Best way to transition from door slammer to open deck

Did someone need a motivational speech?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...wIGzAA&usg=AFQjCNGwa4oPFSJT-EVvrlQpRTjheMj_nA

 

Door slammer?????all this new slang since I drove trk.Second slang on here today.The other one is FedEx switcher.

 

P&s has a terminal in Florida, just Southwest of St Augustine

http://www.pstrans.com/about-ps/locations-nationwide/

 

I suppose you can consider me a reformed door slammer that made the transition to Open Deck, aka flatbedding both open and covered wagon. There is a certain amount of time you spend with a trainer to learn the finer points of flatbedding as far as tarping, securement and weights. It's a higher expression of trucking because anyone can haul a box, not just anyone can haul a flatbed.

I have said in the past half joking that you can put down a coffee mug without a lid, preferably a tall 20 ounce one in front of your gear shift on the floor of the cab. When you are able to go from traffic light to traffic light without spilling the coffee in shifting and in stopping etc. You are now ready for flatbedding. The same applies to tanker work.

I had one simple thought in load securement, throw everything on with the intent that God himself can physically reach down, pick up and play with the 18 wheeler and it's load will stay tied to the deck and under cover with nothing going loose. That particular mindset has not failed me yet. Even though I might spend a extra hour throwing what some will be consider unnecessary chain or strap (Or both)

There are spots on your deck that is pretty important for weight purposes. For example some flatbeds have a forward bulkhead wall and I always liked to have that wall on the forward edge of the deck lined up with the aft drive axle tire's front. (Does that make sense?) vertically. So that the weight, whatever it might go onto the deck will be positioned correctly at the 5th wheel. The aft end of the deck depends on if you are using sliding tandems or a 10 foot spread axle back there.

Generally flatbeds can accept a certain amount of weight in so many feet. If memory serves it's 52,000 in 20 feet for specific very large coil loadings. It's a very extreme load which I have hauled out of Gary Indiana a time or two and it's a very scary load due to it's being tippy in a Ravens Covered wagon. The Fuel was deliberately kept short, I think I fueled 50 gallons at most at a time all the way across the USA with that particular load to keep it under 80,000

My first training in securement was literally with container chassis. I had a shop boss take me outside, pointed to two posts in the ground that protect the building's entry bay from vehicles that are trying to hit it and threw a chain and binder across both of them, tightened them up until there was no movement or sag in the chain across the posts. That literally was my 5 minute introduction to load securment. Before being sent to Baltimore Ternimal to pick up 3 stacked container chassis one on top of the other with 4 chains and binders on it. All of which were loose. It was a circus. Tighten one, chase the others, tighten the others come back to tighten the one. Ridiculous. Looking back on it I made it ok but the whole thing was a squeaking clattering loose mess ready to hurt and kill people. 17 miles later it was leaning visibly trying to escape it's few chain. Its a wonder why State troopers did not see it looming over him on the US40 light.....

That was my initilation into load securement. Being yelled at for 5 minutes and then go get a load that required a professional flatbedder. Not me. I was the wrong person to go get it. But it was all they had. It's fortunate nothing happened that was really bad that day. That time.

Everything I tried to do in life literally focuses on gaining knowledge the correct way, with a trainer who knows what he or she is doing to learn from correctly. Never again should lives depend on a 5 minute two post chain school in some shop somewhere.

 

Just do like me. Bull shart you way through it. Don't be skeered, and use you brain. You'd be amazed at what you can learn if you close your mouth and watch others. Oh and use your brain! Each load is like a puzzle. Look at it and think about how it will move if it moves and tie down accordingly. Don't tell people you don't know what you are doing. Chances are they already know that. If you get stumped just say "hey how do you guys normally tie this down" and one more thing use your brain! Good luck and fair sailing my friend!

 

I remember one Suit who came to me inside St Louis in a steel mill (Actually on the Illinois side called Granite City, close enough...) in a laydown yard filled with steel things to put on flatbeds to haul.

Suit came to me saying I am so and so going to such a such a place for date and time correct? Yes. He points to three shapes on the ground and says how do I load that onto your deck. I point to a forklift which in those places like 4 times the size of your ordinary grocery forklift and say to suit, you hop in there turn a wheel or two and pick up these shapes to put onto my deck.

There was a manning problem that night, I don't know what exactly happened and was not really concerned until I finally understood that Suit was working for me to load me because there is no trained normal forklift drivers availible that night to load me for a variety of very good reasons. Unless I wanted to wait for the day shift. If you know anything at all about St Louis traffic, you don't do day time, get it done at night and get out.

Suit did a good job, for a suit. Yes I have issues with suits. Generally. But this suit demonstrated a willingness to get very clean soft hands dirty that night doing something rather interesting.

Who am I to tell the Suit that I know nothing about what the shapes weighed and when they were on my deck a educated wild guess as to where they should go. I hope suit had fun. I sure did.

 

People make it harder than it has to be. Who trained the very first guy to haul a coil? Who trained the very first truck driver or lift driver? If they could figure it out, you can too! Just use some gray matter and get er done!

 

Britton Transport hires from most everywhere and trucks have APU. @MrEd works there.
Melton Truck Lines

 

I hate to say it but, It is not rocket science. Use some Common Sense, Logic and Brains. Truck Drivers figure this out folks. Obviously it's not THAT hard. And before you start, Yes I am a Truck Driver and yes we have all seen some of the folks I'm refering to so,

 

Please ask questions. Please I beg you ignore those saying not to. I have personally recovered a load that shifted because the ####### did not ask how to secure it. Those saying to just use your head wont be stepping over each other to come to your defense if you screw up on securement .