Too old for flatbed?

Oput your body through what? Lifting a 60 pound tarp twice a week?

If a guy has a prior injury that limits his lifting, then I can see it. But in that case he shouldn't be considering trucking at all cause bouncing down the road 10 hours a day does more damage to your body than any tarping will.

 

Broke L2 & L3, half dozen screws still in right ankle ( 18 years now ), slight tear in left rotator cuff, torn ACL in left leg. And I will never drive an auto.
Take two Tylenol and call me in the morning.

 

The tarping can be a real issue in the winter and when its windy, especially if you get a high load of lumber or insulation. The load will be nearly as high as a van trailer and you will have to climb on top of it to tarp it. Of course with either of those two loads, its usually two piece tarps but trying to put them on in the wind is not fun. Short loads wouldnt be a problem, but no high loads for me.I was in my 20s and 30s when I pulled a flatbed, at 63, there is no way Id try to pull one requiring tarps now, course Im not nearly in as good a shape as i was 40 years ago. lol Good Luck.

 

I started flat-bedding at 62. You won't have any problem that you can't work past. Mainly because your old enough to know how to "work smart". It just gets easier and easier. But if I was you, I'd take a look at Melton for a flat-bedding job. That's where I learned to flatbed and being a vet, you'll appreciate how they operate.

 

I have my own truck and am leased to a very small co. In Omaha.

 

Wanted to start in flatbedding out of school but ended up in van. I'm in same age group and looking to go flatbed at some point. Watching thread.

 

Ok like most people have said take your healing time into account before any decision you make but I run flatbed and my best advice would be to find a company that runs Conestoga only save you a lot of time and energy compared to tarping...

 

Mine is worse off in a way... T1 through T12 is gone. All of them. They tell me the rest of the spine is ok but C section is not. (That is very important as you know...)

Throwing 550 plus boxes of 90 to 120 pound beef, seafood etc is fun too. Tarping a covered wagon is much more funner than a straight flat. But keeping a covered wagon TARPED in the winds out west is harder than a straight flat.

 

As long as you can lift, bend, pull, throw and think creatively, you'll do fine.

 

Bend over backwards to eat a charge equal to three paychecks for a night in the casino the previous week you barely remember.

Lifting the baggage gear of the wife into the bunk to get her settled on a run....

throwing a tantrum at the dispatcher who displays a blockhead and temper to match...

thinking creatively, three logbooks, smeared coffee and offering pizza to the intensly frowning DOT man standing on your fuel tank...