"Do not ever drive flatbed"

It kinda sucked but it was fun yanking a flat around again. You ever get a chance to swing by Lowes and get your ladder?

 

No not yet. I will be going by a Home Depot tomorrow on my way to Jacksonville. Ill get one then

 

Alright. Keep me posted on how you like it. They're a pretty good deal. And if you decide to buy your own truck in a few years it makes scrubbing the sleeper ALOT easier lol. Works well for polishing stacks too.

 

Thanks for the info as I do love to do a lot of the cleaning and detailing myself. A ladder would greatly help when it comes to cleaning the bugs off the top of the sleeper.

I want to ask a question, do you get a lot of bugs on your windshield? I dont, but i have a bug deflector thing on top of the edge of my hood. If I buy my own 379 my preference is to not have one of those. Do they really work as far as sending bugs above your truck? Or does the wind from the "brick of a hood" deflect most bugs? Im just curious

 

The primary concerns I'd have driving flatbed are the added dangers of a rollover. W/ a flatbed you have a better chance of the cab rolling completely over & getting killed. Also if the front of your truck rams into something, you have a good chance of wearing the freight for a hat.
With that said, the positive points many flatbed drivers made are valid.

 

Yea I do my detailing as well ladders are always better than crawling up there lol.

As for the bug shield I used to have one on my hood and took it off. I personally didn't notice a difference. Keep in mind I took mine off in the winter though when there weren't many bugs. I have a few decent splats on my windshield but not many. I think you are onto something with that brick of a hood helping deflect them. I have more bug splats on my pickup windshield than on my Pete.

 

Honestly if you secure the freight good enough you don't have anything to worry about. A flatbed loaded with plywood has no more of a chance of rolling over than a van loaded with plywood. Only things I'm saying is not all loads are too heavy.

The load I have right now is top heavy but it's light. It weighs 16k lbs. I have 3 chains (3/8's @6600lbs of WLL each) and two 4-inch straps @5400lbs each. That's an aggregate WLL of 30,600lbs. That's 191% of the net weight of the freight. I'm honestly not worried one but about it coming forward into my cab if I slam on the brakes. Though going around curves and taking turns I do take caution.

Here's that load I'm referring too

View attachment 50425

 

Yeah I'm honestly thinking the wind deflection from our hoods really does help, I see bugs go over my cab all the time with minimal splats on my windshield. Though when I drive an aero truck like a prostar and cascadia it was near impossible to keep my windshield clean. So I do believe the hood helps, my only concern after that would be the bugs exploding against the sleeper top if its a mid roof. I've thought I really want a flat top Pete if I get one to avoid that. Though I also would like two bunks to bring my brother with me once or twice to see if he would like the life of a trucker to do it himself ya know.

 

Eh flat tops are nice but they do cost a fortune everybody wants a flat top and that has driven the price up. You will already pay for the name buying a peterbilt. I paid for a name when I bought mine but I'm also happy with the truck so its worth it I guess. You can get the mid roof in a double bunk top bunk is really tight to get into though. Flat tops are also nice but if you get a tall load like lumber fuel milage goes to hell real quick bucking even more wind. But they do look really good. Mid roofs have the double bunk option however you also don't have to worry about hitting your head either. That's the only thing I really don't like about flat tops is the head room. Being 5'10" I hit my head a lot in a flat top lol. Either way I don't think you will go wrong flat top or the mid roof. Worst case scenario you have to get on the ladder with a window cleaning pole from a truck stop and scrub a little. 15 minutes and you're good and clean. It doesn't take long its all about what's going to work best for you. I would say if you decide to become and O/O and go that route get as much FREE company training as you can and start looking for your truck a couple months before you decide to buy one. Compair all your options before buying. And don't be afraid to put a good chunk of change down on an older truck, pay it off in a year as opposed to putting that same amount down on a newer truck and having to pay on it for 2-3 years. Just something to think about.

 

I appreciate the info. Yeah I'm only 5'7" and can almost stand up in a flat top. Though I would like a top bunk just in case I ever take anyone with me. I'm surprised to average 6mpg with my exhd. Though I'd be looking for something without EGR, maybe a 3406 or early c15 cat. N14 even if I can get decent fuel mileage out of it