Flatbed VS Van : What are some of the pro's and cons?

Seriously???

Van's: You have to back to a dock. Some pallets are the exact width of the trailer so if you are not at a 90 degree angle the loaders will complain. Your backing has to be good.

Flat's: Mostly pull through type unloading/loading, or backing, but doesn't need to be perfect.

Van's: constantly sliding tandems.

Flat's: Fixed tandems, but may make scaling a pain as you cannot fix it.

Flat's Major Con: Strapes, tarps, tightening, damage.... Rain. Snow. High Wind. High heat. Freezing cold. Bad neighborhood.... Doesn't matter. You have to climb around tarping that thing down, straping it, then making frequent stops to tighten. You get like a $20 tarp pay per load... Not worth it for a possible 3 hour strap down depending on how weird the load is.

Van's: Other than getting out to open your doors, move your tandems and breka the seal, not much outdoor exposure.

Flat's: Usually a faster unload.

Pay is usually pretty close to the same, but heavy haul or flatbed that hauls certain types of weird things can make pretty dang good money.

If you don't mind getting wet, and lots of physical work, go Flatbed.

If you are lazy and just want an easy job and little outdoor exposure, go Van.

I drive Van. I am too #### lazy to deal with tarps, and straps but gotta admit heavy haul would be aweosme down the road to give a try.

 

I did van for roehl for 6 months then switched to flats. I like flats a heck of a lot more. I get paid more and make a decent amount extra from the tarp pay. Its also rewarding to get out of the seat and do something other than just driving.

The other night though I had to strap, chain, and then tarp a load while it was snowing. Only took about 45 minutes to do all three. It sure was cold though. In van all I had to do was close doors and get back in the truck. I've also found that the customers I go to treat me a lot better than van.

Ethan

 

Wolfen-

Are you really that ignorant? Flatbed/ lowboy/ open-deck can necessitate some incredibly tricky backing, especially if you're delivering to a tight jobsite. Also, there are numerous flatbeds with sliding tandems on them.

I've bumped docks with flatbeds. Vans are not the only trucks that do that.

 

I've had to chain, strap, and tarp in snow, 115°+ heat, and in rain during a hurricane. Its no picnic. During the hurricane I was pondering my choice of switching while rolling my tarps up in 6" of water. I ruined a pair of work boots and a rain suit that day.

Roehls tarp pay for company drivers is $12 on/off($24) for a small tarp and $22 on/off($44) for a large tarp. I once had a 4 stop load with lumber tarps. That load alone made me a good bit of change. I made more money on that load in tarp and stop pay than I did mileage pay.

Ethan

 

I look forward to it. I like a challenge. Maybe that's just me.

Most companies pay between $20-40 for tarp pay. I don't know what these specific companies pay. But that's about the norm.