Swift Flatbed division?

I would choose a company where you can get good training in tieing down etc. over a better paycheque. You may have to spend up to a year there as job-hopping doesn't look good on your resume. If you do leave after a few months be sure you are going somewhere you would be comfortable with for at least a couple of years. Have you thought about Melton or Arrow? Arrow used to be good but I hear they are sliding downhill. Have you tried smaller local oilfield companies. There are different flatbed niches than OTR for large carriers. Set your sights high and pound the pavement.
Best of luck.

 

There is a guy on here who drives a Volvo VN630 for the flatbed division. I know at first he got the same type of truck as the vans do but was given the option of this.

Hunter

 

That doesnt matter. I was driving tri-axle dumps before I went out to Maverick.

 

I worked for Swift flatbed. I enjoyed it. I almost always got 3k+ miles a week. Average length of haul was like 1200 miles. I did not sit that much except if I was in the shop. Unless you are in Laredo they will deadhead you to the freight. As far as picking up bad habits, I am not sure what that means. As a flatbedder you can not afford to cut corners with securing your load. If you have questions or have a load you have never seen ask someone. Most drivers have no problems giving suggestions. When you are in truck stops look at other flat loads to see how they secured their loads. With Swift you may start out low pay but if you do training you will be making some serious cash. I tried Swift van and only lasted a couple of weeks, too much sitting and too many local loads that eat away your hours. Finding a van driver with a lot of time with Swift is rare. A Swift flatbeder is a different story. I knew guys that had been there for 20 years. Swift flat is the way to go. Those flats out of NM are a special stack team, they are out of Albequerque and Phoenix, they run dry wall. Swift only has three flatbed terminals. Phoenix, Gary,IN and Greey, SC. You can live anywhere though. Good luck to you

 

Anyone Know if Swift flatbed has runs up into the Northeast

 

Thanks for sharing CANGST. I've read a couple of your posts and when I go down to Phoenix in a week I'll be training at Swift and plan to go straight to flatbed.