’s a certain amount of time you gotta put behind the wheel before you get the better jobs. The goal for me would be to get over six figures and I assume you probably need to be three years in before a job that pays that well, I hear Walmart pays their drivers that much. I really don’t want to do flatbed personally because well I’m lazy and don’t want to mess with it, especially during inclement weather.

@@Thecryptocowboy flatbed isn’t for everyone. That’s for sure.

Thanks a ton! I’m not longer in the industry.

I have 0 clue about this.

Think with a little experience - air gas, greyndake (however thats spelled) and UPT.. after that maybe can make connections and get in with the good ole boys or loves around the refinerys

Nice. Best of luck!

How long did it take to get hired?

Thanks a ton. I couldn’t see myself doing it long term. Stay safe

@@aKEPsoul I worked for Melton back in January of 2017, no thanks! Money comes & goes, enjoy life instead.

Truck is ass

Oh nice man. Trucking relies heavily on the economy. Shippers and receivers don’t respect your time. Something as simple as a traffic jam can ruin your hours of service. Truck stops get old quick. Finding parking is a pain if you try to park up after 5pm. Flatbed specially? Tarping sucks most of the time. I remember getting a load at a lumber mill in Louisiana. They wanted me to tarp it, but I couldn’t on their property. So I had to go to the closest scale to weigh. I was over weight on an axle. So now I have to decide to go back 45 minutes, undo some securement, have them take something off and redo the securement or just throw my tarps on and take the load (very short 300 mile run) and risk the ticket and points. So I chose the latter as it was getting dark and rain was forecasted. Even though the shipper wanted it tarped, as soon as I left the property, the load is my responsibility. So if it was damaged from the rain, it was my ass. Got it tarped (also didn’t log it because melton doesn’t know how to make appointments correctly.) and was back o the road early. Long story short. I had to 3 tarp a load and undo with less than 12 hours later. All while worrying about smaller stuff. After a while that gets to you There are a multitude of reasons but honestly, I just couldn’t see myself doing it in 5 years. It was fun for a while. Just got old.

@@aKEPsoul I appreciate the input. Yeah it looks like the situation could go south in a hurry when things line up against you. I have heard that you can have a more stable sleep pattern running flat bed vs reefer and dry van, is that true?

@@leagueofotters2774 that is true but it can also depend on the said variables KEP mentioned. Flatbed can be tough work. I haul tankers and I find it enjoyable. If you haul hazmat tanker you can make good money; 100k +. However, you will need some experience. They want usually a minimum of 2 yrs unless you find someone to take a risk on you. If your background and MVR are clean and you have a good work history you can almost pick any job you want at the 3-5 yr mark. Your first year will be nothing but learning and take it as that. If you make over 60k you can call that a win; some luck out and make more. Also, if you are single and no kids you may love trucking. If you have a wife you can take her with you if she wants to travel. You can make trucking what you want but it is a HUGE lifestyle change. I enjoy it but I am more of a homebody with a kid and wife. I have missed a lot at home but luckily have a good wife that understands I bring home the bacon. Get ALL of your endorsements and no automatic restriction also. There are so much more to take about but I hope that helps. I am also looking to jump into IT from trucking at 42 if that tells you anything. Good luck.

@@leagueofotters2774 that’s a good question. I don’t know a lot about those areas. What I do know is refers have a lot of night time deliveries/pickups. However, you can nap while they load without having to go secure/tarp. Both have their pro/cons for sure.

I had a dumb Dm she made me drive home for thanksgiving and made me fly back and told me they will not refund me for it they’ll tell me they will then they let me go the same fkn day I complained after the ten thousand time

Associate would be a good start for sure. I also recommend getting your A+ certification. Start networking now. Try to form professional friendships. Knowing someone will help a ton. At least getting you to an interview. Best of luck!

Appreciate your input! I will definitely make sure I get the A+.

You might also want to look into learning Python as well. Network is going to be more and more automated and Python is a good language to learn for that. I have a CS degree and have been in IT for over two decades and am looking to go trucking. EDIT: Also, instead of an A+ you may want to look in to Network+ or better yet your CCNA. Build a home network with some of the network kits you can find for sale. The most important thing would be however to get experience in the field, getting an entry level network eng position can be very, very difficult.

Best of luck! I had the same concern. It wasn’t too bad man. You’ll get plenty of seat time! Just take it slow

That’s tough! Hope things get better!

Has it picked up recently or is it still dry out there I was planning on going to melton I just recently graduated cdl school.

You request days. So if you wanted Saturday and Sunday off, you would have to request Friday unless the policy has changed. Basically go home Friday (more than likely late) then come back Monday. That would count as 3 days.

You also have to request the days 2 weeks in advance or 3 weeks of you live certain areas like West coast or northeast

If you come with previous flatbed experience, I think it’s only a week long with a different schedule. However, I know the training program has gone through a restructure, so a lot of this information is dated.

I still have friends there and that is what I’ve been hearing as well. Hopefully they can figure it out.

Nice best of luck man.

Howd it go?

How did it go bro

good luck bro im planing to do the same in 2months i just gotta drop a few pounds lol

I’m not sure. They have changed up their process

But I’d say around 10-15%

Just depends on how much hair you have on the head.

I try to be pretty organized. Stay safe out there!

In theory, unlimited. But understand you have to work 7 days straight for 1 day off. Also, these are not paid. You get 7 paid vacation days days after you’re there 1 year. I believe at 2 years it goes to 14 paid vacation days and 21 at 5 years. (Could be wrong on the timeline) So say you work everyday for 40 weeks. You would have 40 days off (unpaid).

Thanks man

This semi loads are sometimes difficult to get secured with the way they layer things (or just throw things) on the bed. I just realized I never posted part 2. That was the worse part having to untarp/retarp in the rain/mud etc. man, I still remember getting to the house and being like this job is not what I want to be doing in 5 years lol. I’m not working in IT remotely and loving it.

Thanks a ton! I plan to resume this series once my schedule calms down. Took a long vacation then I’ve started school and a new job. Hope melton has treated you well so far

@@aKEPsoul It’s my first company in trucking and so far they’ve been great, I’m also on a journey for multiple streams of income so I admire the work ethic and appreciate it.

@@JustJV108 keep grinding my man!

Ask away! I’ll do my best to answer. Some things may have changed

@aKEPsoul I was hoping to find out if Melton has a CDL class for newbies? I have no cdl experience but I read on the site that they have a OJT program for veterans. So I was wondering if that meant the have a CDL class I can attend

@@moschvids5694 they don’t have a class to get your CDL. The OJT program is a VA apprenticeship that basically gives you a stipend ( to help financially at first as you won’t be making a ton early on) it starts at 100% (depending on benefit eligibility) and drops 20% every 6 months. You would need to have a class A CDL before going to Melton. Being a veteran, I’d recommend troops into transportation. That’s what I did. Good program and the go bill pays for it.

@aKEPsoul Hey man. I wanna say thank you a lot for telling me about Melton and Troops into Transportation. I start the class in April at Fort Hood

@@moschvids5694 that’s awesome man. There was an instructor there named Dustin. He was awesome.

switching trailers with another driver