how much work is involved in flatbed

the book " millionaire next door" talks about how alot of the self made millionaires come from blue collar co owners. Not white collar office intellects contrary to what most people would think. Plumbers, roofers, construction ,etc...
off beat I know but crossed my mind and thought Id share

 

not that bad, ecspecially if your hauling pipe. still a good amount of moving around 4by4s and renailing chocks but nothing to bad and pay is usually a little better than the van loads i have hauled

 

Man o man I would be quite unhappy if I was that driver!

 

Thats too funny and so true! Thought about that many times when I was running flat deck.

 

Lmao. Scalp irritation. And it is so true. Like G.E. loads, come shrink wrapped, wrapped in plastic, then tarped. And when we pick them up from the port, we have to tarp them to take them 400 miles down I-10' where they then cut all the tarp and plastic open on the top to get shipping paper, and leave the stuff sit outside for months... Scalp Irritation in full swing.

 

Its work. Its dirty. You have to clean yourself and your truck every day. Most flatbedders i know have the cleanest trucks and they are the healthiest truckers in the industry. You have to be careful and not afraid to ask questions about load securement because it is UNACCEPTABLE to not do it right. Flatbedders HELP flatbedders. Im a lady and i drive a skateboard and i like it!

 

Pull a van or reefer if..........

If you love to sit in warehouse docks all day waiting to get unloaded.
Want to play "warehouse worker" after your truck is unloaded because the receiver wants you to repalatize a load that is already on pallets.
Want to deal with nit picky grocery receivers/brokers who try to resell the load, and make you sit on the load forever.
Want to mess with trailer washouts...this is to include finding a place that does it.
Bad enough you have to worry about truck breakdowns....now you will have to worry about reefer breakdowns!!!
Hassel with lumpers!! (Pray the lumper does not get hurt in the trailer and tries to sue you...you hired him)


Skateboards are the way to go. I would rather mess with a tarp any day than screw around with what I stated above.

 

Sounds like a title for a new Katy Perry song.

 

Understand that there are some good drop and hook companies out there that will keep you moving. I am not demonizing van or reefer pulling. I am merely pointing out experiences from myself, and many many others.

Can lumpers sue you. Yes! In the litigious world we live in it has happened, and it has happened more than you think. I suggest that you have a simple release of liability, along with a receipt, you have them sign. You hired them to perform a service and they got hurt working for you. This is how the trucking companies keep their hands clean Could the trucking companies reimburse the receiver up front (or pay for an unloading service). Yes they can. I have had my joys of sitting in loading docks with boxed meat on perfectly good pallets. Not my problem if it does not fit on the receivers shelf. Product was delivered and is sitting on the dock. You make money moving, not playing warehouse worker. BTW we did have a lawsuit here in Kansas City Missouri where a lumper was injured, and he sued. Word around the campfire is that he contacted one of those law suit happy law firms and sued the driver, the trucking company and the receiver. The suit is still pending. Odds are the trucking companies will throw a few thousand dollars at the lumper to make him go away. Now we come to the truck driver just doing his job. He will probably have his wages garnished till the end of time. The BEST thing to do is have them sign a release/waiver of claims form. If they get hurt its on them!! On the other side of that note I have seen a lumper walk off the job leaving the driver to hunt down another lumper who wanted even more money. The Driver discovered later it was a scam. The receiver really didnt care long as his product was put on different pallets

To put this in some sort of perspective, if you own you home, and you have work done on your property, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE! This is why you always should use bonded and insured companies. If not, have them sign a waiver or release of all claims.

I am done with warehouse receiver games, lumpers etc etc. Ill stick with my skateboard