How well do flatbed rates compare with reefer?

Not up on the flatbed gig...... But as a o/o you get off the more miles mentally real fast...

The way I think , low miles + higher rate wins every time .






Your tarp and loading pay seems a little low....?

 

Personally I'll never go back to reefer work. Dealing with lumpers and their fees, waiting on receivers to count, or if you lumped a 6 pallet stop that broke down into 30 pallets. 4 - 6 hour stops with multiple stops and not enough hours to make them all on time,.. then dealing with late fees or rescheduling fees,.. dealing with other drivers who got the door next to you, but they cant quite figure out how to back in with out taking your bumper off,.. F that mess.

80% of my pickups are no wait,.. just me. Ditto for my deliveries. If I do have wait time its usually $50 hr after first 2 hrs. For example, Friday I had a pick up in Greenwood SC. 10am. By noon I was on the clock. By 9pm I was told my load would not be ready until 9am monday morning. I spent the weekend watching TV and doing laundry at the Days Inn while being paid a flat $3000 lay over pay. Would have been more if they stayed with the $50hr,.. but broker called and renegotiated the detention pay rate LOL. Thats a rarity as well. But its nice to know I'm covered in those situations.

You'll get better with time. Watch what other drivers do and how they do things. There are all kinds of short cuts to learn. I started doing heavy haul back in the late 80's and early 90's. Got out of trucking for 15 yrs. Got back in doing reefer work for a year. Then bailed on last company and started working for my current company since last Jan. I had not done flat bed work (Per Say) before that. I was tossed the keys to the truck. Did a basic inventory of tools and items on the truck. 6 hours later I was heading out to get my first load. So I understand what its like to not quite understand and all the apprehensions you have. If your showing enough fortitude,.. your company should be looking out for your best interest. Because in order for them to make money,.. you should be making money. At least thats how it is where I am working.

Strapping, tarping, chaining, edge protectors, V-boards, tossing scraps and furniture blankets to protect tarps from sharp things that might cut them, stopping all the time to check your load is secure, top heavy loads, over sized loads, making things work that really shouldnt be added to the load,.. all of that is what makes a good flat bedder. Its what we do. The extra manual labor we do should be compensated by getting paid better. If your not,.. then maybe you joined the wrong company.

Now maybe you truly dont like this and would rather go back to reefer work,.. no hard feelings. It isnt for everyone. But I am paid well, I am far from a flatbed expert and I am still learning myself. Never be afraid to ask. The biggest difference I discovered between reefer work and flatbedding is that 'most' experienced flatbed drivers will help other drivers, being it helping to roll up tarps or if they see you struggling with something or see that you are not quite doing it right,.. they will offer assistance and/or advice. Where when I pulled reefer, it was every man for himself.

Hurst

 

NEVER ever do company flatbed gig for cpm. It's gotta be % and good rates to make a living.
Dang your company is stealing over half your tarp pay.

If you want pay by cpm drop and hook vans is the way to go.

Open decks should be left to owner/drivers.

 

I would agree with most of Semi Crazys post. Flatbed should be percentage pay.

 

Im flatbed hauler. will never do reefer. i get percentage at 80%. however.. it is nice to be able to get loaded and get going. unforunately with flatbed.. gonna be time consuming but im used to it. once you get the hang of tarping and setting up side kits.. its a breeze. ive had loads where i got loaded 5pm and have to be delievered in 2 days including the day i got loaded, it can be frustrating especially when youre running late. there are jobs where you hook and go flatbed. most ive seen are from Case place in Grand Island NE where you hook and go but most of those go to canada where canada brings down a planter and then hook on to a rgn and haul back a combine to canada. in Topeka, KS is goodyear and i see lots of hook and go trailers there.

ive done everything except reefer. i wouldnt do it. i wouldnt do grain trailers again, i will do cattle, rgn, step deck and flatbed and nothing else. oh and i have pulled a train for hay hauling.

 

I have to agree with the overall sentiment about percentage for flatbed work. But you do need experience to get with the better paying companies. Once you have experience you should be able to work less and make more with a flatbed.

As far as O/O, leasing to a good percentage company like LS or Mercer you should be able to do well if you fun your business like and business (i.e. get out of the miles = money, no one ever went to a bank and deposited miles). Going independent FB is a bit harder. I know a lot of independent open deck guys that pull vans and refeers in the winter.

 

Some of my customers would laugh me off their property if I told them "well its winter time I'm gonna go pull a van."

That's like a farmer saying well I'm done milking cows tile spring. It just ain't right.

Guys at LS got it made. Most of them don't know it

 

I've been tempted to drop the skateboard and run a van or reefer when things get slow...but I have always managed to find a few lanes to make it through, so I guess I'll stick to the bread and butter again this winter.

Well, once I recover from an accident in a POV...which will be right around the new year, the most wonderful time to be trying to get back on the road! I think I sat two weeks after last Christmas before finding something worth turning the wheels for.