Pros and cons of flatbed versus step deck

$1000 a week in fuel aint bad I got a friend runnin in Alberta haulin grain costs him bout $14000 a month in fuel alone. makes bout $32,000 a month before anythin

 

according to my figures that woud be at 5mpg and $4/gal? just to figure on the low side,over 4k miles a week for a total of about 17500/month $32000/17500= $1.83 mile unless his mpg's are higher or fuel is higher which would make that figure change alot

 

well I know for a fact hes not loggin all his miles. I dont know what the price of fuel is out there right now. But I do know I trust him in those figures. Hes out runnin grain and fertilizer (heavy)from grand praire to calgary and back
he says hes workin bout 17 hours a day, kinda crazy if you ask me but you do what you have to right?

 

I wish I had enough good paying work to go back to working those kind of hours again. I don't doubt that he is doing it, at least somebody is busy and making some money

 

I've owned both a flat and a step.. I now pull a RGN.. The step generaly pays more than a reg. flat. Most of the time you can put a flat load on a step but not always.. A step is easier to work off of (Lower to the ground)..

Permits on a flat for height?? Don't think so.. If a load can be made legal by changing the trailer it must be put on a lower trailer.. That's when a step pays more.. Dito for the RGN.. if it is too high for a step then a RGN is the next lowest.. THEN if it is overheight you'll need a permit for height.. As a general rule if a load can be made legal it MUST be made a legal load..
There are lots of extras and configurations you can get in a step.. ramps, load levelers, container locks, 17.5 tires.., lift axles, spread axles, tri axles.. beaver tails, 8' top decks, 10' top decks, 40' bottom, 38' bottom.... 48', 51', 53'.. aluminum, steel, combos..

Tarping... Your the captain of your own ship.. No one MAKES you tarp anything if you don't want to.. After all as a O/O I have NEVER heard of a company running a forced dispatch on a O/O! (A fleece purchase.. aka: lease purchase is different)..

 

Lots of loads require TARPING even if YOU do not want to , it might be your SHIP but its the CUSTOMERS load.

 

Exactly!
When it says "Tarps required" either tarp the load or look for another if you're an O/O.

 

Plenty of GOOD outfits have forced dispatch ( or at least SUGGEST you take it ) to both company and O/O units.

1 of the best outfits I ever worked for years back had a sign in DISPATCH

" WE ARE A TRUCKING COMPANY NOT A TRAVEL AGENCY WE NEED YOU TO GO WHERE WE NEED YOU TO GO , WHEN WE NEED YOU TO GO , SORRY IT IS NOT ALWAYS WHERE OR WHEN YOU WANT TO GO "

 

I'm leased to a company out of Louisiana, and we specialize in the oilfield industry. As for tarping I've yet to have to tarp a load, thing about it all the equipment is sitting outside when I pick it up and will be outside in harsh conditions when I drop it off. I own a regular flat, a drop deck, and a stretch trailer, that way I can haul pretty much any load that they call me for. The problem that I run into is when I deliver a load and I'm trying to get a backhaul sometimes I"ll end up with the wrong trailer for what the backhaul calls for. I will usually pull my stepdeck because you have a wider range of loads that you can haul. Most flatbed loads can be put on a dropdeck.

The company I'm leased to isnt forced dispatch, but if you refuse a load you get bumped to the bottom of the board. Sometimes it will take awhile for you too make it back to the top of the board. There are a few other companies like ours, and I've heard that if you refuse a load they will (punish) you by kicking you off the board for a few days.

 

those sound like good places not to work. One of the big reasons I am a O/O is so that NOBODY can tell me what to do