Loving this flatbedding

"I'm a flatbedder." Feels good just to say. I work hard. I get filthy dirty. I've worked up a dripping sweat in January...in Wisconsin. I've mashed fingers, wrenched knees and been so sore it reminded me what 2 a days felt like many moons ago. And I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm treated with respect at shippers and receivers, and I'm welcome in the most Manly of brotherhoods, that of the Open Deck.

Wimps need not apply.

 

This right here is what I wish more people would understand.

For me the money is a non issue as long as I enjoy what I'm doing. For my first couple years with this company I was not getting paid very well while running local. Couldn't complain though because there were days where I ran non stop and other days where I would run one load in the morning and then get paid to just sit in town in case a customer called. On those slow days I would take the truck home and do what I wanted. Whether that be house work or just chilling and still getting paid. Our shop was far enough from town that it was more expensive to run the trucks back and forth empty than it was to just pay us to hang out in town.

I worked my up in the last 3 years from driving to oldest beat day cab we had to now the newest heavy truck we got.

I love what I do. Some days I throw 4 straps and the load is done. Other times I empty my boxes onto that load and it still isn't enough. I enjoy the challenge of every new load. I haul some goofy shaped stuff. I enjoy pulling into the job site and looking at a piece trying to figure out how I'm going to secure it. Or those days there's a load of 50 pieces and I have to put the jigsaw puzzle together. It's always funny seeing the customers amazement when it's all on the trailer. Everybody told them it would never fit on one truck yet we get it done with room to spare.

Any old window licker can pull a box. I started out pulling one for the first 14 months of trucking. I #### near lost my mind staring at the same stupid orange box in the mirror everyday. I looked at flatbeds and saw all the cool machinery they were hauling and told my self that I wanted to do that. I wanted to be the guy everybody turns their heads to look at when I roll in.

With a van you sit at a dock and wait until they feel like loading you. Nothing to do, just wait. Flatbedders roll up and everybody jumps to work. They're paying $1000 an hour for that crane so immediately it's moving so they can get you loaded and stop the clock on the crane.

A lot of my freight is time sensitive. There's a crew of 20+ millwrights sitting on their hands on the other end waiting for that piece to get there. The longer it takes the more it's costing the plant. They are always happy to see a load roll in.

 

Most of my stops doing open deck go quicker than the old days doing van drop and hook. Sometimes the customer will just start helping me break down my securement.

 

Welcome to the club.

 

I hauled two box culverts a couple of years ago. Four chains is all that was needed. Before I could start putting away the chains they were picking the first box. Took a whole 20 minutes from pulling the button to pushing it back in.

That was the crew that would occasionally get a dozen donuts from then on.

 

I got a few job supervisors who know where my bar is, how i roll my straps, ect. Half the time i get out, fire up the moffet, they undo my chains ect. I pick, they clean up my truck and rehook my chains, all i do is walk the truck to make sure its all good....

 

@negativecold13 glad to see you enjoy the field that does not use load locks.

Feel free to check out

https://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/posts/4188026/


As well as post your load to the flatbed section.


Here's your membership....

 

How was the hiring process there?? I live on lake fork near quitman and looking for a permanent home in trucking..