Question for Flatbedders

You must not ever have to deliver to Home Depot

 

Or a Lowe's D.C.......

 

You sure you heard that right?. It might have been
"Once you fall flat a couple of times and realize that hauling specialty freight at regular driver wages while risking death is a screw job you will never go back to working for free"

I was a company flatbed driver for almost 10 years until I ran my own truck and found out how many times I had been screwed hauling certain products.

 

Please elaborate...we would like to know how you got screwed!

 

I guess you didn't read the words MOST OF THE TIME. I have delivered some 5am dry wall loads to those stores, but very little. And which one has that DC in Venore, TN? Lowes or Home Depot? I been to that place a couple times as well. But was always unloaded at my appt. time. Although all Mcelroy drivers I talk to don't seem happy with the way they load their trailers.

Menards DC up their in Indiana? or is it Ohio? Just off the toll road? Anyhow I did go there once & sit nearly 3 hours to get unloaded... Then they tried to reload my trailer....

 

And if you notice, the bottom layers of the load are not in the sleeper, therefore it leads me to believe that it was for securement purposes. Possibly secured with a strap instead of a chain and binder. And I have a question, If you do not have a headache rack on the trk or trlr, where do you store your chains and such?

 

Some flatbed trailers have storage boxes under them. Usually between the axles if it is a spread. Some drivers keep them under the bunk in those storage areas...

Now that bulkhead on the picture was not for sucurement reasons. If you look at the picture close enough you can tell that there are 5 or 6 boards that are chained there. The way they are chained are for storage purposes only. Most flatbedders do the same thing when they do not have a place to stow their timbers.

Also the bottom layer didn't move probably because the amount of weight that is resting on it... The top layers don't have the same weight which makes it much easier for them to move.

 

Just wondered if anyone here knew anything about pulling flats for Landstar, are the rates decent, and would it be worthwhile for someone with a new truck. just something I was thinking of looking into

 

All I know about them is to get the lightest truck/trailer you can. Last Landstar flatbedder I talked too said his dispatcher couldn't get him anything because all the loads were 48k and his truck was too heavy to pull them.

 

What does your average 48' alum. flatbed weigh?