How hard is it really?

the nice thing about flats is your customer is probably 7-3 mon- fri so if you can work it right you will be home weekends or more. I'm usually in my own bed thurs to sunday nights. The tarp can get heavy at the end of the week when you are tired LOL Twice i have gone to the yard on Saturday to fold my tarp because it was raining, windy and I was too tired to fold it properly the day before. A true flat bedder would never be caught with a balled up tarp- thats newby stuff and I am a newby.

The worst for me is when its cold and raining and your gloves get soaked. I have had as many as 6 pair of gloves drying by the heater as I keep changing them up when they get soaked.
Getting in the habit of slipping into your coveralls saves a lot of laundry and I find steel the dirtiest but then there are the mudhole yards that you will deliver to. Get some boots!
my trailer is only 34" high so even as an old guy I have no trouble jumping up and down. I don't really find the securement to be tough physical work but it does need to be checked every 3 hours which means you have to climb on your load to check any rub or wear points on your straps. You will learn quickly that you need lots of edge guards. My first time seeing a strap flapping beside my truck brought that lesson home loud and clear.If you inherit used straps then I would recommend unrolling each and every one to check for cuts and wear. The same with your tarps and tarp straps. Replace any that are not perfect-then if you get written up for a strap it will be your own fault. check your chains and binders for wear also. Good time to get binder locks also.

There is a lot of pride in rolling down the road with a big well secured load behind you.

BTW- I don't think i have met a flat bedder that wouldn't answer questions or accept a hand tarping their load.

 

when I did flatbed, it was 21 years ago. My early 20's.

Would I consider it today? I'd likely go with a step-deck before a flatbed. And even then, I'd want to have ramps on it and look more for anything to avoid tarping if I could.

Get a ladder for climbing onto the load. I know I will if I go back to them.

Figure out how to get the tarps on top without having to muscle them.

Buy a couple of pairs of coveralls. It's not if, but how much will you get dirty.

Wet wipes are your friends for afterwards. So is go-jo.

Make friends with the carpet sales guy back home. He will be able to supply you with lots of samples for tarp and edge protection.

Take and use a vice-grip on your s-hook on the rubber bungee. Crimp those suckers down on the rubber. You will save rubbing holes into your tarps.

Budget new rubber bungees every couple of weeks. They just wear out. Plan on keeping them in the truck before you load on a cold winters day. They don't like to stretch when frozen. With that in mind, watch your s-hooks on your tarps. You can ruin a good tarp quick by having those s-hooks rub it wrong.

pull back and up on your bungees when tarping front to back. Front and up on the rear tarp.

Always put your rear tarp under your front tarp too. With that in mind, fold your pockets so the air lays them flat. If you don't, it becomes a big air pocket.

 

I sent you a PM. I dont know if they hire new drivers, but it might be something for you to look into.

 

i've learned some of my best tricks that way.

 

I agree!

Making the final choice on a company can be a challenging task.

 

Not from personal experience, but I would go with Maverick out of those 2 from what I have heard and read.
There is absolutely no reason why you couldn't do the flatbed work IMO.
I have been doing it for @19yrs, and it is more brains than brawn most of the time. 99% of the time, the guy loading you will throw your tarps up top with his forklift, just have them ready on the floor for him. I cannot remember any time I had to wrestle tarps on top of a load in recent history myself.
In time, you will find easier ways to do things, like using 1 chain with 2 binders on it, which will save you dragging extra chains around fr no reason, and so on.
Best of luck, and as always keep us posted and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Martin

 

Flatbedders are their own breed vrs us van drivers and from many of the lds I see,flatbedders work hard and deserve more for tarping and for untarping.I don't even think companies pay for untarping do they?

 

Tarp pay covers the tarping and untarping, correct.
I haul 1 thing that takes me @15 minutes to tarp, and @10 minutes to untarp and that pays me $75. Most though are $200 and up for me to tarp a load.
I maybe tarp 4 times a year, so not a big deal to me.
Martin

 

I think you can do it if you got the heart for it. My advice to you as a newbie in this industry. You have a lot to learn so you should just go with one of the major freight companies, learn the ropes first. You like the challenge, well just getting out there as a rookie is a bigger challenge then most can handle. You should see how you handle yourself out there first before putting too much on your plate. And I only say that cause you have already so much to learn. Truck school teaches you how to operate a tractor trailer but living on the road is a whole different ball game. It's not about if you can handle flatbedding or not. It's more about if you can handle big riggin or not. Find out how much you can chew before you take too big of a bite. Good luck...