My blog with Melton Truck Lines

Pay is $70 a day while in training. Afterwards start at .33 cents a mile . Once driving $800-$1000 a week gross should be easily doable.

 

I slept in Louisville last night. There's no rhyme or reason where you go except for hometime

 

Been along time. Have been busy. After I delivered in Kansas City I picked up right down the street. Not before I went to Lowes and made some 8ft v boards. I picked up 55 gallon drums of roofing material. I delivered that in Pittsburgh and then reloaded pipe out of Ohio.

All the loads were three tiers of steel pipes/tubing. There is many different ways to skin the cat or secure a flatbed. I don't pretend to be a subject matter expert but why wouldn't people secure all three layers of pipe? If you google accidents when the product going through the back of the cab and into the driver it always seems like it is steel pipes. But 45,000 in pipe most of the guys there put seven straps over the top and drive on. I love my family to much for that. Anyways, I delivered that to southern Alabama.

Next load was a pick up in Birmingham. Birmingham is has some tight streets. Anyways couple hours of detention later I was loaded and headed to Rockford, IL. Then I get a message that I am repowering in Kentucky going to Laredo. I thought the repower was for the other driver but it was for me. They got me back to Texas a week early.

I dropped my load in Laredo and picked up going to Abilene, Tx. It was coils to some metal shop. Nothing to exciting. The I got a load going from Dallas to EL Paso. Pretty decent but 500 miles away from home and I am do home in three days. They took that load off me and I picked up shingles south of Dallas heading to McAllen, TX. I wish Melton still had Texas regional because these Texas loads are way better then the east coast in my opinion. After I delivered in McAllen I was sent home for hometime.


I had had a wonderful Father's Day weekend and this past Monday I came back out and have the wife with me. We picked up frame rails going to Ohio for anytime Wednesday. We had a decent trip first night we stayed at Carl's Corner Petro. Second night we stayed in the Loves in Jackson, MS. It was packed at the Loves in Jackson and I come up on a truck backing into his spot. He sees me and starts rushing and I am thinking just don't hit anything because the I'll have to back around this corner while the truckers you hit rip your head off. New drivers don't rush backing up. I am still learning and everyone has to learn so take your time backing up. Just don't block the fuel island for 40 minutes while you take a shower.

Anyways drop and hook in Ohio but no load Wednesday afternoon. I emailed my DM kindly reminding her I get left hanging Wednesday with no load a good long load would be real nice. Thursday morning I get load for Kentucky to Los Angeles, CA. I couldn't except the preplan quick enough.

After a few hours of detention I am loaded and heading west. We stayed the night last night in Mount Vernon. Of course this afternoon I get repower information. I driver in California is due hometime in California. Of course they give him an Indiana load from California and he has to meet me in New Mexico. Really bummed because after the deliver I would have 1 hr on my 70 and the wife and I could of spent my restart checking out the Los Angeles area. Anyways, at the Tulsa terminal tonight doing laundry and heading out tomorrow for New Mexico. Great miles but still sucks to have to repower this load. Take care everyone so for the lack of details in my post but just going out of memory. I will update more often. Later

 

I think you get into flatbedding shape. Even at 31 y/o I still cool off in the truck while strapping and tarping when it's over 85 degrees. Pace yourself and it's fine. Most times though it's throwing straps which is easy. Sometimes I am disappointed when I don't have to tarp because it's 40 easy bucks x 3 tarp loads a week can add up quickly.

 

Well I left Tulsa and headed for Albuquerque. It was long drive but a lot of great scenery along the way. The west bound rest area exit 131 on I40 in Texas has amazing views. Russell's Truck in Travel City on 40 in New Mexico is very nice. I was very lucky to get out of there spending less then $40-$50 bucks (I had the wife with me). Anyways we made it to Albuquerque TA Saturday night. The driver I was meeting said he would be there at 7am Tulsa time which came and went. He eventually showed at 1pm Tulsa time. You would of thought I was getting the load going home. He was actually very nice, seemed like a good guy.

We swapped loads and I was heading east on 40. We parked Sunday night in OKC. My and wife and I have kids and after 7 days on the road she had to get home. We got her a cheap flight on Southwest out of Oklahoma City Monday. I did not have many hours, so I drove to the Petro in Joplin. The next day I woke up early and headed for Indianapolis to drop off my load of conduit. The receiver was real nice. Helped me pick up bungees while I folded up three tarps before it started pouring. Got my next load picking up and hour away going to Arkansas. I needed a shower and my clock was short, so I went to the truck stop for the night. The next morning I went and picked up my pre loaded trailer of aluminum extrusions heading to Utility Trailers.

These aluminum companies have so many rules to make things "safe" while you tarp their 53 ft of product, it makes it such a pain in the butt. Of course detention is not considered because the trailer is preloaded. But they will not give you your paperwork till they have you watch their video, wear long sleeve shirts on 85 plus degree days, and tarp to their standard. By the way, you cannot climb on your trailer without the body harness on. Which is actually better then when they surround your trailer with decking. Then after you pull around their parking lot at crawling speed because they park everywhere your trailer wants to cut the corner and clip their cars, they complain because they say you blew a stop sign. At two mph? Please, call my company I really would like not being allowed to pick up here again. I guess you can tell I do not like getting loads from said companies.


Anyways, make it to Arkansas the next day. Super nice people, they just take forever to unload. Two hours of detention later I am picking up about an hour away. Driving through the back roads of Missouri and Arkansas is interesting this time of year. The farmers got done harvesting their wheat and they set their fields on fire and then plant their soybeans the next day or two after that.

Get to the shipper and it is a pipe load. For whatever reason myself and another Builders Transport guy could not be loaded in the yard, we had to be loaded in the factory/warehouse. But apparently this takes a lot longer. Plus, the Builders guy beat me there and the supervisor said it would be three hours till they got to me. Okay whatever, but luck would have it for me they could not find the Builders order and decided to load me first.

It did not take long to get loaded but they are another company that does not let you climb on your trailer. I strap down my load as quick as possible, mainly because if I was that Builders guy I would be pissed. It was late and he was going to have to stay the night there and I would make it to the truck stop. Of course I have to go find the loader because they use their overhead crane to place your tarps, which by the way if I could make a suggestion to the Aluminum companies this is the way to go. The overhead crane hooks to one end of your tarp lifts it over your trailer and places it almost perfect with no energy or potential injury to anyone. I bungee my load down in record time. Then shift change comes, my paperwork is not ready and I sit an hour waiting for it. Got there at 3pm left at 650pm. The Builders guy wouldn't even look at me. lol. I do not blame him, I would of been pissed too and even more once I got loaded. It was some kind of carbon steel well pipes and I was covered in dust after loading. I would not of been happy sleeping like that at all.

Anyways, I drive an hour up to a nice TA in southern Missouri on I55. Take my shower and head to bed. Wake up, brush the teeth use the bathroom and wait for my 10 hr break to be over. Click it into pretrip, do a pretrip and head out. I stopped twice along the way to Iowa, communicating with my dm, she wanted to make sure I was going to make it on time. I thought it was because they had a load for me but it was because the receiver closed at 3pm and they wanted it delivered before the weekend. Get unloaded, fold up my tarps as quick as possible thinking I had a load coming. Ninety minutes later, they tell me I am layover for the weekend. I was not happy. After reminding them I can replace them just like they can replace me I head to the truck stop. Got my load for Monday 7am pickup going to Laredo. At least I'll be in my bed Tuesday night. I am still irritated, why people would have the job title planner and then not plan is asinine. But that's trucking. My family and I have reservations for a condo on the coast next weekend and I'll forget all about this weekend. Take care everyone.