Flatbed versus Refer

IDK.... last I read was you just started with Melton? I won't derail this thread.... I'll just scratch my head...

 

I have heard this subject bantered about for years. I never really messed with flatbeds much because to be honest I was too dang lazy to climb all over that thing tarping. I have did flatbeds but hated doing it. I drove reefers for mega's. Yes, with a reefer you are going to have downtime. There are some places that take so long to unload you can do a 10 while on the dock. Another negative about reefers is the noise and shaking. It takes a greenhorn a while to get used to this. However I loved doing reefer driving and in the end made just about the same amount of money otherwise. The bottom line in almost all trucking is is when those wheels are not turning you are not making money.

 

If you are wanting to pull reefer and live close enough to a tyson facility I would suggest going to work for them.

 

I think 90% of the time I was hauling Tyson, General Mills, Mars candy or Hersheys candy. I loved the candy because for the most part I got to keep damaged pieces. These companies were almost always drop and hook on pickup. I hardly ever did a live load. Thankfully most of the time my live unloads were at Walmart DC's and they took at most about 2 maybe 2 1/2 hours.

 

Im going to amend the reefer bit one time.

One word "McKesson" in Memphis. Drop and hook, they unload you stay in cab, reload with cardboard back to memphis always. Million plus dollar value drugs in those unmarked rigs and trailers. You had to have the prey mindset not to be caught among the parasites and keep your big mouf shut about what's in that #### thing.

Easy peasy. Overnight team delivery, sunrise empty heading home. = Memphis. Ugh. Take the bad with the good. = Paychecks.

Reefer can be really good, if you know where to be a squirrel and dig up a nut for yourself and keep the whole forest too.

 

LOL, I used to work for a Staples distribution center and we had Capstone guys unloading our bulk trucks. They used to stack the ####tiest pallets I ever saw in my life. I was the reach operator and these guys would build bulk pallets that were 7ft high but they wouldn't make sure everything was tightly packed so the pallets were always leaning with just 1 thin pass of shrink wrap.. After having one of these pallets fall over in the racks we are talking 150+ boxes on it I ####ing raised so much hell they had to make capstone retrain all their guys to stack pallets properly.. (but of course they still didn't)

I had no idea they were like a "thing" for unloading trucks in other places as well, I thought they were just filling roles as temps.

 

So when you are stuck there for 10hrs are you stuck in the truck? I've worked at distribution centers and I know our security would never just let drivers walk around the lot. I couldn't imagine just sitting in a truck for 10hrs not being able to do anything.

I mean do you typically know it's going to be a long time so you can unhook and go get something to eat or go somewhere you can get out of the truck? Are you forced to stay there because maybe they unload in a half hour or maybe it's 10hrs?

This is why I'm going flat bed, the tarping will suck a bit, I've watched guys tarp loads I've shipped but man there is no way I could just sit in a truck doing nothing for an entire day.

 

Sitting in a truck for 10+ hours waiting to load or unload, in my experience, is an extremely rare occurrence.

But imagine securing and tarping a load when it's 0f and the wind is blowing 30 mph. That doesn't happen often either, but it does/will happen [unless you strictly run the southern tier]

 

Yeah I understand that, I loaded flat beds with our shipments in CO. I do realize it's gonna suck as well, but it's only part of the year on a random load here or there vs every load on a refer can end up with wait issues. Not to mention other things like having to wash the truck every load, baby sitting the refer and I can only image the smell of some of the places you guys pick up or drop off at..

A couple of other things I think about is with a flat bed I'm usually going to have better visibility behind me, I'm not gonna be backing into load docks very often. Not to mention you will almost always be going into cities with your refers where as flat beds likely not as much.

My thing though is I'm going as a company driver to get my experience after that I'm buying a used truck and hauling equipment. Might even do hotshot, I'm not sure yet unless I just find some really good refer opportunity, that's the only way I think I'd go refer is if there was some very good money..

 

And I've sat in line for 3+ hours behind 20 other trucks at OSB plants and steel mills, more than a few times. And wait until you deal with the Port of Houston and others. And dusty or muddy construction sites with tire hazards everywhere? You can have that.