want to get into flatbed

My worst week was $1135 but pretty consistently do over $1200. Pay stubs to prove it. Oh yeah im a company driver

 

You can also try Combined Transport out of Oregon.

 

That's pretty dang good !!!

 

Rob, I just did a flat bed job for 7 months. You do NOT want to work flat bed. The 8 foot drop tarps are 100 pounds each, which you will be stretching across loads as high as 13 feet 6 inches (lumber loads), in snow, ice, sleet, 10 degree temps, or in Missouri or elsewhere in the summer when it is 105 degrees all week at about 93% humidity. If the wind comes up while you are tarping, the tarp can pull you off the load and kill or disable you (I was disabled 6 years, though not by a tarp - believe me, it ruins your life). It's okay when weather is sunny and your load is only 4 feet off the deck - but that doesn't happen often. As for owning your own truck - I hope you can afford to pay cash or finance it on your own because - if you lease a truck from a major carrier, you will be so ripped off you will wonder how you were ever that stupid. Most trucking companies you lease from will get you excited with lots of miles for two months - then they will give you just enough miles to make your lease payment - and leave you begging other drivers for cash so you can buy food or cigarettes. I watched it happen to a friend of mine. I had to take him to dinner a couple times so he could eat. He was an ex-Marine and did EVERYTHING RIGHT. He worked his business hard and diligently but the company boxed him in. He had his car repossessed and almost lost his house. So, are you sure you want to flat bed? And are you sure you want to have your own truck? P.S. - keep the van job - at least you can take naps while you are unloading. With flat bed, you are out untarping, unstrapping, and monitoring the unload or load. No naps for you, buddy. Write back. dth 12 years tractor trailer and former trainer.

 

Because you couldnt handle it doesnt mean he cant. I make better money doing flatbed then I ever did van. I stay in better shape doing it too. I just tarped a 13' load the other day. There are ways to do it, Usually I sit on my knees and unroll to the end then flip one flap over the edge while sitting in the middle of the tarp. Then flip the other side over the edge. Climb down and pull both sides to the rails and strap them down. Takes me 30 minutes from start to finish and rolls up in less than 10 minutes. My tarps go in my belly boxes so i pull them off and roll them up towards the boxes on each side so when it is finally rolled up and bungeed it is a foot from the box where i just lift them in.

 

I understand what you're saying. Our lumber loads often had such huge and uneven gaps and places that looked solid (wrapped lumber) but weren't - on high loads, even on hands and knees it was treacherous. I'm almost 50 with a titanium rod in my leg - so you're right, others would have an easier time. Maybe you have a good technique but I'll say this - all it takes is falling off one load. My disability wasn't from trucking - it was from being struck by a car (as a pedestrian), but guys are killed and injured tarping loads -- I'll tell you this - $150,000 in surgeries and 5 years of lost income due to disability -- if it happens to you, the extra money you're earning won't mean anything.

 

Central Oregon Transport too

 

Sorry to hear that. I know a guy for Melton that will never work again because he fell off a trailer and screwed up his back. But, it's the risk we take. All we can do is work hard, smart, and safe. Don't take any short cuts and do everything at a pace you feel comfortable. I never leave my knees when Im on a load over 6 feet off the deck, I don't care if its straight lumber with no holes or not. I have been blown off a load due to winds catching my tarp. Luckily it was on grass and only a 5 foot load, and I only sprained my shoulder. I caught the edge of the load and slowed myself down, so I didn't hit the ground too hard. Didn't miss any work, just had to use my left arm a little more lol

 

I hear you. You have to just do your best and leave the rest up to God. I suppose I am much more risk averse having gone through the physical and financial misery of a disability - as you said, you know a guy who will never work again. The thing is, it doesn't just affect your job...it affects absolutely every aspect of your life imaginable. Yes, you're right, by all means take your time. I hope you stay safe ALWAYS. Also, I guess I have a different perspective than other flat bed drivers - I worked for a small company and, I kid you not, the lumber loads were 12 to 14 stops over three states in tiny little towns (often) that require almost NO interstate travel at times (lots of 25 mph small town speed traps), and had to be done in 4 days. Maybe I'm just to old for a challenge like that. dth