Just a reality tip for all the hopefuls. He works probably around 14 hours per day 7 days a week. The money is so good because all you do is work and sleep. A lot of people see the paychecks and get all excited but they fail to realize the enormous sacrifices they must make to get that money. You are barely ever home. You mainly just work and sleep and that is your life.
@@0up725 I get what you're saying, but I think it's important to distinguish between "drive" and "on duty." In the most general terms... Drive: 11 hours per day max On Duty: equates to your 11 driving PLUS (non-drive time but work responsibilities... load checks, securement, tarping/untarping, pre/post trip inspections, trip planning, etc.) When the two add up to 70 hours (in the 8 days)... you do a 34 hour restart/reset (hopefully at home). If not at home, you're essentially "at work" in the truck... just living, not earning. There are exceptions to these rules (personal conveyance, recaps, non-interstate, etc)... but that's the general OTR hours of operation. OTR driving is a lifestyle... and in my humble opinion, not for guys and gals with school-aged kids and a spouse at home. It will pay the bills, but with that comes a lot of sacrifice for all involved. You're never home. -- That said, for young singles, or just single people with no kids at home (perhaps the recently widow'd)... OTR or regional trucking (as a company driver) can be a great way to make and save money... and for those that take to it, it can become a lucrative career with many types of driving and even present potential Owner/Operator business potentials.
Poor newbies! Not everything we do is logged on duty or driving. Werner never bitched about my logs. I only did a 15 minute pretrip inspection each day because DOT will ticket you if you don’t. But the time spent fueling, loading, unloading, breaks and doing paperwork is all off duty. So on average from the time I started my pretrip, I averaged 12 1/2 hours to 13 1/2 hours of working a day. If I am running recaps and only have say 5 or 6 hours left. Werner would set me up to get loaded at a shipper with a long loading wait time. It was still a 13 hour day, even though I only drove a few hours. Everything else is off duty. So I work on average 85 to 90 hours a week starting out. Currently I’m working 80 hours a week. It’s 70 hours of on duty and drive time in an 8 day period, the rest of the time you’re working off duty.
Out of truck school I applied for Melton flatbed out of Vancouver. The asked me how tall and heavy I was. I was over there height and weight limits because of the upper bunk weight limits and their safety equipment. I got on with another company doing dry van/reefer. I just got hired with another flatbed company near Vancouver for 2x the pay after driving 7 months.
One thing which may be controversial and considered political, is if I were to go OTR and live in the truck for awhile, I'm assuming most companies will not allow you to carry a firearm but it does worry me about the possibility of a break in and not being able to defend yourself. I'm sure it's extremely rare but finding yourself in shady areas is not uncommon in our current times.
Yea bro gun laws change state to state. Most companies won’t even allow you to have a firearm on the truck. Have a tire iron or a knife, practice situational awareness
@@l3anzai28my classmates went with Melton. It has been 6 months since we graduated and they all doing well in the flatbed division. I am starting next month with Melton. Remember, once you get the CDL you gotta start with any company that will take you in and train you. Once you get that one year experience then you can branch off to better companies.
Hell yea bro your killing it, I can’t wait to start my CDL training I’m watching this to see if it possible to save 20k in a year to buy a cash truck definitely looks possible.
Thanks for the video fam I’m in school right now and doing a lot to research to see which places to apply for. Werner seems like they taking people fresh out of school
ok thats cool im working on getting into cdl school now im tryna get in and live in my truck and do max weekly hours 8-10 hours a day or whatever it is so thats gives me time to work on my other projects on my laptop everyday, I really want to try to save 70-80k the first year but im trying to find a cdl school that hires but most of the ones I see are so far away I need to get the truck first to be able to live out of state
Without those sign on bonuses, those checks were weak. I will NOT be driving for a big company, find smaller ones and renegotiate your pay to something that sounds better. I came straight out of school and am starting at $94k a year and home daily
@@MavrickDrewery I’m liking it a lot so far. The training at orientation was good, once you get on the road with your trainer though you’ll really learn what you need to know. As far as advice, I’d say stay focused on learning. They’ll let you slack off in orientation but you probably won’t make it through if you do. Just stay focused and patient, don’t rush anything and soak up all the skills you can
I drove for a couple years, 07,08,09. Great experience. Going back next year after a 14 year break. I stayed out a minimum of 6 months at that time desperate for money. Before you start, break up with your GF, divorce your wife, and lock up your guns at home. If your single, you'll have it made!
Appreciate the video bro, hopefully I can get a job with them I’m praying. My driving record isn’t the absolute best but I just got my CDL and all my endorsements. Have a blessed day bro. Hopefully I get lucky with them. I heard their a solid starter company
Thanks! And yeah I definitely don’t regret coming here, it’s been great for me so far. I had a speeding ticket on my recent record when I got hired so you could definitely have a shot. Good luck!
The amount of hours worked weekly makes the pay less than minimum wage. Best to get into the water/wastewater operator business. At least your home daily, but hours are long, but OVERTIME is paid unlike for truckers.
You can always switch if you don’t like it there, but hopefully it goes good for you! It might be better to get your winter driving experience there though, that way you don’t have to worry about all the extra stuff that comes with flatbed at the same time as snow and ice
@@ianelbert I’m gonna do my best to stick it out until I get my experience since I already have something lined up afterwards. Im doing teams so as long as I’m making a minimum of 1200-1500 a week I’ll be ok. If they pay any less then that then I’m going solo cause I don’t see the point of giving up a balanced life if I’m not even making the money I wanna make doing teams. We’ll see tho
@@ianelbert Appreciate it I got my permit as of now I’m really thinking what you’re doing but I don’t know for sure I’m still researching I got another three weeks of CDL school
Found it while still in school, little skeptical about the two weeks on then two days home, seems worth the commitment to get some experience and cash flow. How is it for you? Got a son almost 4 and daughter just turned one. Will use the referral if I decide just RU-vidd it and your the first result I’m from southern Indiana but they said they hire from all 48 states so not sure how all that works
I would say this is definitely a good company to get experience and some decent starting money. Winter is the slow season and that will effect your pay. I’d guess you could expect to bring in $1k/week on average for the next few months if you’re joining with no experience.
@@ianelbert thanks, 1k after tax? Generally need atleast 1k a week take home if possible - is there any other companies out there I could do that much if not melton? I’d hate to go over the road but want to move my family to tennesse and need as much income as possible
@@javadose317 yeah $1k after tax. That’s what I estimate I could make if I had started in winter. It might be different for you if you have more deductions and take advantage of the benefits at Melton like healthcare etc… I don’t do any of that so I keep a little more of what I make. If spring and summer are the same as they were this year though then you’ll have constant miles and be able to take home 1.1k-1.3k on average pretty easy.
I was paying rent when I made this video, but I hardly ever used my apartment. Once my lease was up I didn’t renew it so I could save more money. If you don’t have anyone depending on you I would definitely suggest just living in the truck and saving as much as possible. It takes some getting used to but it’s very rewarding.
@@ianelbert Thanks for the reply! I think I'm gonna do it. It's encouraging to see other guys doing it. Never wanted that standard-issue life anyway. I've always wanted to live a weird life. Subbed 👍 Stay safe out there, and keep doing what you're doing. I enjoy your vids and oftentimes dry humor.
I was thinking about getting on with melton. They came to my truck driving school last July. So how does the home time work? Do you get a set amount or does it go off of how long you stay out
You get one day of HT for every week you’re out. You can bank as much time as you want and use as much as you want at anytime. You could save up a months worth and take a whole month off at once
@@ianelbert so did you quit because the company or just travel? Because I want to save up for a year because me and some friends are planning a trip to Bali and I don’t want to get all that time off and not be able to use it like some companies
@@saucepappi1995 I just quit to go travel. Melton was always great to me and I never had any issues with the company. The only reason I quit to travel is because I plan on being gone for at least 3 months. And you should definitely be able to use any HT you have saved because as far as I remember it doesn’t expire
Great video! So..you got a sign on bonus with no previous driving experience? Or did you drive for another company before Melton? Either way that’s good money right there. Be safe out there ✌🏼
@@ianelbert nice bro. You’re doing great. I have that same mindset about it when it comes to living within your means and saving as much as possible. I’m 26 looking to do the same thing. So it’s good to see it. Keep it up!
@@ianelbert thanks bro you too. Any tips for maximizing earning potential in those first couple months? Getting extra loads? Clock management? Just trying to learn anything that will be useful and keep me earning!
@@DE-jn4os the first couple months will feel like a lot is coming at you so don’t expect for anything to run smoothly or exactly to plan. But try to plan ahead as much as possible with all your stops and how long you’ll take at each one. Don’t waste too much time at load check stops or fuel stops, just take care of business and immediately get back on the road. Taking 2-5 mins at each stop vs. 10-15 will make a big difference
so 1200 a week is avg thats not worth it to me when im making 1000 a week doin a class b job that i coome home everyday smh i was thinking 2000 a week thats crazy i just apply to melton smh damn
I averaged about $1.3k per week. And with the savings rate I had, I could save $40-$50k in one year after all my expenses. I’ve resigned for the time being, to go travel. But after working for 7 months I saved $25k
I was speaking on the phone today with Bryan from Melton. I'm out in Eastern Oregon, he said they pay for travel and lodging to go to Oklahoma for five weeks of training. Is this true? Any advice? Great video. Thanks for your time.
Yo, it looks like I’m heading to Tulsa this weekend to start training next week. On my application I put that a driver referred me. Will they ask me for your name or driver code at some point? Will they provide you with a bonus? Your videos are one of the main reasons I chosen Melton.
That’s awesome to hear! And yeah I think one you get into orientation you’ll have a chance to put my name down, and I’ll get a referral bonus. Good luck in Tulsa!
They don't pay out the bonus fully. Also if u decide to bail here is what's gonna happen. 1) u might get sued cause the money wasn't just urs to take and leave and 2) u will be blacklisted for life from melton and idk if ur DAC report might say something too
How's the weekly miles at Melton? Is there like an average miles you get each week? Is freight slowing down for these winter months? If this is your first job outside of Trucking school, that's damn good money. I'm researching my options as far as going to a company who trains or going to a CDL school. I just hate the idea of putting myself 8-10K in debt to begin with just to go to CDL school. Especially knowing that most only really teach you enough to pass your test.
I probably average around 2,500 miles/ week. It has slowed down recently since winter began, but it’s not a super drastic decline. I believe Melton has a tuition reimbursement program up to a certain amount for CDL school, but of course you have to stay with the company over a specific period of time. Could be worth looking into for your situation.
@Ian Elbert I was looking at their tuition reimbursement. That would help pay for some of it in the end. 2500 miles isn't bad for a week. The decline would suck though. I'm not one that likes to sit still for long.
every state makes you go to cdl school so u nfortunately theres no way around it unless you get a company to pay for it. then your likely to be on the road for weeks at a time
Bro I start orientation on April 10th but have a monthly appointment that I can't miss will they work with me on that. What's your name I can give your name as a referral... please respond thanks
That’s hard to give an exact answer to, it really just depends on what time you’re usually stopping cause that’ll determine how crowded the stop is. Most of the time I can set up for pretty easy straight backs
Not often, If you start your day early say 3 am then your 14 hour clock ends at 5 pm. Plenty of good spots to choose from. Most alley docking will be at shippers and receivers. It’ll take you 4 to 10 months to get comfortable with it and over a year for it to not bother you.
you can make decent money as a truck driver, but only if you work 60 or 70 hours a week year round, the max you will make as a company driver is maybe 80k after taxs, most trucking companies are scammers, corrupt and will do whater to screw the driver out of their money, especially otr, ltl where your paid by the hour, they cant screw you because it illegal not to pay a hourly employee their houy rate, otr though they can keep you sitting so your not running earing money if you are under 40 i would onlh do it for a couple years to pay for school or something, truckkng is not something long term, and as time goes by its only going to get worse for drivers,
It would be useful but it’s not a necessity. They provide shuttles to and from the hotel/training. The best part about taking your car would be you could easily leave the hotel for food and groceries whenever you want, but there are also shuttles that take you to Walmart. So you definitely don’t need to take your car, but it would be convenient to have
