Profile For Nathan E.

Well you all were great help.

Woke up this morning and before I had a chance to get to the job site Melton called me out of the blue and told me they looked over my info and wanted to get me approved for their program. A couple phone calls later and I'm headed to Tulsa this weekend.

Talked with Maverick today as well and thought long and hard. Melton was the better fit. I'm excited and anxious. Getting ready for the big challenges that lie ahead. Can't wait!

A little worried about the road test since I've never messed with a 10 speed. How worried should I be?

Thanks again guys!

I meant I tried McElroy

I tried Melton but they're not hiring inexperienced drivers in my area of Arkansas right now. Know a guy that works there though and he loves it!

RE West? I'll have to look them up.

I suspected he was blowing smoke.

Thanks so much! Really do appreciate your input

Gotcha! And I went to the terminal manager and all but it wasn't working. Granted I've spoke to the managers since when they called and checked and they just explained they didn't realize it was so serious.

Definitely just a DM problem. Not the company as a whole. If I could go back with them as flatbed I would. Outside of that, I enjoyed my time there.

So in your opinion, I should go Maverick over Western?

Those are basically my 2 main options for now...Melton is in there too but I have to have a certificate showing I completed Squire and I don't since I haven't paid it off yet. Anyhow..

Also... As for TMC, I'd have to pay for my own refresher course and right now, I can't swing that. Works been slow.

And any info on the company itself is really what I wanted... They're not my first option. By any means. They just offered me something today and I wanted info. Which, you've definitely told me what I suspected as far as what my recruiter was saying. I was gonna make a decision tomorrow after the wife and I talk things over tonight.

Old school, there's nothing more to this story. I'm not sure what terminal you're out of, but my dispatcher was the one responsible for assigning trucks and the truck had issues and he wanted me to just go. He said it would be 3 weeks before I could get a different truck. I have mouths to feed so I came home to my old job. I've been at a very hard job for 10+ years and can assure you I've had to overcome more than a handful of unfavorable circumstances.

Now...I read my post again and it did sound like I was bashing Knight and I intended to explain that they are a great company and I know SEVERAL drivers that are still there and have great relationships with their driver manager. I did leave that out. It was a bad situation that wasn't getting better and since it was still "Squire", I couldn't switch DM's.

As for me wanting to skip training? No. That was one of my questions. Maverick is a great company. I was looking for advice. Should I go with Maverick and train for 6 weeks (which I'm fine with) or can I be confident with the short training at Western.

I do apologize for the confusion.

But your post did let me know what I wanted to know regarding the recruiter.

Thanks Old School! Always love reading your insight.

Oh and thanks both of ya for the replies! Much appreciated

Redbeard, I've actually heard the "don't drive for the guys with the (insert color here) trucks" for just about every company...it's usual somebody who had a bad experience or something. Granted there are times they're legit. Dale Clay's videos are great! I've watched a lot of them. Very informative! Maverick is good...just not sure if it's the best option for me. I just don't know.

Pat M., Good to know! I'm definitely not one to take shortcuts so that shouldn't be a problem. Rules are rules...and I don't like fines or other issues.

So in October I started Knight's CDL School (Squire). Got my CDL in 2 weeks (normal program lasts 4 weeks), got trained by the most insane man I've ever met in my life (I swear Meth had a very big role in his life) while driving a dedicated route in and out of Canada every week, and then left the company when they gave me a truck that lost all of its air pressure within 2 minutes of turning it off and refused to correct the issue. I went back to my old job as a foreman for a construction crew...work is extremely slow so I'm getting back on the road. I really wanted to go flatbed to begin with but I didn't. So here we go...Western Express has offered me a gig. 5 out 2 days home. Granted, that's a recruiter talking. I don't have to have 2 days off every week, so oh well if that's not the case. This is trucking...sometimes home time just doesn't happen.

I had spoke to Maverick and TMC both. TMC said I need a refresher course. Maverick told me 6 weeks of training after a few weeks of orientation/securement training. W/E told me they;d put me in the "eval" program (whatever that is) and I have 2 days of orientation and 3 days of load securement/tarping. Then I have 2 weeks of training before I go solo. All sounds good and dandy...i just don't know much about the company. I know several people who work for Melton, TMC, and Maverick and other flatbed companies. I don't have any personal connection with Western Express. I'm looking for any info I can find.

Also, the recruiter said .40 cpm after training. I can't find that anywhere on their site. He sounded a little hesitant when he said it, so.......anybody know for sure about this?

LOVE this site and the High Road helped me pass my CDL test on the first try...easily. Also, I can always count on everyone here to hook me up with info...MUCH APPRECIATED!

Thanks in advance for all the help.