New to flat beds need advice...

make sure your truck is always loaded with even weight on each side or try to at least, make sure the loads are in the middle if it's not the same width as the trailer. when i drove at a lumber yard i didnt center a load of 2x4's, those things slide across my whole bed left to right. learned my lesson there.

 

It is really hard to tell someone how to flat. You almost need a one on one instruction or a good company sponsored schooling followed by a trainer to make sure you have it down. The load can do one or two things or both. Kill you. Kill people around you or both.

 

Rule 1.... don't overtighten the straps with a load of bananas.

Actually, I pretty much enjoyed my years on flats. No two loads exactly the same so you gotta always be thinking when it comes to loading and securement. Err on the side of caution when it comes to chaining/strapping down. Stay the hell away from the "I just throw a couple straps and good enuff" crowd, they're morons. Much better to endure their smirks than to explain in court why your load came off and killed somebody.

Tarps. If tarping is required on your load do it at the shipper. Don't be a mook who tries to beat the system only to be parked under an overpass hurriedly trying to beat an approaching rain as traffic whizzes by at your elbow. Back half of the tarp goes on and snugged first. Front half laps over the back. Do it wrong and you've got a sail.

 

Loading a flat is a specialty, since your new don't be afraid to ask the shipper how other drivers do it. From placement to securing to tarping. Take your time and do it right the first time and check you load often esp if your hauling lumber. Lumber works out from the stack and settles and now your load is loose. Keep an eye on your straps and chains while driving goes for tarps too. You will have appointments with a lot of your loads, esp if they are crane unloads like construction sites. You will run the east coast alot to the ports thats just the way it is. Shippers will ask you how you want to load a coil, its your choice, I always ran suicide with them. Make sure you have plenty of timbers for your loads, these are to place under your load to keep the load off the deck, coils have their own type of cut timber to keep them from moving. Be honest with the shippers, tell them you have never done this before and they will go out of their way to hellp you, and you will need it. Flats take a while to learn, it is a true specialty inside the industry.
whats nice about flats, and bit of a pain to is the spread axles. No sharp turns with a spread axle until you dump your bags, you can pop tire if you do. whats nice is that you can have more weight on the rear where the axles are spread. There is just alot to learn with flats, but you can do it, just be patient, and watch your stops, hard braking can screw your load up bad thats why securement is crucial.

 

lol, I never run the east coast.

 

Agree

Agree

Not if you load it properly.

Agree

I've only been pulling a skateboard since the beginning. I think I've only had 50 appt. in the last 10 years. A lot of times I don't even call the consignee. I just show up!

I run east coast, West coast, South coast, North coast, & middle coast. I also get a lot of cross country loads. So saying being stuck in one paticular area is rediculous. The West coast has ports also... I personally haven't been in a port for months!

You mean dunnage?

They do? you must be talking about beveled dunnage. They are not needed to haul coils. Regular 4x4 dunnage work just fine. That beveled crap is from flatbed companies who require their driver's to get a bachlor's degree before they can tarp a load.

This is true maybe 25% of the time.

It's only common sense.

No! It is a brotherhood.

A pain? A spread axle is a blessing! Go get yourself a tandem flat & try to load 50k in that trailer.... And get it right the first time!

I don't have an air dump & will put my track unto a 90 degree turn easily. I've never popped a tire. But then I also run all virgin rubber. None of that recap crap on my trailer.

yes, you can put 20k on each axle of a spread axle. But you still have to remain under 80k gross.

Maybe it's because it is all I've ever done. But flatbedding really isn't all that hard if you have common sense & a will to actually work

To the original poster.... Read the thread linked below.


http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ce/114745-so-you-wanna-be-a-skateboarder.html

 

im not too sure about that i drove flat beds at a lumber yard, never had that happen unless i didnt load it right. you have to make sure the loads are centered and the pressure is equal across the load, its not about how tight can you make it. one trick i did is if i have an awkward load that i couldnt get secured with straps because the center of the load (be it shingles, cement whatever it was) is i would put dunnage on the middle of the load on top of it. just double check everything, ask lots of questions, experienced drivers will respect you for not trying to be a hot shot. i'm no seasoned vet or anything but i did it, it was fun, i never really realized how much of a specialty type thing it was until now. i just strapped the loads up, jumped on the flatbed, checked everything to make sure nothing was loose, and hit the road.