System Transport vs. Melton .....FIGHT!

Hows it going guys, I have spent a LOT of time researching trucking and trying to get an idea as to which companies would best suit me...I have narrowed it down to System and Melton. Now since it seems to me that both companies are very much alike, I am asking you guys for any further insight that I may not be aware of.. A little info on me... I live in So. California, I have been a tow truck driver for about 10 years now and have been weighing the pros and cons of getting into trucking for about 2 years now, so I am confident that I know exactly what I am getting myself into.. I would like to do flatbed, that I know for sure.. Just wondering if there is anything else or anyone else I should be considering. I will be starting CDL school March 6th just trying to make sure I know what I am doing ahead of time. Thank you in advance for any thoughts or advice!!

 

Thank you guys.. I called those companies Powder Joints, waiting for a call back from Dalton.. Valley is a little bit far away from me for a local job, and Robertson I am assuming you are talking about the concrete mixing company? from what I have seen they dont pay very well.. I am hearing less then the 14 an hour I am making right now as a tow truck driver..

drvrtech, that is one thing I have been wondering about, my question is as much as yeah I would like to be close to home, to making getting home every 5 weeks or so easier.. my question is can you make decent money working the west coast? I would assume I would spend a hell of a lot of time running up and down the 5...

Triplesix, thank you.. that is a #### good point and to be honest for my first couple years my main goal is building my resume and getting a lot of good experience. I have the dream of doing heavy haul, but I know I would be more then happy hauling fuel locally for 70k a year... or at least that is what the fuel guys tell me they make, actually usually they say more then that.....so I am just trying to get good experience build a decent resume then in two years make a move towards a company I want to retire with.

Gashauler, I tracked down that thread, and those are some wise words.. that I am doing my best to stand by, I have a ton of research into trucking... it is definitly what I want to do now I just need to pick the right path towards a good career as a driver.. hoping my 10 years of light duty towing was a decent enough start.... Now, lol tell me how I get those 90k a year gas hauling local jobs.. lol my wife would love the hell out of that.


Thank you again everyone I am taking everything you guys give me and applying it to my process of choosing.

 

Thanks Allow Me. Yeah honestly as much as I do eventually want to land that perfect local job, there is a large possibility of my family and I relocating out of California.. things are just too #### expensive here. So the local jobs I believe I am going to wait on.. honestly I really want to build a resume for the next couple years at least and I am thinking time with a good OTR company will be good for my career over all. As long as there is money to be made running up and down the i5 I believe System will be my first choice.. I like the idea of being able to pull a variety of different types of loads and having room to advance and gain more varied experience.

As far as schools... I will say from what I say they are all pretty bad around here, lol.. I have read reviews, talked to the schools, and done campus tours and it really seems to me to be just an expensive formality toward getting a class A. Like one of the recruiters I am dealing with has said... it seems like I pretty much just prove I can actually drive a truck with trucking school, then expect to forget everything and learn the real way once I am getting trained with the trucking company. Either way I believe I have chosen United Truck Driving School out of San Diego, and Riverside I like that fact that when I have dealt with them there has been no sales pitch of any kind, and they're class curriculum is actually laid out in their course outline and readily printable from their website.. so at least they seem pretty straight forward about where my 5000 dollars is going.... and unlike another school who tried to explain the merits of starting with a synchronized 6 speed then driving a 10 speed for a couple days... United say it will be a 10 speed the whole time and was able to tell me exactly how many hours per day behind the wheel I would get.

But yeah... lots and lots of research into everything over the past couple years, to the point that I am tired of it and ready to just make a decision and live with it. lol... also Allow me. if you are still in San Marcos, you probably know the towing company I currently work for... I really enjoy this job, unfortunatly I have managed to make less and less as the years have gone by.. there are options such as heavy duty but... there is a lot that goes into getting into the heavies, and I just dont have time to BS with it, I need to start making better money now.

Thank you everyone for your continued views, I appreciate everyones wisdom!

 

It seems odd to me that System Transport has so few people around the forums for being a really large company.. Maybe that's a good thing? Just seems odd to me.