Flatbed questions

Discussion in 'Flatbed Trucking Forum' started by Dino soar, Dec 1, 2021.

  1. Dino soar

    Dino soar Road Train Member

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    Right now I pull my own dry van trailer with my own authority.

    I recently received an email asking me about doing flatbed work. It got me thinking so here I am. I have done flatbed work before but it's not something I'm the most experienced at, especially tarping.

    I have recently taken some time off from working because I had things to do for my family and things at the house, et cetera. In the time that I have been off I have slept every single night and my body feels incredibly good.

    So I will be back to work soon but I almost am dreading it because the loads go out all different times of the day 24 hours A-day. Even if I wasn't looking for the best paying loads which I always am, I would think it would be very difficult for me to find loads that I work only during daytime hours. Now bear in mind I really don't go any farther than 3 hours away- generally I am about an hour or 2 away from home base but I can't see how to time these loads that I only work during the day and sleep at night.

    So when I received the solicitation for flatbed freight it got me thinking back that I thought I heard some guys say that they generally work daytime hours. Like the receivers are generally Monday through Friday 8 to 5 or whatever daytime hours they operate.

    So my 1st question is, is that accurate?

    My 2nd question is what does a decent flatbed go for? And what size flat bed do you buy? 48'? Bear in mind that when I bought my dryvan I paid almost nothing for it but it was solid and needed some repairs and I worked it over.

    And at this point in the economic swing of things how does flatbed work pay compared to the dryvan?

    Maybe it would be good for me to be able to switch from one to the other?
     
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  3. blairandgretchen

    blairandgretchen Road Train Member

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    Almost always bankers hours for load/unload.

    Get a 53’.

    Probably overpriced like everything else today.

    Vans are killing it right now - but there’s always swings.
     
  4. cke

    cke Road Train Member

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    I’ve heard the same thing about vans right now. Killing it. Flatbed rates are slipping.
     
  5. blairandgretchen

    blairandgretchen Road Train Member

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    I searched in my area for craps and chuckles, and it almost made me want to shop for flip flops and the latest and greatest GPS.

    Then I realized how annoyed I got at 5 hours at the shipper , and figured I’d tough it out.
     
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  6. HoneyBadger67

    HoneyBadger67 Road Train Member

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    Hauling machinery (OD/OW) you're guaranteed daylight hours only. Not sure what's available in your area, but it's a thought.
     
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  7. Dino soar

    Dino soar Road Train Member

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    Can you do that with your own authority? I am careful about what my limits are and I know there is a lot to know about permits and all of that type of thing.

    Also, my truck is a regular sleeper tractor with 12/40 axles.

    I am in the suburbs of Philadelphia PA.
     
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  8. blairandgretchen

    blairandgretchen Road Train Member

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    And at this time of year, short days - it’s REALLY light driving times.
     
  9. HoneyBadger67

    HoneyBadger67 Road Train Member

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    I got a regular sleeper truck and have been permitted to 95k. You just have to scale before ordering.

    You've got a lot of ports to haul out of, being from Philly. Case and Deere are delivered to Baltimore (dundalk) via Wallenius and quite a bit gets delivered around PA.

    If you're able to get wide without being tall on a low step, IMO that's the best bet. You can run 12 wide through most construction, but over 14'2 high you could be wasting a lot of time on special routes. (Look at the I-15 detour for OD... :-( )

    There are a lot of white volvo O/O doing OD/OW...if that's the route you choose, I'm certain you'll be fine.
     
  10. shooter19802003

    shooter19802003 Road Train Member

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    Flatbed rates always drop in the winter.

    New flatbeds are stupid expensive now....like everything else I guess.

    Mine is a 48x102. If I end up buying a lighter truck, I will get a 53x102.

    I think a Mac 48x102 o/o spec is around $60k....ish right now. Prolly going up by the day.
     
  11. stwik

    stwik Road Train Member

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    But think of the upside — more free time for editing videos :)
     
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