Melton Truck Lines, Inc reviews

Do the research on an otr company as they are not created equal. If you enjoy the physical aspect of work, melton hires (new) drivers and trains on flat beds while paying more than reefer or van. There is another flat bed operation out of AL?, that does same. You probably will have to spend a few weeks with trainer lacking otr experience. I mention flat bed as it seems ideal for a younger fit guy and usually pays better.
May your ventures bring you good fortune.

Q: Thanks. The only thing that worries me is getting the miles and home time when i want it.

Q: Glad I finally found someone to ask lol I know that they run 12 out 2 home is that true and what kinda miles would I be averaging I talk to one guy that worked there he said the miles where good

A: Well they are good sending you home when you send a request, and for every week that you are working you get a day off credit, so if you work 6 weeks you can get up to 6 days off. If you don't use all your days you don't lose them, they are there for whenever you need more.
In my case i don't ask for a lot of home time, but i know others that do and they have no problem getting it. So far i have about 28 days available, if i want to take lets say 2 weeks or more straight i can.
I can only talk about the miles i'm getting, and my miles average around 2,900 a week, I have got as low as 1,800 (the slow season) and as high as 3,600.
So far even though January is normally a slow month for flat beds, i had a strong two weeks.
The Equipment are new and very well maintained, and if you ever need repairs while you are on the road, the outside repairs get you help right away.
I hope this answered most of your questions, if i missed anything let me know.

Will start with the good first as I want to be as fair as I can.
Great pay
Will take students
New trucks no more then 3yr old
Apu,s on all trucks
Power inverter on all trucks

Now the bad short and sweet
2k avg miles a week
Home time is a joke
Drivers are just a number 
If your Apu stops working good luck getting it fixed unless your in Tulsa
Driver manager can not change loads or help in anyway.
Forced dispatch and I mean forced
Find anything they can to charge you
Good luck with repowers 
Injoy a nice 800 mile load and 4 days to run it. 
90% loads are trapped and you get $20 to tarp 
When you leave them get ready to be treated like crap. Pay for your own ride and you have to turn your truck in at tulsa or they will charge you a 1k recovery fee even if you try to take it to one of there other terminals 

I would not work for then if your looking to stay with a company most of there drivers have been there less then 6 months 
They have a 60% drive loss rate. There is a resone they went from 2yr experience drives to students and high pay. They will do and say anything to get you into the truck. Then once your in a truck your micro managed to death and wishing for loads over 1k but your not going to get many. If your close to 2k

Q: Does Melton haul steel coils? Just curious. I dont see it very often out there....
Thinking of going with them...

A: Yeah

They haul just about anything you can fit on a flat. Decent place to get started in flatbed as they had good securement and tarping training when I went through orientation. And they seemed to keep their equipment in good shape.

Melton does a good job on securement training for a variety of loads at their orientation. Goodluck with it.

If you are going to Melton orientation, here's some personal tips. Just my experience after completing it. 

Firstly, bring just tshirts, boots, and jeans. You wont need a collared shirt. Dress ready to do a ####load of labor. There are laundry machines in hotel. Nobody cares about neat appearances like a normal job interview. Just be clean smelling. Bring cash. You can buy groceries accross the street and you will be hungry. The "2 meals a day" are small sack lunches. Also, bring gatoraid or power-aid powder mix + a large drinking bottle.

Next, they wanna see if you have been on drugs. Hair folicle and urine tests day 1. Then, tests to see if you can easily climb up and down a truck, moving a 100lb tarp bundle correctly. Obese people may not be able to do this. 2 obese people just up and left. Next, more interviews-did you lie about anything in your telephone interview? Better have the exact same dates and explanations why you ever did anything in your entire life thats on record. Be ready to explain any drug use in your lifetime to a dude who was a Marine and had zero patience. Just tell the truth. It was a stupid mistake, etc. They know drivers arent perfect but Melton fires liars immediately. I told the truth about my crimes and drugs use from many years ago. Not a deal breaker. 

Finally some things not to bring (that they tell you to): 
-New road atlas -theirs is only $10. Towels and washcloths - hotel has plenty. Flashlight- maybe in winter? Also you arent asked to wear hi-vis vest during orientation, but you will need during post-orientation driving. 

In general, Melton orientation is about 400% more intense and difficult than CDL school was. The speed in which you are learning is beyond anything Ive done. Driver logbooks are a serious issue and you must be able to write perfect handwritten logs all day every day. Next, trip planning with an Atlas. Yeah, you have to do them in your hotel room as homework. I brought melatonin for natural sleep aid and I went to bed at 8pm nightly exhausted. You get up at 5am and are on the 6am bus to class. 8 days of this seems short but have you ever pushed yourself mentally and physically for 10-14 hours a day for 8-days just to get thru a job interview? They never say "good job", and you are always waiting to get sent home. Only 8 out of 20 lasted from my class. Mostly combat vets and hardasses from tough working backgrounds. The immature and goog-offs left in first 2 days. Melton orientation isn't fun. But its a means to an end and that end is a top notch training and foundation for flatbedding.

I can confirm Melton does go to Washington state occasionally... specifically Boeing in Pullayup, Alcoa in Ferndale, and assorted drops in the the Portland/Kent area. Not as often as I'd prefer (I'd prefer to live out there, lol). As Army91W mentioned above, you'll have to 'flag' your time off request 2 weeks in advance, after 1 week out, as most of their runs are east of I-35. It would behoove you to stay out longer at this company; more often than not, when I hear a Melton driver expressing concern over lack of miles, their answer to my follow up question reveals they go home "every couple of weeks".

Hey i live in seattle and work for melton. I have been sent to seattle and other areas in wa state several times when I didnt even request home time. Living in wa and working for melton is a plus in my opinion because coming off home time and going to home time you will get a great load. If you are worried about home time than dont be an otr trucker. I also used to think i wanted to go home every couple weeks, but i end up staying out for a couple months. But that is my own decision. Washington state drivers are required to stay out 3 weeks minimum. And they WILL get you home when you ask. Oh and you will get plenty of miles.... Even with all this said, i came on here today to learn more about system myself. As they sound to have more opportunities. Such as owner opp hire, maxi fleet. Which melton has neither. But i wont jack your thread

to people reading this, exspecially newbies like me going into melton orientation. 

yes 40% being kicked in the week is normal
they dont expect you to be a pro at trip planning, paperlogs, and securment the first week, just that you comprehend it enough that your road trainer can teach you the rest over the next few weeks. ask a question if you are not getting it, as long as you are not asking 400 an hr like the one guy in my orientation about stuff they literally just said they are more than happy to help you get it during breaks in class time. 

for securment they want to see you get it, not that you are a pro. im 4 months in and have done a metric ton of tarp loads. they are not always pretty, but the stuff always stays dry when it needs to, thats the key