Profile For Skydrick (Brian L.)

I just reached the beginning of my third week, but that sounds just like my first. My first load was 1600 miles from Cleveland to Laredo in two and a half days. Didn't get loaded until 3:45pm. I was panicked on where I would park. But I made it by Thursday morning. Turned around and took a load to Roanoke. 3100 paid miles for week one. Luckily I got a reset in at home after that. Week two was only. 1500 since I went home. Good luck in your second week and keep rested!

The trailer certainly does act like a sail. When it's windy you need both hands on the wheel and every brain cell concentrating on driving. It'll come with practice.

Also, believe it or not, if you on purpose imagine you're about to have an accident, it will help you drive safer. Then you become more conscious of your safe following distances and the other vehicles around you.

Driving bridges can be fun. I'm on Memphis so I drive over the Mississippi a lot. But I can't get used to the big bridge on I-10 at Lake Charles, LA.

Just went over it two days ago. Pretty scary for a new driver. For that matter so is the causeway.

Hi David, welcome.

There are many excellent flatbed companies. You will also find that there is no "best" company because everyone has different needs. As Sunshine mentioned she is looking at a company with a regional fleet in the area of the country she lives in. You may want that, or OTR. You may want a company that gets you home regularly or one that expects drivers to be out 3 weeks or more. What makes a company best is how that company meets your needs. Check out this section for more info: How To Choose A Company

What some members here have done is to share personal experiences to help build better pictures of the companies they work for. In fact you can use the search bar and find some very good threads on Western Express and a few on TMC and several other flatbed companies.

I personally just finished training for Melton which has been a great company. I will mention that for Melton, if you live west of I-35, as it sounds like you do, you must be out a minimum of three weeks before going home due to the nature of freight. I believe Systems has more freight out west so depending on your home time needs that can factor in.

Other companies like TMC also have variable hiring areas. I'm not familiar enough with their west coast area but I happen to know they do not hire east of I-95 currently. But it changes. The best way is to call a recruiter and ask.

As far as how difficult it is to get in to orientation for TMC, they do have a reputation for being very selective.

Other companies that hire student drivers are Prime, and Maverick, though I don't know their hiring areas. Keim TS also hired new drivers but they are based out of Kansas and I have no idea how far west they hire.

Good luck to you and keep asking questions.

Cat parts from the border. They heard our complaints . . . and gave us black skirts on the new trailers instead of white. (Skirts are for girls.)

Laredo? We just picked up a load of tractor frames out of there this afternoon.

Just thought I'd pop in and mention Melton Truck Lines is a flatbed company based out of Tulsa. But there are plenty of good options all over, and you are correct, Oklahoma drivers can get hired on by nearly every major national carrier.

http://www.cvsa.org/programs/int_roadcheck.php

It's almost that time of year again. This year's emphasis is to be on load securement. Of course, they'll be doing tons of level 1 inspections to boot. It's scheduled for June 2-4.

Be ready and be safe (and secure! HA!), everyone.

Just in time for me to be out on the road with my Melton trainer.

Fifth wheels were developed to allow the front axel of a carriage or cart to pivot, effectively turning it in to a dolly that was the hooked to a team.

They were developed directly from the original way of attaching the other four wheels on the carriage just turned sideways. It is pretty much a miniature wheel placed between the axel and suspension.

Always a good quiz to ask someone where the 19th and 20th wheels are on an 18 wheel tractor trailer.

Had my in office procedure earlier today. All went well. Can't drive for the next few days (that's gonna really suck). But other than feeling really tired & sore, not to bad off at the moment.

Ernie

Glad to hear that it went well.

Ok, I go in tomorrow to have the radioactive seeds implanted.

5 weeks later I will start radioactive therapy in addition to the seeds.

I hope all goes well going forward.

Ernie

Good luck to you tomorrow Ernie. It sounds like you are under good care and have a solid treatment plan. I hope everything responds quickly and trouble free for you. See you out on the road soon.

Hi Michael,

That is a completely normal feeling. This is an exciting new life direction you have placed yourself on. It sounds like you have already done some research and you know a little about the industry through family. But I think most people around TT will tell you they had jitters before their first day of class or orientation and certainly their first time behind the wheel. So enjoy it, and relax. Congrats on the permit, at least you won't have to worry about book studying when you get to class. Maybe study for some endorsements if you want them.

It is great that you already have a prehire as well, no harm in working on a few more just to be able to make some choices if you would like. But either way that is great to already know you have somewhere to go. Good luck and let us know how its going.