Comments By Highway Grunt0311

Skype. Phones, Local gig. OTR there really is no manual. People react differently. May be great one day and the next it isn't. Talk to your spouse, it's not only up to you. It's a choice you need to make together.

Melton Truck Lines, They do the DOT required Urine test, They also do the Hair follicle. It isn't required by DOT it's purely for there sake. They go back 7 months.

It's sort of "is this person a liability to us" test.

I need to get dentures, Got hit in the face with a metal pipe, broke my jaw in 3 places and smashed up some teeth. But I have Crohns had it since I was 14 and was taking Prednisone for years. (its a steroid used to treat inflammation, not the muscle one) And prolonged use can weaken the Bones and the teeth. So I get the need for the couple weeks of pain for a better quality of life.

As for the eating healthy, I might be able to help with that. My truck had a fridge in it so I'd stock up on plastic cups and a lot of fruit. slice up the fruit and put em in the cup. (It's a lot like the fruit cups that love's sells, except it isnt 5 bucks. and you can pick out your favorite fruit.) Go to GNC and get the GNC Pro Performance® AMP Strength Vitapak® Program it cost like 70 bucks but is well worth it. I did Flatbed so my work out was the load securing and tarping, 95lbs tarps, started out with the big 130lbs two peice set lol. and I had a habit of "snacking" while I drive so I replaced the chips and what not with the fruit and withen 2 months I had a huge loss of body fat and a big increase in muscle mass and out line. I wasn't like OMG HULK OUT but I went from 190 and out of shape to 190 and in the best shape of my life (well other than when I was down range in the Corps.) It was a healthy mix of body fat and muscle. And just a fyi I still ate fast food atleast once or twice a week lol

Oh man the KW T600, Such a beautiful truck. C15 kitty Cat Roaring turbo, 13 Speed transmission. I hate you Sir. You make me remember the great days of driving a 2005 T600. I miss that truck, Blows Coal like no other. On the benefit of learning the 13speed. Once you learn that you will have mastered the 8speed transmission and the 18 speed transmission. Only different between a 13 and 18 speed is the 13 splits the high end of the transmission and the 18 speeds the low and high end. I'd say Learn on a 13, then go to a trucking school the make sure its a school the North Central Association recognizes. A lot of Issuing DMV's require it be one of the schools they accept or else they won't grant a CDL and a lot of company's wont hire you.

Ok, I have been pulling Flatbeds for just about two years until recently, I took a break from trucking. So I know a little bit about a lot of stuff >.>

Ok, So I currently live in Tampa, FL and we have a few Steel Mills around here. So anyway I was coming from my buddies house and I see this Flatbed jockey in a Frieghtliner Century, First off his tractor, terrible shape. Ok so his load was no tarp finished aluminum Coils. So you know those require a tarp because they get damaged EASY. Check this out. I understand my company (Melton) tends to over secure, We take the already strict regulations of the D.O.T and make it worse. Straps every 5 feet, D.O.T is every 10ft I believe. Ok, so when we hauled Coils Suicide coils required 5 chains right off the bat. No matter if it was a tiny 6,000lbs. Well, this guy had Three (3) Suicide Coils. I'd say the big one weighed around 20,000lbs. and the other two were probably around 11,000-12,000lbs. This guy had Two Chains on each of them, Trust me when I say they were the little chains, not the ones rated at 5,000lbs. So I notice this and I tell my buddy, This is why people hate us so much. They see this crap shoot and now imagine him every time they see any other flatbed with coils. So two per coil, small chains. the small ones, the chains were tight, he was stoping the forward and backward momentum, No downward pull....ok, Now I'm starting to rage out! I see the front Suicide Coil. Pretty good sized TWO CHAINS and one was LOOSE!!!!!. He was on US301 heading INTO Tampa so he didn't pick this load up anywhere near here, maybe further down south. possibly Miami.

Now trust me when I say I have a lot of experience with large finished coils. I pulled the Novelis Corp in Oswego,NY to Chicago, IL, A LOT. When I saw a lot the entire winter it seemed like I was Pulling Oswego to Chicago, Down to Texas and back up to Oswego. So I know a bit about Coil Securement.

Did I over react? I didn't cut the driver off or anything, I honked at him and pointed back to his load and he just ignored it. So I went on my way, Maybe speeding a bit to put some distance between me and eminent securement failure.

What are your takes on this? Does it rage you out when you see a fellow Flatbed have complete disregard for his own safety and the safety of the motorist around him?

Lol, Trust me, Melton is not afriad to dead head you. in orientation they preach about out of route miles. but after i was there 7 months they kept sending me through florida so without home time I have like 3 days at home total in 1 month not including home time. that month I also went out of route 300ish miles. not a word was said, my loads were safe and on time (usually early) do your job right and good and pay your due's. prove to them your in it for the haul and they cut slack. I'm not with them anymore but still. the best company I pulled for so far. Being in cali you'll get orientation in Tulsa. main office there. The orientation teacher is named Charles He is a trip man, makes it fun and cracks jokes.

Quick question bro, where at in Florida are they located and do they teach experienced drivers that has 2 years OTR mostly flatbed will they take a ol flatbed jockey and teach him to be a tanker yanker?

If you ever go OTR remember VERY few company's count local as experience. We had a guy wit 25 years local and he had to start at the bottom and go out with a trainer. but if the truck is old and beat up check how loose the gears are. could save you from trying to get into the wrong gear. what kind of transmission is it, thats the biggest issue. i'd say shift it at first as a single clutch, if it doesn't work, double clutch it or float it. which I wouldn't advise considering you probably have not the slightest idea what floating is. Try one clutch, doesn't work clutch out then clutch into gear

Lol, I drove for Melton for quite a while. just starting out (which is where I started my flatbed career). They only pull regular flatbeds and they have a FEW VERY FEW step/RGN's/ Systems is setup the exact same way Melton's t660's are set up. They are rival company's. From what I hear Bob's daughter (owner/CEO of melton) is trying to setup a deal between the two. not sure if it's true but meh. But they pretty much operate the same way. wont see a whole lot of melton trucks at shippers on the west coast but mid west you will see a lot of each other at shipper's /receiver's. living in cali you'll have to stay out with Melton for 3-4 weeks at a time. and there is no room for growth there. unless you count getting a million safe miles driven for Melton then Bob will buy you your own truck and you can put shiny's on it (still a company driver though) and Systems has a few different trailer setups I think. and I'm in tampa,FL and Theres a Systems owner op sitting down the road with a step deck.

I use to clean my floors a lot. then I got into flatbedding and always out in the mud. so I invested in a air blower that hooks to the seat air controls and a floor mat lol.