how much work is involved in flatbed

As I've said before if anyone thinks flat bedding is hard work they obviously haven't done any hard work.

Nothing hard about it you just need to use common sense and other more experienced peoples knowledge of securement.

 

I never considered flatbed as work. Some drivers do, but not me. I enjoyed it. Even chaining, strapping, tarping in a blizzard was fine with me because I knew when I got the job done, could hit the highway and start drinking that thermos of hot coffee and listening to country music.

Do some comparison shopping; Maverick drivers posting on here say they make good money:

Maverick
System Transport
Keim TS
Decker Truck Line
Melton Truck Lines

If you don't want any labor then look at Ozark Motor Lines; 100% no-touch freight. Probably won't make near as much money as flatbed though.

 

huh? Really?

Granted there is a little more involvement in flatbedding compared to dragging a dry van, but id rather flat bed than be homeless, or do construction, pour concrete. And infact i've wanted to get into flatbedding, but coming from the army I don't mind "hard" work.

 

It breaks down like this: spend an hour to two hours doing very light manual duty, our sit with your thumb up your butt for 4 to 6 hours while being treated like a scum bag unworthy of breathing the same oxygen as the shipper.

 

Lot more LABOUR involved than closing the doors on a dryvan or reefer trailer, chains & tarps to carry around and throw along with straps and timbers , your in some bad locations as well like muddy construction sites or lumber yards so that adds some danger of falling to it as well .

Big thing is learn proper and correct load securement and stay on the ball lots of injury and deaths from accidents when loads shift or material falls off the trailer when loading / unloading and drivers not paying attention.

And YES you can have to sit and wait with a FLATBED just like any other trailer to get loaded or unloaded.

 

Hard work?

It requires decades of training and is similar to being whipped and flogged on a chain gang. You'll likely die on the first day.

Leave it up to the Titans of trucking, and get a nice safe job pulling a dry van.

 

Skateboards are completely unlike van or reefer, except when you're actually driving.

Forget docking -- you go to the middle of a parking lot to load and unload.

Forget drop-and-hook, most places.

You will do more work, and learn to loathe tarps. You will look longingly at ragside trailers, but your company won't spend the money for them.

You will learn to laugh at the rookies who don't put a half-twist in their straps (we call them "flappers").

You HAVE to understand load securing methods -- do it wrong and you can really screw up the load. Or lose it.

You will learn quickly how great spread-axle trailers are, when you realize that it's been weeks since you had to screw with rusty, stuck tandem sliders.

 

If you have no interest in doing it, dont.
If you do a half ##### job it will bite you in the rear. Losing a load or hurting yourself or someone else when youre trying to secure a load.
This job aint the hardest thing in the world to do , but it definetaly is not for everyone.

 

Not too much if you hire help