Good companies

Why Thank you ChinaTown. It's great to hear from experienced people in the industry who willing to share what they have learned. As a matter of fact I have a friend who drives for Prime right now and is very happy there. The perks of driving Tankers does have an appeal, but I think I will give Flattbedding a spin first.

 

FWIW from a mildly experienced driver of 25 years, I just got my first automatic the first of August and will never EVER go back to a manual.

If you look under my username you'll see some of the stuff I haul, 90%+ oversize/specialized. I just ran 4200 miles total with one of our other trucks, identical engines but he has a 13 speed and I have a 10 speed auto-shift. We loaded identical 16' wide loads in Tulsa, OK and took them to Savannah, GA. We bounced to Charleston, SC where we once again hooked to identical 10' 6" wide loads and brought them here to Arlington, WA. I actually got about 3/10's better fuel mileage overall and ran the front door the entire trip beginning to end. I pulled away from him on every start, every hill and while sitting in traffic in Atlanta, St Louis, Kansas City and of course Seattle I never had to step on the clutch, just the brake and accelerator.

I would suggest you not limit your choices based on transmissions. Auto-shifts are the way of the future for the majority and as a testament to that, I work for a specialized carrier that 6 years ago tried auto's and vowed to never purchase another now all our new trucks have them. In addition, I was old-school and vowed to never bow to a beginner truck and drive and auto, well you can take my auto away from me when you pry my cold dead hands from the wheel.

 

Most companies use manual transmissions.
A new driver choosing a company with manual transmissions so he can become proficient at shifting sounds reasonable to me.

 

Melton is an excellent choice if you don't mind NOT going home, period. One of our drivers here came from Melton, said he had to force his dispatcher to send him ton the term so he could get a bus ride for home time, and they also seem to stop giving you miles once you move up in the pay scale and give the mikes to the newbies. I would not recommend them if you like to go home. Drivers I have talked to say that's one of the biggest problem there. So far I've heard good about Maverick. Anyhow, I'd say choose one, stuck with them for a bit, then move on to something better. Finding that good company is like trying to find a needle in a haystack

 

I am currently in orientation at Tmc. I looked into maverick and they do seem like a great company to start with. My decision maker was the fact tat they drive automatic trucks. I spent a lot of money getting my CDL and didn't want to go through a refresher course if I decided to go to a company that has standard transmissions. As of now there is only a few companies that drive automatics. So once you choose a company with automatics your limiting yourself. I was accepted to mcelroy Tmc and maverick. I picked TMC. They're trucks are beautiful! They have a training program that is thorough and extensive and they have a great reputation!

 

Whatever company fits you now is the right company.

Shifting? I switched to a 12 auto and don't miss the standard at all.

 

Check out TMC as well if flatbedding is what you want to do.

 

It's really wise to make sure your first company has manuals.

When I signed up at Schneider (my first company out of school) there was a guy in our Schneider training class who had been driving for a year, but he had to take the beginner's course with us because his truck had been an automatic. Big pain in the arse that was. And I'm not sure but he may have actually washed out.

You can't be sure your first company will be the one you decide to make your career at, and you don't want to miss out on a good opportunity later on because the new company has equipment you can't use.

 

I'm official in the it doesn't matter camp. I understand where the OP is coming from because I was in his shoes. But after living in the real world where there are automatics and hauling wide loads and getting paid $500 a day, it don't matter if its an automatic on manual.

Money talks and bull #### walks. I have less than 6 months experience but I can make serious green because I can be trusted to strap loads down safely and get it from point A to point B on time. A few weeks back, I wasn't comfortable driving an 18 speed but in this business people don't judge you by what you can shift, they judge you by everything else.

If you can get a load there on time and safely without running over curbs and screwing up ####, they don't care if you grind the odd gear. More importantly, demand for good drivers in this industry is so strong, that if you have a year experience, they won't care if they have to teach you how to drive a manual, you have already proven, you can drive safely and get a good reference, that you will be worth training.

So, if driving an automatic, will get you to having 1 year experience easier with less hassles of learning a bunch of things, well then do it.

I can tell you this, learning to know your lanes and how much room you need to corner a 3 axle trailer while driving an automatic is easier driving, well then, I want whatever is going to make me more money, if I can make more money by driving an automatic first and avoiding accidents, then so be it.

 

Can anyone give me info on Melton truck lines?thanks