question about flatbed pay+tarp pay

Rinaudo Enterprise is a heavy haul/OS-OD company in Jacksonville that hires new CDL grads.

 

well do company drivers have to buy there own tarps or do the company provide them

 

Company truck means company tarps

 

My advice for anyone considering flatbed is that if you have any kind of lazy streak then you should honestly not consider flatbed.

There is considerably more work and man time involved with fladbed that goes well beyond just tarping. I dont mean any offence... but a flatbed driver needs to have common sense and the ability to keep his wits when things get stressful.

Not everyone is cut out for flatbed. There is much to learn.. many shortcuts to figure out. But there is the right way and wrong way. You do not want to lose a load. You can kill someone and be held liable. Your career will be pretty much over.

If you have a strong work ethic and hold your principles and fortitude with a high regard then you might just enjoy it. But if you think getting into flatbed because it pays better then you might be in for a world of let downs.

Yes in some cases you may get paid more. But dont expect to get top scale and wages straight out of school. In 2 - 3 yrs time you may or may not be where you thought you would be doing flatbed. Everyone and every company is different. Learn your own pace and use that to set your own self worth.

With diligence and persistence you will get to where you want to be. But it will not happen over night.

Hurst

 

I'll never understand the folks that want to flatbed, that cry about tarps. Of course, I never worked for a mega platform carrier either. However, when I did pull a company box, it was 99% groceries, and drivers were expected to unload straight pulls and up to two or three tiers of breakdown. I didn't cry about it, even the floor loads with no lumper available. I certainly don't cry about tarping. I've even tarped loads that didn't call for it, but needed it, to make sure it arrived the same way it shipped. I got extra money for those 50% of the time, too. I'm not pulling a $400 load that needs tarped either, mainly because I wouldn't pull a $400 load(unless there were 10 of them on the trailer)!

 

I'd almost go out on a limb and say chaining is worse than tarping anyway. With a tarp it's all straight forward. Most forklift drivers will lift it up and put it on top of the load for you, and then you just roll it out and put the bungees on it. Folding and rolling it up when you're done is the hardest part(and still isn't that hard if you're in good shape physically.)

What I hate is complicated loads. And that's just because I'm still new so I have to spend a lot of time figuring out what to do to keep the load on my deck.

 

when you say complicated loads what would be an example of that I would think and im probably wrong but as long as you can cover it with a tarp and secure the tarp good it would be ok

 

The only load I have heard my bf complain about was a 3 stop load that he had to poly wrap before tarping. Tarping & chaining are fine with him. He just hates having to wrap it.

 

I don't think most drivers mind tarping, as long as the pay is in line with the amount of difficulty.

Some loads only need one 16'X24' tarp and little or no padding to protect the tarp. That's a 15min job.

Then there are complex machinery loads with many sharp points, they're too tall to get the tarp over without assistance(ladder, harness, lift). They may require 5 - 16'X24' tarps, a ton of padding, straps, edge protectors, chains -- about everything you carry to make it right. These can take 4 to 5 hours of your time and effort to load; then take 1 to 2 hrs to get everything rolled up and packed away when empty.

The problem is customers hear, "Yeah, we can do that tarp job! Ain't nothing to it. Tarping is easy!" Usually the broker, carrier agent, or desperate o/o are the ones underestimating the amount of work involved. The poor driver is the one freezing his balls off or having visions in 100 deg heat, and for a flat $50 to $150(o/o) or worse $20-$40(company serf).

If I call on a complex machinery load, I want details to give me a picture of it. If it's going to take 6 hours of my time, not counting readjustments in route, then I want at least $180, not $100!

I've never been afraid of work, but I demand adequate pay for it. If they don't like that, I suggest they order a high rate conestoga to haul that porcupine.