Melton, Whatcher 20

Loving it man. Home every weekend for 48 hours and still do 2800-3000 miles a week. Last week is 3272 total paid miles. I kinda miss the thrill of flatbed but not who I was doing it for.

 

So, the story, goes like this. I got a load out of long beach wednesday, about ran my 14 out waiting for load. Made it to ontario at 2000 or so and took 11. Was told I'd repower in chandler Az yesterday then it was changed to lordsburg nm. I got to lordsburg last night at 1930 and the other drivers first words were. "This is a crane unload in chandler at 0800, you're not going to make that. I've been here for 4 hours, could have been in chandler already." Last night was the first I head about this load and I heard it from the other driver... anyhow, my DM calls me up pissed off this morning trying to point the finger at me. Told me that it's my fault the load is 2 hours late for a crane unload. Told me she was going to dig into it and send me proof.

I'm going home now.

 

mrh i dropped in long beach on wednesday. maybe that was you i saw across the street from me. i dropped off the 710 xt 1, i was carrying rail road rails. i saw a melton truck across the street from me, he was there when i got there and still waiting after i got unloaded. think there was a dog in the truck too? not sure.

i was at vtmi or something like that. waited about half an hour after unloading and was told 'go home'. home early by a day just like last time. sounds like a mess, i was hoping to not have to repower. same thing happened to me on a repower the first time, was told to meet in AZ and when i got there driver said 'dont know why i had to meet you here, ive been here since yesterday, couldve made the drop and repowered you in CA with an empty by now'.

doesnt make sense. next time ill call the driver i repower with and we can make up our own meeting spot

 

That was me! I was there all day. I'm at home now, finally got my dog off the truck. He is not going back out with me!

The driver I was repowering with sent me a message asking me to call him. I called him a couple times but he wouldn't answer because I have a CA phone number. We could have planned it a lot better than the planners did. There was no reason for the load to be late. Got to the job site and they were pretty understanding about the situation. Even being 1.5 hours late, I still wasn't the last truck in.

After they unloaded me I scanned my bills and went home. Don't even know if my hometime was authorized or not but the truck is parked and I'm not working for 5 more days!

 

Delivered a load of roofing material yesterday near Charlotte, NC. Ended the day with less than 30 min on my 70 with nothing coming back until midnight Sat/Sun morning. Figured I would get a 34 out of the deal. Get to the Pilot here in Charlotte and get a pre-plan for 0500 Sunday pickup in SC, about 2 hrs away, for a Monday delivery in Lima, OH. If I can kick it off on Monday I will have over 3600 miles for the pay period. Good for the bank account, but killing me in the heat with all of the tarp jobs. Thank you freight gods!

 

How long do you normally stay out 2 or 3 weeks?

 

No, I usually stay out 4-6 weeks. It allows me to get in a rhythm and my DM knows it so I seem to get pretty good loads. I NEVER complain about what I get or time frames, etc. and I think that helps. (Maybe just wishful thinking on my part.) Also, my kids are all grown and my wife works full time. Being a "retired" Navy wife, she was used to my being gone for extended periods of time. Now when she retires, I don't know what the agenda will be since she won't ride with me due to her interests.

Probably more info than you wanted, but every situation is different and you have to apply those differences to be successful in this line of work.

 

Thanks for the info. I am retired Army trying for that second career. My kids are grown and my new wife wants to ride some so I am going to try three and four weeks at a time if I can make $$ I will stay out longer if I need to. Did you use the 9-11 GI Bill to increase the $$ in the beginning?

 

No, the 9-11 GI Bill was WAY after my retirement. My retirement check helped even things out in the beginning, but now that is just going into investment accounts. Here at Melton, once you make that 1 year OTR, the $$ issues becomes less of an issue because of the increased mileage rate. Also, having a TWIC, HAZMAT and Passport increase your earning potential. They also have "tanker" loads, but I have yet to get one, so I don't know how that works.

From my point of view (looking through a straw), 90% of this job is attitude. If you can stay positive, be it with yourself or others, you have a leg up on most drivers. It is tough out here, so you will have times of being down, but the quicker you can get back up, the better life is.

Getting to be a philosopher is my old age.