Flatbed companies
 

Whats the difference between different flatbed companies. Any drivers here for these companies.
Give me some opinions.


1. Melton
2. Maverick
3. TMC
4. Boyd Brothers

Or tell me some I didnt list. I live in Southwest GA

IMO, you have the cream of the crop in the flatbed world listed right there, but not necessarily in that order...

There is not a lot of difference in Maverick, TMC or Boyd when it comes to pay and hometime. From the Melton folks that I have talked to, they tend to keep you out a little longer than the others. The other 3 will have you home pretty much every single weekend and they'll give you the opportunity to earn 45-55K per year, including your first year. Boyd and Maverick both pay by the mile and TMC is largely percentage.

I have firsthand knowledge of Maverick and they're a great company, but have done a lot of research into TMC and Boyd and know a few drivers at TMC personally. There are several threads on here discussing the good and bad at TMC and Maverick, but not much info on the other two that I have found.

A very good list to start from. Now make a list of questions that are important to you and call each one and ask them the same things to make a comparison.

Good luck.

appreciate it. Never done flatbedding is it really hard to do. Tarping, weather etc.

"Hard" is gonna be different for everyone. I'm an old farm boy so I don't find the work too tough. Others may have a different opinion. The weather can suck, but for me it's not a big deal.

If you've ever been exposed to much manual labor at all you should be fine.

Doesn't Manuel Labor drive for an outfit from El Paso??

im trying to decide between Melton or Maverick.

Hey NEEDALOCALJOB, look in to Coastal Transport out of Savannah, might be another good option for you with guaranteed weekends home, and a good earning potential, also might look in to Cypress, both companys are close to you and will run through your area and get you home on the weekends, i worked for Coastals sister company Commercial Carrier in early 05 and they were a decent outfit, with good miles, and i was home every weekend. Just a couple others for you to look out for.

No, I think you have him confused with someone else. Manuel Labor drives for Celadon now. As a matter of fact, he's the main driver recruiter for Celadon/Mexico Division.

I would say between those two your 2 biggest questions would be:

1) Do I want a brand new blue KW or a brand new maroon Columbia?

2) Do I want to be home every weekend or every other weekend?

I loaded and unloaded beside several Melton trucks and they seem to be a really good outfit with very nice equipment. Most people I talked to were quite pleased with them. The only downside I found with them was that I could get better hometime and pretty much the same pay with Maverick, TMC or Boyd, but then again not everyone is looking to be home every weekend.