Why become a flatbedder?

Good question.

First, you get paid more than pulling a dry van. Depending on the company you make more per mile and get tarp pay, etc.

Second, once you start in flatbed and gain experience securing loads you can move up to oversize or overweight loads, which pay even more. Look at the wide variety of open deck trailers out on the road. Each kind fills a need.

Third, is respect. It's a rare event to be treated poorly by a shipper or receiver working flatbed, at least in my experience. Pulling dry van or reefer, especially at grocery warehouses, you are usually treated like a steering wheel holder... because that's what they are used to dealing with.

Fourth, you get to drive on dirt and mud and places a truck shouldn't go. Nothing like topping out a steep muddy hill and THEN looking at a slimy twisting descent, and thinking about the bad things that could happen but with a grin on your face! It's just plain fun.

 

That's it in a nutshell. If that don't convince you nothing will.

 

I wanna do it because yanking a fridge around is getting boring. Boring leads to complacency, and that leads to oopsies.

 

Real trucker pull open deck.

 

^ is the only reason I came to skateboard.

In all seriousness I love the challenge it is, from securement to load placement, getting your tarp blown half off and no one is in sight to help you get it back on and outsmarting the predicaments you find yourself in.

 

I like the puzzle aspect. Nothing better than looking at a list of products, and mentally figuring out how to fit it on the truck, knowing it has to come off in a certain order, sometimes from a particular side of the truck due to site access, then in a few hours standing back and smiling about how it looks exactly like i thought it would.

 

"Flatbedders do it with straps and chains, and it's always nice and tight."

 

Heard that somewhere did you?

 

That's what she said.....

 

In reading this and thinking... And then there's car haulers. The ultimate manly men... Flatbedders would say effit at strapping down 10 cars, 40 tires and climbing all over the truck.