Flatbed questions, how much physical work is involved?

Right now freight is slow, companies are going to be able to make hiring decisions based on their customer needs. They will be looking at hiring people with experience and good records. Has nothing to do with you, just the market. Keep your eyes out for smaller companies. Florida is a tough place to be for flatbed right now.

 

They may have done you a favor. When I first got my license I applied at a coke distributor. Not sure what I was thinking lol. I was 50 years old. I wouldn't have made it one week doing that in the Texas heat. They did me a favor by not hiring me. Best of Luck.

 

A whole lot of that depends on the load you haul.

Setting that to the side, the main difference between tandems and spreads is turning radius—spreads don't turn as "true" (unless you have a dump valve/dump axle setup), meaning your pivot point may vary by about a good 6-8 feet. The other thing is the sheer amount of drag on that front axle in a spread setup—which is why it's never a good idea to try to turn too sharply or too slowly while loaded unless you want to either bust a tire, bend an axle, or potentially twist something else under the frame. That drag also makes backing into tight spots while loaded a PITA, too...doubly so if you're backing with an autoshift tractor, especially the ones buotm before 2019. Note: some van trailers also come equipped with spread axle setups; that ain't exclusive to just skateboards.

Now, once you get past all that, it also depends on the loads you haul. Some are nice, low and even (like roof shingles), and don't cause too much of a hurry. Then there's loads like "the billboard"—my pejorative for certain loads of wallboard that ship out of Georgia Pacific in Cumberland City TN (and probably other places as well). This load, which NO ONE wants, consists of 5-foot-wide, 12-foot long stacks, loaded four stacks long, five bundles high, dang near 8' tall off the deck when finished. It's a single row straight down the center of the deck, meaning narrow and top-heavy. That's the one in which you take all your turns EXTREMELY carefully or you're rolling that bad boy right on over.

Much the same can be said for these, which I hauled for a little over two years:





Depending on the type of lift, those loads may have averaged around 30K lbs, BUT they were both top- and front-heavy. Part of the fun of open-decking is every type of load handles differently.

Or as Todd the Good Ol' Safety Czar at TMC pounded into our heads when I worked there long ago: "drive the load".

 

I got my CDL through cypress out of their Tampa yard. Coming up on a year since my hire date. All of the other drywall flatbed companies seem to have lighter tarps

I’m 6’0” and 125lbs soaking wet. While the first couple months had me at my limits physically, it does get easier once you have an untarping routine and you know the tricks of the trade (like dumping your tractor bags and flipping those 110lb tarps over the tires onto the deck, or better yet just ask the forklift driver to get them on the trailer for you). I also was a major couch potato before I was hired, all this to say the work is doable if you apply yourself. I think Cypress is a decent place to start if you’re set on flatbed.

I hope you update if they hire you/let you know why they won’t. I remember seeing a student in their third week get sent packing when their MVR noted a speeding ticket. On a jet ski.

scary stuff!

 

I have three years of experience with flatbeds.
It's alott of work at times.
Seems as if the wind is always up when tarping.
Or the tarp is frozen.
Lots of chains,straps and bungee cords.
Lees miles

 

You would need to be in preety good shape and Health and young