Flatbeds...skateboards...why?

I like to put it this way.

It takes skill to dock a 53' trailer.

It takes even more skill/patience/time to flatbed and tarp.

Hence the payrates.

 

Youll see places that a van will never take you, Ive been on roads, (and dirt trails) that you had to climb in low gear, and crawl up to the top. Ive been 40mi but 3 hours travel time from anything you could call a decent paved surface, trying to get to the road before nightfall with rain coming in, made it with like 15 min of daylight to spare. Thats just the fun part.

Ive had a load of pvc pipe start to shift to my right as I was coming through the mountains and talking about it on the radio with some other drivers. Long story short I had to pull over and adjust my load and add extra straps to try to winch it back over, and then more straps on top of that, and to my pleasant surprise, as I parked and got out of my truck, I saw another flatbed pull in behind me and he helped me adjust and secure it. It took the both of us about 45 min to secure my load nicely, and he helped me until I was ready to jump back in the truck and go. He didnt to, but I never forgot the simple gesture that he may not even remember to this day! By myself that would have taken me 2 hours to do!

 

You are more apt to find another driver to lend a hand when you pull a flat or open deck trailer than other types of freight. It is rare to see someone pulling a van or reefer who will help out another driver. I used to see some van drivers helping others move their tandems, but it has been a long time since I have witnessed one helping another.

 

I think the Van rate is creeping up to about .41 cpm?
My company (flatbed) pays .44 cpm and .32 empty. If you run the North East coast from Maryland to Maine, it pays .48 cpm.
Over length loads pay anywhere from .50 - .65 cpm, depending on the length of the load.
Most flatbed companies do pay more but not by much. Sometimes you throw a few straps and chains and roll. Other times it's spending an hour or two chaining, strapping and tarp. It's back breaking work.

 

Well I'm still a flatbed newb.. having only done it for a few months. But I've discovered plenty of new muscles in my time already; and none of them have really been in my back. A little bit, but not too bad.. And so I feel its safe to say that flatbedding, although often exhausting, isn't really back-breaking. I think the only time I use my back is when I lift the rolled tarps and carry them around. If a forklift doesn't help you get them on top of your load, trying to lift them up over your chest or higher can certainbly be a real stress on your back, especially if you don't lift 'well' ie., properly. But besides that... not too hard on the back.

 

0x0 still equals 0

 

Here is a load of mine this week 11 straps and six chains, it was 95 degrees and loved ever second of it.

 

And I get the best of both worlds, pulling a 53' RGN. It's a tough one to get around in, for sure.

 

Not only do you have to clear the blind side curb but that large pot hole that will bottom out the trailer.

 

Yep, and with a 35' well, I've found it is very easy to get hung up on just about any rise in the parking lot or driveway. There are a lot of 53' trailers out there, but not with the tandems at the very rear.