Flatbed division question

To a fault some would say.


Joe

 

You act like elitist sometimes, but I don't hold it against you. Not your fault, you just don't know any better.

 

Most of my driving is daylight - probably 80% similar to Bayle. I try to start early each day as much as possible, usually around 0400-0500 on average, sometimes earlier; driving when first light comes is a great part of the day. I despise trying to finding a parking spot late in the evening or at night. I like to park overnight at either the shipper or the consignee if they allow and the schedule works out. Can save a lot of time on your 14 that way.

We haul a lot of slinkies (coiled up steel rod), aluminum & steel sheet metal coils, conduit, tubing, pipe, gypsum, lumber of all kinds, vehicles, equipment, rooftop aircon/fan units (what I have now). I deliver to job sites maybe 10% of the time; mostly it's warehouse to warehouse.

 

......


Joe

 

Sounded good when I typed it Treefork, I don't know, forgive me, too much liquid stupid. Going to bed now.

 

First of all Thank You Everyone for the responses..
The trend I see here is that Flats and Vans tend to see more of the daylight hours due to customer demands, where refrigerated enjoy the after 12:00 AM food warehouse lifestyle...

Another question I have, is how do you determine when to start you work day, these days ?
Obviously you start after a 10 hour break, but what if you are unloaded, out of hours, take your break..after your break do you let your FM know you are available for work when you are ready to do so,
or dose your FM manage your time, and tells you when you are ready for work ?
Pulling a flat around has to be more of a "art" than "science". It has to require a lot of mental skill and mechanical thinking to properly secure the cargo to the flat and not have it move around....or worse...
Pulling a Van or a Refrigerated trailer obviously requires a different skill set as well...Stuff can move around in a Van as well... Flats seem to require a lot more physical work and a serve far different customer base.

A little about myself, I am 53, been in and out of trucking since 1980... Have only pulled Vans... My "indoor" job is driving me nuts, and all I think about is trucking...I live just south of KC and usually count several Roehl trucks every day on the way to work on US71/I435...I have been comparing Roehl to other companies for many years...
Those who drive with Roehl seem to have no trouble stepping up to defend the company is a positive and thoughtful way when challenged... That says a lot about Roehl !
Who knows, I my try my hand this time at becoming a most Awesome Flatbed Operator !!!

 

First you determine by how far you need to go and when your appt time is, and estimate as close as possible for arrival. I personally try to just get to customer as soon as possible, just to avoid any hang ups. If I get there so early I have to wait a day, so be it. At least I'm there and no worries about a failure for being late. En route is where problems occur, can't be late if you're already there. Also your FM (dispatcher) knows what you have for hours and stuff. They have all the info you do because its transmitted via Qualcomm. You just have to remind them sometimes because they do have other drivers to deal with. I try to be low maintenance as possible with my fm's and seems to work pretty good.

 

I almost always tried to stop for the night where I delivering the next day. That way if they don't get to you for a while you don't have to start your 14 clock. If you start your day early then drive to the delivery you can't really fudge the 14 rule with e-logs. It is what worked for me and I ended up working 0600-2000 or 0700-2100.

 

I rarely work those long of hours. Usually something like 0430-1400, or something like that. I can't afford to burn up all 70 in 5 days. I try to have recorded work hours around 9 a day.

 

I don't necessarily work 14 hours a day, but I do usually run up against my 14 every day.


Joe