melton 2014 update

I just applied with Melton. I currently drive reefer. Tired of bumping docks. Looking forward to the exercise in flatbed. I've learned with most of these companies. You need to find one that you fit with and go from there. We can all spend days writing up complaints. After researching companies Melton has some great rep. I just hope I'm not just a truck number here also.

 

Unfortunately, you will be a truck number. Doesn't bother me, I certainly don't expect my DM to know the name and voice of all her 65+ drivers.

id assume that if you wanted to be a name, you'd have to work for a small carrier with just a few other drivers. I could be wrong...

 

I read these comments and some just do not make any sense. I know Wanda, she's not a hateful lady, Her and her husband Charles are great people. I am sure that the people that complain about their DM are the same people who think Steve and Josh are ########. When I started with Melton it was the start of them taking limited experience, I had to go with a trainer back in 2012 so the only terminal that accepted T3's (limited experience otr) was Tulsa. Long bus ride...So to meet up with my trainer he was taking a restart in Ohio mausery So they got me a plane ticket and flew me to Pittsburgh and Joe picked me up. That guy is awesome, When I got to the terminal he ordered a few pizza's for the drivers there. My trainer was Miles Davis, Melton Blue Knight. that guy is awesome, still talk to him to this day. His DM was Ron, who I hear is a ####, I didn't mind him, I had to do a USS precall to Ron during training to go over the question process so I didn't get locked out for 24hr. went over it. shotgun yes suicide no. and done with it. Spent a week and got to Sunnyvale to get my tractor. Mind you this was 2012. I got truck # 6936. 2007 century classic with close to 600k miles on it. was an automatic it was garbage. sucked at hills. Only upside to that truck was it came with a fridge, paper logs, and 72mph. My new DM was Karen Crawl, I believe is is one of the DM that gets the new guys till they go to a more veteran fleet. When they was going to switch DM's I told them no thank you and stayed with her for my entire Melton Career. I had to quit due to my mothers health so I quit and spent some time with her and she passed. Deciding if i'm going back to Melton or try a new challenge, and if I go back I will get Karen as my DM again. Me and her had it worked out. 90% of the time she called me was just to check up on me and if there was a few different loads in the area she'd let me have my pick. Like theres a load in Butler,PA (AK Steel) goes to Laredo, TX, Depending on if I was near the north east i'd get that load atleast once a month or sometimes twice, or the load right after july 4th. I had home time in Tampa. Dead head from Tampa to SC to that big steel plant. to pick up those rusted i beams that goes to Minnesota. droped it and picked up the a/c units in WI and headed to Mass.

Oh and as for the truck. After two months with Melton proving myself they brought me to Tulsa and Jason was being harassed by Stacy and Karen ( stacy is fuel dept.) and Pax so he gave me a brand new t660. I mean Melton has brought me to Tulsa for the parties they do. It took two loads from the time I was issued my tractor to get me to my house in Tampa to grab my dog and gear. You get what you put out of it. I help as many drivers as I can tarp and what not without expecting anything in return. heck at EMJ in IL I've helped Systems guys with the tarping. and all the guys I've spoken to because we happen to pick up at the same place or parked near each other at truck stops or the yard. A lot of the guys with less than 6 months complained a lot. A lot of the guys had Karen as a DM and hated her. I havn't worked at Melton in a couple months and last week Karen called me to check up and make sure everything was ok. I had one of the ladies that finds and buys contracts for loads call me and tell me if I can find a shipper in tampa or near that is a dedicated run to call her and they will try and set it up and bring a truck down. Name one other company that will go to those lengths for a driver.

If you aren't happy with something. Call and talk to someone. There is a reason you see all those Melton trucks that aren't blue. on that note what other company will buy a million miler a truck and customize it the way the driver wants it?

It sounds to me the guys complaining are also the ones that can't make it to six months because it's to hard so they find an excuse to quit without admitting they couldn't take the hard work.

The load in these pictures was suppose to be a simple run weight was under 13k lbs had to have a 53' trailer no tarp ezpz, picks up in GA going to the west side of Texas. Arrived about an hour early. Small place, had to have the mexicans come stop traffic so I could back in. They didn't speak a lick of english. They were still building some pieces. took 9 hours to load. all my straps and all my 2inch straps.was suppose to be under 13'6, it was 13'11. Had to talk to a few people but couldnt get the load any smaller without sending out another truck. so they gave the Ok to permit it. I love Melton and 90% of the staff. My only problem with it is there isn't any room for growth. its be a company driver. can't do a lease anymore there isn't any growth outside being a Blue Knight, Million Miler, Trainer, and road safety snitch, err inspector

 

Come on back, Grunt! We can always use more people willing to come out and help another driver out.

I'm not very good at this stuff yet, but I do my best to help when I can and it can have some unexpected rewards. There was another Melton guy where I was delivering to a couple weeks ago who needed some help folding his big old 8' drop tarps under on a low load, so I got up there and helped him out and he goes to his truck, opens up the side box and has about 10 bags of unopened tarp straps, gives me 5. He got them, and some nice new tarps, from a guy he repowered who was quitting. I got $50 worth of tarp straps and all I had to do was be friendly and help a guy out.

Come Monday, I'll have 3300 miles on this week. I only did two loads last week and spent 4 days at home and still got about 2k miles. Now that I'm getting in to the flow of things, pulling 650+ mile days and getting faster at tarping, things are going great. Show them you'll work and they'll work you. This is a company I'd be happy to spend 10 years at, but unfortunately, my girlfriend would not be happy. I might have to settle in to a nice regional job someday.

 

Don't think I'll be with Melton for more than one more load. DM put a sour taste in my mouth and I can't wash it out!

 

Triad, you live in ohio, talk to the terminal manager there, he may have a local spot open. And don't get me wrong, I love Melton, they treated me great and did more than they should of and went out of there way to help me. like, when I got my new truck in Tulsa the dispatch window said she has a load that is 1400 miles going to I think it was like indiana some where. but she said I have have a 500 mile load going to texas BUT you live in florida and theres a load that picks up in 2 days that willtake me to West Palm beach ( I live in tampa), that delivers next monday. which ment sitting for 2 days even driving slow. So she said I could stop at the house for a couple days and not count as home time. Or when I was in Alabama and something happened at home and I had to get there NOW. they found a load going straight to tampa and I was home the next day for 16 days without cleaning out the truck or anything.

But I am looking for a job that has room to advance. If Melton made the push back into step decks and low boys it'd be a different story but a few years ago they iced those so its only flatbeds.

 

GD dude! 10 year's ago? It was only 2. Stop and read before throwing out crap you didn't even bother to!

 

Well with that said, then b***h away hoss. But one thing, is there something about being "up state LA" that makes me any more or less different than anyone else? You created a new account here with very few posts and so far all you have done is prove how good you are at b***hing about something. I say this because your following posts are contradicting your OP.

 

All of the other threads about Melton are good, besides this one. I could be wrong, but they are too few and far between, if so. I have talked to numerous Melton drivers, and they have all positive things to say: let me rephrase, they note that the good definitely outweighs the bad. That's from my research anyway. Melton is still high on my list for starter companies.

 

Apparently someone doesn't like what you have to say, ha ha