Do flatbed or boxes

I too am kinda undecided on whether to go flatbed or dry van. One question I have about flatbedding. Can the tarps be bad on the back? I would like to get the experienced truckers advice on this. 3 years ago I had to get surgery for a herniated disk. Since then I have had no problems with my back, but if the tarps are bad on them, I would hate to re-injure it or possibly another one and be off the road for a while due to another surgery.

 

Well that is a good question. Money wise your best bet would probably be tanker most tankers make more per load then anything else now setting time it depends on who your with and all that. As well as most tanker out fits want you to have several years of experiance before they put you in a tanker since they have there own very unique problems and challanges. THe most versatile trailer is a Reefer you can load about anything in a reefer. Now that beeing said there again experiance is going to be key. if you haul produce and stuff it requires knowledge of what your pulling. Flat/Step deck now that is a challange just in load securement and planning and how to load different commoditys and and products. There again setting depends on company. The dry van probably the easiest to get into and the most common will pay less than the rest but has a larger part of the market.The one you didn't mention that probably has the best money to be made and is usualy a real nitch market is live stock or Bull haulers as they are known. That is where i started years ago and made real good money dureing the spring and fall but about starved the rest of the time. Now days i don't know if they are still in buisness but there used to be a company called Speedway that hired newbee's and pulled livestock so there is my breakdown. good luck.

 

depends on how your truck is set up i have had them on a rack on top of the headache rack and also in a side box and i have had them straped under the trailer. Now when you put your tarps on a load usualy the guy loading you with a fork lift will put them on top of the load for you. It can hurt your back if your not carefull. i have 2 ruptured disc right now from it but have been getting along with out surgery for 10 years so it can be done if you just be carefull and watch what you do. Will i do it again at my age you bet at 51 i will and still do flat bed. You can teach a monkey to hold a steering wheel but it takes a talent to pull a flat bed.

 

My husband got me started in flatbed a few years ago and since then...I grimace when they try to get me to even move a van from one parking spot to another.

In my opinion, and keep in mind I have only been driving 7 years, having pulled vans, reefer, and flatbeds, flateds are far and away the best route to go.

Flatbed exercises your body and your mind. It is not just drive from one place to another. You get to go to interesting places you will never see pulling a box. But, the only down side in my opinion, if you go to a lot of construction sites, be prepared to wait.

And, one of the best things I have noticed, flatbed drivers treat each other better in general, than regular van drivers.

Oh, I could wax ecstatic all day about flatbed...but I won't.

Flatbed, or heavy haul (someday), is the only trailer I will ever pull as a driver.

The day I can't pull a skateboard is the day I will quit driving. Sounds extreme but before flatbed, I was at the point of quitting driving. Now, I have respect from other drivers, especially when they see I CAN do all the work, and I enjoy driving in a way I never did while pulling a van. I am satisfied and content. Mostly. Everyone has bad days.

Ok, I will stop babbling now.

 

When I first started I couldn't lift the lumber tarps. I work with 3 different tarp sizes. A smoke tarp which is pretty light, about 25lbs. A top tarp weighs about 50lbs. And we have two lumber tarps which weigh about 125lbs each.

At first I had to roll them over in front of the drives, lift them to the steps and brace them, then lift them to the cat walk and then wrestle them onto the headache rack. Once my body became used to the lifting I gradually became able to carry them to the back of the trailer and heft them up.

My point is, like anything else, you have to train yourself to it. Sometimes my back aches but usually that comes from not lifting right and straining myself.

As to tarping in bad weather, get good thinsulate gloves. I have had to tarp in Minnesota during January. VEERRYY COLD! When in extreme weather, hot or cold, don't work beyond your limits. A good dispatcher understands that in inclement weather its going to take a little longer. At first it will take you anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours to tarp. Depends on the load. Once you gain experience that time is cut.

I am able while over the road to put in 2900-3100 miles a week, which for me is an average of 3-5 loads. When I first started pulling flatbed on my own I only averaged 2100 miles a week because I was still trying to figure a whole lot out.

In the long run flatbed is more rewarding but at the same time it can be more dangerous because of poorly loaded freight on a preloaded trailer, slippery conditions from rain/ice/snow/dust, and climbing on/around loads and trailers.

Sorry, I honestly will try now to stop talking about flatbed.

 

I am a company driver and my otr dispatchers policy is if the forklift driver won't put the tarps up on a load that requires a tarp and I can't get them up for whatever reason, I call my dispatcher and he calls the customer and tells them to remove their freight from the trailer, put the tarps up, or sign the bills "No tarps required." He's a good guy. He takes care of all of his drivers and we take care of him.