Why do some truckers dislike flatbed trucking

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Lonewolf403, Sep 12, 2010.

  1. Jfaulk99

    Jfaulk99 Road Train Member

    2,914
    1,648
    May 16, 2009
    Couch
    0
    Think of it like the trailer you pull that doesn't require you to pay someone to unload it.:biggrin_25525:
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Ridgerunner665

    Ridgerunner665 Road Train Member

    2,129
    1,027
    Apr 27, 2009
    0
    Sounds like my kinda job :yes2557:
     
  4. Freebird135

    Freebird135 Road Train Member

    1,527
    905
    May 7, 2009
    In the air conditioning
    0
    i actually do pull a flatbed

    it just happens to have walls and a ceiling to keep freight from falling off the trailer
     
  5. grabingears4fun

    grabingears4fun Bobtail Member

    10
    2
    Jul 20, 2011
    san bernardino ca
    0
    gereke i drive for swift and that little pic of the guy backing and the building are halarious lmao :biggrin_2559:
     
    notarps4me Thanks this.
  6. grabingears4fun

    grabingears4fun Bobtail Member

    10
    2
    Jul 20, 2011
    san bernardino ca
    0
    im still here this stuffs halarious
     
  7. BigBadBill

    BigBadBill Bullishly Optimistic

    4,599
    4,438
    Oct 2, 2010
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    OK, last week before getting my flatbed rolling. The sooner I get a load home from GA the sooner I park the van. 2nd truck that I have a deposit on should be in next week and once all the i's crossed and t's dotted will likely have to make another run or two to make sure new driver can handle it.

    Only thing needed is a couple more straps and two boxes. Trailer has one but smaller than I remember so won't hold much. Plus would rather have the boxes between the wheels.

    Drover a couple hunderd miles with wife the past couple days and drove her crazy pointing out bad tarp jobs and other things. I think she was glad to drop me at my truck today.
     
  8. Les2

    Les2 Road Train Member

    5,150
    2,288
    Jul 25, 2008
    kicked back in my lazyboy...
    0
    Your boxes will get beat up and the bottoms will fall out if you mount it in between the spread. I know it looks better and seems like the smart thing to do, but you don't have any clue as to what a beating the tail of the trailer takes.

    If you do mount them back there, make sure they run a piece of aluminum under the box. It will keep the bottom from falling out.
     
  9. outerspacehillbilly

    outerspacehillbilly "Instigator of the Legend"

    4,349
    2,430
    May 28, 2009
    The Who's Your State
    0
    Already giving up on the hopper? How many trailers you have now?

    Sounds like here in the next couple weeks I'll probably be back to pulling a skateboard myself.
     
  10. Mdbluecrab

    Mdbluecrab <b>Crusty Crab</b>

    292
    301
    Feb 4, 2010
    White Plains, Maryland
    0
    Pulled a tanker 6 months....did not like it at all! It's not hard/physical work but you better be on your toes the entire time you're behind that wheel. Liquid is always shifting side to side and when you come to a stop, it's like somebody came up behind you and gave you a shove at your back, lol.
    After about a week, I got used to the shifting in the tank and the stopping but never did feel comfortable. Told my boss to get me off the tank and back on the flats.
    Anybody driving for a living, whether they be Van or Flats deserve any and all respect. Both can be physical, depending on what type of freight is hauled and both are mentally demanding. I just prefer flats because it keeps me in shape, I get outdoors and meet a better class of people as far as customers are concerned (my opinion).
    Flats tend to have more experienced drivers and I can easily relate to them, unlike Vans where it seems that every hip hop hood and un-informed displaced worker from another trade thinks that driving one of these 80,000 lb. behemoths is like driving a pick-up truck and yes, I see this type of unprofessional driving from a lot of Swift, Schneider and Container haulers.
     
    Working Class Patriot Thanks this.
  11. notarps4me

    notarps4me Road Train Member

    10,311
    5,253
    Jan 1, 2007
    NASA HQ
    0
    Makes it hard to get under the trailer to check things out. Dot bumper is in the way on the back and you just sealed off the other 2 ways to get under.. not counting low crawling from the front..:biggrin_2559: Also a lot of snow can build up and pack in there.:yes2557:
     
    BigBadBill Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.