I need opinions!

My vote is to specialize if you're going to stay in the industry. Whether that is temp-controlled hazmat or oversize, or even liftgate and/or blanket-wrap dry van...

 

With a flat or drop deck you'll normally deadhead father for next load,but rate per mile will be higher too. Think about winter,rain,tarp,summer heat,etc. Also the newer load securement rules on flats are pretty strick.

 

It's not too crazy.

Flat training is easy to come by. Coils go here. Big coil in the middle. Other things go here, here and there. Add up weight. Can you count? Throw chain and straps. Tarp. Done. Go CAT scale. It's a routine.

Some of it is pretty intense, espeically when they put on a coil made of half inch ship hull sheeting that is 20 plus feet long, 8 and change high and 52000. Throw everything you own on that. Then tarp it while ignoring the rust in it. Get tippy coming out of town. The CG on that kind of load is awesome high and if you leaned too much this away, flop.

Training? Eh, about a week throwing chains through coils.

What is really intense about flatbedding is to be dedicated to a railhead in Lowes at hagerstown maryland, loading 100 different species of wood products, some of it asian wood that is like 50,000 dollars a foot. Tarp that first. Tarp the rest. More tarps. Show up in a Lowes next morning at sunrise. run back empty. Reload in hagerstown.

Or Flatbedding can be very simple as aluminum. They put a 40,000 pound block on your deck, throw some straps over it go to Lancaster, see it go away, go back get another block. Block happens to be low enough in CG that you can take curves faster than normal on 30.

You are always learning in Flatbedding. The day you stop is might as well bury it.

Now back to topic question, if OP is so happy where he is why are we talking about switching? Bored with Van and reefer? I don't know. Is he?

 

Aha, you said the magic words. Since you will take securment training and want to do flats anyway go for it. Worst case is you hate the work, so then what? Did the owner put out money for training? Offer to pay him back and back to van,
Now if you do enjoy the work you just got a bit of experience so that if you ever do move on you are in a better position than a random van only guy.