What kind of equipment does Melton provide for securing? - And other questions!

You can get extra chains at terminals...especially Sunnyvale. Kenneth will just tell you to "go get one outta the barrel". You just have to watch your weight with extra equipment.

You swap trailers too much to really have a mark on your trailer. Its easy tho--each stake pocket is 2 feet from the next. just count out 22.5 feet (first stake pocket is usually about 6 inches from front). The axle set up on the 53 is the same as the 48 so yeah, the center point will be the same.

(and if you wonder why 22.5 feet, the center point is from front to middle of rear axle, not end of trailer )

 

Noggin, I have also been checking out Melton. I noticed you quit there, would you mind saying why ?

 

My truck has 14 chains and I keep 2 ratchet binders and 12 snappers. 22-24 straps some are always in my sidebox as I find problems with them and put them out of service. Like Noggin said Sunyvale and Tulsa are great places to swap out bad stuff and get more stuff. I don't try in Birmingham cause I am always there after hours ,and in El Paso you have to listen to too much speech to make it worth the trouble.Laredo you can swap out stuff but the equipment guy down there is hard to pry extra stuff off of , makes you sign forms and stuff probably because of the whole mexican exchange thing and Melton controlling inventory.

I do 21.5 to 22 feet so get a few more lbs on my drives , otherwise with a perfect load my spreads can be 37000 , the 53 centerpoint and 48 should be a little different but not enough to make a big difference , even though the axles are the same you have more tail on a 53, which moves its centerpoint up towards the front a tad. I had one the other day that the center point is marked at about 27 feet , I wonder how many drivers have got tickets with that thing. You have to waych loaders anyways so its better to learn the trailers , no matter how many times I put gloves in both sides stake pockets marking my center point for the loaders( and tell them what its there for ) I still have to have them move it which they throw a fit about but I dont care its gonna be right or they can have it back. hello nogg I got sent from Laredo to Rancho Cucamongo , .....have her call me I will put on a Noggin Wig and she wont know the difference!!

 

lol cannon you terd.

dennis--personal reasons, mainly I had taken leave before I quit because I had a broken foot....after being home for 2.5 months I realized that I rather enjoyed my time with family and friends and decided I'd like to be off the road for a little while. even if I wanted to still work, I didn't have any more time off, and my foot wasn't ready to get back to work after my medical leave ran out. Other than that, I didn't quit for anything Melton did or didn't do, if that's what you were thinking.

 

How heavy are the tarps to lift. Not what you would call muscle bound, and 5'6" and age 52, not wanting to have a heart attack, but not afraid to break a sweat either.

 

The new 3-piece set are about 70 pounds each. Not too hard to throw on your shoulder, but most times you can ask the fork driver to place them on your truck/load for you.

 

Thanks Noggin, I was let go by Howard Transportation 3 weeks ago. I had difficulty with the flatbed work, maybe I was not in good enough shape or strong enough. I had never done any kind of physical work before. Their tarps were 80 pounds which I struggled to carry, but could do it after awhile. Don't know if I should give it another shot or go to box vans. Thanks again!

 

There are fewer loads that you'll get with other drivers, but it does happen. I would always start out running with a driver if we were going to the same place, but it wouldn't last long. I don't like to stop and most drivers I tried to run with would stop to ok much for my taste so I'd just tell em where I'd be shutting down and meet em there.