Is flatbed work much different than reefer or dry van.

TAKE it.

Flatbedding is a joy compared to lumping a reefer or dry van. You hardly have to back into tight places anymore except in protected mill loading docks where you must be under cover. That is really nice to be tarping a trailer in shirt sleeve weather in a heated mill dock while a -30 lakes blizzard rages just outside your door.

Flat bedding demands a higher level out of you. Imagine having to drive with a cup of coffee next to your shifter, or even better on top of your dash without a lid. Don't tip it. Some loads are like that. Tippy.

You might even be issued a Ravens, Fontaine or some other Flatbed trailer with a 10 foot spread axle. No more weigh scale tickets because you can scale 40K back there now. (*That does not mean you want to because a ### heavy trailer makes for a light 5th wheel and a tractor that requires a touch of aggravation in some areas.)

You will go through 5th wheel grease, once you start understeering trying to turn in the rain, you will get more grease on that 5th wheel. Sometimes a trailer stays with you for so long they put a cloth plate between it and your 5th wheel. Grease it just the same. Buy more grease.

Don't be lazy and toss a strap on there or use broken or torn straps. Throw the chains and binders with a glad heart or suffer a life of a thousand cuts that refuse to heal. Consider it your iron norishment. No anemics allowed.

Carry a full set of beach towels. Plus extra clothing. And gloves. Count the bungee cords on your trailer and multiply by three, buy that number of cords and then 10 more for spares as you lose a few across the USA. Purchase a set of chain and binder plus a pair of straps for your personal storage. Identify same as belonging to you strictly and don't let the company gobble it away from you. (And they will steal it too...) you will thank me when you are short a strap or two required for your extry heavy haul when you consider the working loading of chain and or strap that needs to be on the load to fulfill the DOT requirements at inspection.

Always throw everything on the load. You will thank me when someone jumps out in front of you forcing you to evade and you want that load secured to where God himself can pick that whole 18 wheeler up upside down and shake it that load aint going no where. This is the best.

Finally but not least. Taking care, love and sweat into wrapping your flatbed loads neatly like a present. THAT really screams Im a professional, don't bother me DOT man. And they will literally leave you alone when you are pretty neat going down the road with everything wrapped nice and tight.

One more thing.

Never ever leave a flatbed company in a bad angry firing, quit etc. They have the power to black list your name forever barring you from being hired as a company flatbedder ever again in the United States. Im one of those after I won my court case against my flatbed company for shorting weekly miles. You can still get into flatbedding buying a rig yourself and getting your authority. But that does not mean you will be able to load any once your name gets known as a black list.

 

Does the flatbed job pay 1099 or w2?

 

I'm a fan, I'm a local flatbed guy and it's always nice when i'm making deliveries and theres 3 trucks waiting for a dock but a guy comes out to unload me since I'm "special". haha.

Although I got drenched this morning strapping my load down so theirs that too.

 

You ever look at van trailer and say, "#### sam, how the hell did he do that?"

Thats the difference, its a different animal, not to mention there are many different types of flatbeding, from osod, steel hauling, lumber and roofing, pipe of every shape and size. And with it, as many different types of employment, local p&d, regional, full OTR, or like me, i just haul my company's goods locally.

 

A tornado touched down in a field about a mile from where I was securing my load in the pouring rain. I thought I knew how to get wet until that day. That was wet. And my first tornado too. Eh... just another day on the job wrestling that canvas.

 

One more thing. When you are around other flatbeds... you need to have your ears open for the famous sound that is similar to this word CLONG!!! that means someone's 5 foot lead pipe has gotten away and the binder snapped over throwing that pipe into the air. It's going to come down somewhere, don't be standing around waiting for it to. Dive into your coil or under your trailer right quick. Wait for the BLINK!! sound after it hits the ground before coming out.

 

^^^this, people want what we have. Rarely wait more than 10 min, to get started, rain is payment for the beautiful days like today, 85, low humidity, sunny, took my lunch on a quiet back road, relaxing on a empty deck...... nothing id rather do

 

Anybody can pull a van, not everybody likes flatbed work