I wonder if I could make the transition to flatbed..??

I am with maverick and we are about the same age. One of our drivers has been flatbedding over 40 years. Mav is a good co. I highly recommend them. I left them for a month and went to a co that has flat, vans and tankers. When I was in the main yard I would look at drivers and say to myself, well they sure don't pull a board. Flats will get you in shape. You will feel a lot better than dragging a box. I know I do.

 

There are drivers in their 50's and 60's pulling flats.
Get up and at it and be happy.

 

This may sound stupid but can you pull flatbed if you are afraid of heights. I mean, is it common to have to climb up on top of the load and how high is it?

P.S. I am not a trucker yet

 

I voted that you get completely out of trucking and go sell some crack.

It is not de-regulated (yet). Being 49 years of age you are not going to be a suspicious character. Maybe go into hauling bulls, and hide the crack inside them or something?

 

I took the plunge, and am keeping up so far at age 53 working for TMC. You might want to get in shape first. I've seen other flatbed drivers in our age group, and we do get to load/unload quick in most cases.

Yes, heights are an issue and you will have to be able to work up to 13' or so high, sometimes on less than perfectly flat and solid surfaces. During our orientation, we had to climb (with a ladder) on top of a 14' container in the yard and stand at the edge. One guy took a look and decided to go home instead.

 

Some shippers have tarp stations where you must wear your PPG and put on a safety harness. Some don't, so always be aware of what you walking on or not. I have heard of drivers walking on "Air" between the loads forgetting the load was split. A fall 2' or 4' can hurt you too.

 

I was at one of those ate up yards where you had to wear a safety harness, that was bulky and akward... The kicker was this... the stupid leash was about 15 feet long. I was about 13 feet off the ground....

 

Yup, been "there" before...Don't slip.....

 

I'm short,fat, old, and lazy... I did flats a few days a week last year inbetween hauling petroleum. It wasn't that bad. The main thing was you did need to be able to climb without killing yourself.

there's more to it than swinging a door shut but if you're willing to stick it out for a month or two, it really isn't all that bad.

I know the flatbedder's like to brag about the physical nature of it... but it isn't like they joined the airborne division or anything. Real physical is some of those nut case refer guys that stack boxes of lettuce bottom to top and front to rear instead of hiring the lumper....

now that's just plain silly...