Will I like Flatbed?

Lol invest in rain gear , warm weather,cold weather coveralls. A great pear of boots. Can't wear shorts and sneakers inside gate of steel mills. And yes you have too supervise while being loaded. No napping lol. No pulling upturns in truck stops. Spreads don't like tires coming Unbeaded. And yes if it's your fault you buy the tires...seen a few loads shift from people pulling u turns. And you have to make your appointments on time. Crains and crew are waiting for your load.

 

I just leased on with a small flatbed company and love it so far , I pulled a reefer for most of the last 30 years , my truck isn't governed but I seldom drive over 65 cause there's no appointments and never in a hurry ...yeah it's hard sweaty work and sometimes I get stuck waiting but no where near like I did with a reefer ...it pays better , I don't run near as hard and I like the sence of accomplishment I get knowing the job was well done and load was properly secured ...ya don't get that when your ata wal mart DC dealing with a witch that's gona Jack ya off for 5 hrs for the privilege of paying her 50 bucks ....quality of the people I deal with pulling a flat is much better !

 

Why would I talk to someone and play with their tarps and chains when I do it daily? I know the struggle, I was helping the OP understand that OTR flatbed isn't bad, opposed to regional.. I don't think any flatbedder wants their load to shift. I had two mill rolls on the deck and used 5 chains,and 4 straps. I had to double up my chains for chokers, my chains got a 10k lbs wll, assuming since I doubled two sets of chains it cut the wll in half, this is just what I thought.. I had two chokers that would prevent forward and rearward movement, and 5 applying downward.. I don't leave unless I feel comfortable with the securement.

100% accurate.

 

Sorry wrong button my bust.

 

Curious... those of you that consider flatbed hard work... What kind of work did you do before driving truck?

 

I was a mechanic when started driving in 87

 

There's many facets to this business and many facets that fit different lifestyles ..example : my girlfriend is a nursing consultant that goes all over the world for 3 to 4 weeks ata time ...perfect for my occupation and likeing to stay out but certainly not a good fit for a young man with kids ...ya gota pick what works for you !

 

My father drove dry van and my step father drove reefer, both have their advantages over flatbed. Flatbed to me is more fun, requires a bit more thinking with securement and load placement. You have less to worry about with load placement with most flatbed trailers since most are 10ft spreads, but you still have to think. As others suggested, youll be investing in some good rain gear, cold weather gear. Most steel mills will say closed toe shoes only, but they complain if you have tennis shoes, so youll want a good pair of steel toes. Be prepared for tarping in high winds, hope you arent afraid of heights.