Flat Beds

best thing about a skateboard is i never ever had to pay a lumper when i had 1.

 

Nothing like trying to fold frozen tarps in a snow storm. Ends up being a big square with about 100 lbs of frick'n snow in it. That said they pay better on shorter runs, longer runs vans pay better. Now that could just be with our company.

 

Another great benefit to flats (at least at Roehl) is the air-ride suspension. Not all of our vans/curtains/refers have air-ride. I got stuck on a curtain a few times this last week and it is VERY noticable.

 

Amen to that!!

 

It depends on what you like to do. I liked flatbedding because you don't have to deal with grocery warehouses. When you arrive to u/l they are happy to see you and u/l you asap. I get better fuel mileage and better visability.
I haul alot of O/D loads and they bring their own challenge of load securement. It's just alot of fun and I will always enjoy my stepdeck and RGN.

 

This has been a very interesting thread to read. As someone preparing to head off to school and then to a flatbed company, I have found everything written by those of you with experience in pulling flats to be both interesting and informative. I hope this thread will continue because I'm sure I will have questions I'll want to ask you.

 

I've done Fb. I'll keep my refer thank you. Won't see me out in the hot sun sweating my ####s off or fight the wind to secure my load. Nope I just put in a couple of load bars, Close the doors and I'm gone. No one knows what I have and it stays clean.

 

I'm plannin on runnin a flatbed for the exercise honestly. Not to mention the time you can spend out from behind the wheel doing something. Strapping and tarping in the cold and snow just come with the job like the lumper fee with vans.

 

The cold isn't so bad. So far the longest load time I have had was 2.5 hours, and that was my first time strapping and tarping on my own without the boss there to help. The longest unload time I have had to date was just over 1 hour due to a slow forklift operator. I pulled all my straps off, and tucked everything away and was sitting in my truck after 30 minutes until he finished.

Develop a system for folding your tarps up. I have a certain way to fold mine and it makes it very quick and simple to work with. Get a system down and it will save you a lot of time.

Its very easy to dress warm enough to handle being outside for 2 hours, even in Northern Canadian climate. Get some thin glove liners, and put those inside a good pair of thermal work gloves and your hands won't get cold. I use thermal masonry gloves that have the palms coated in a textured rubber. I keep a couple pairs of thermal socks with me too, and something to keep my head warm. When buying thermal layers, look for materials that wick moisture away from your body and you will stay much warmer. Layer up to keep warm from the wind.

I think that stuff is "old hat" to a lot of people on here but I re-hashed it again anyways.

 

To anyone knowlegable in flatbeds, and even more specifically, BTC Trucking. I'm considering switching from liquid "food grade" tankers, to flatbed. I forsee problems ahead with the company I'm with, once they really get into this new "auditing" thing with an imdependent firm. (That's matching logs to paperwork and the qualcomm). Since many of us have been pushed hard to complete runs far beyond the legal limits--as long as you made the log look good, it's going to be interesting watching all those same dispatchers and managers running scared and leaving us hanging once it's obvious that runs can't be completed now.

All hell will break loose once this firm triggers a "back audit", and they see what we really had to do to get things done. I'm sick of it personally, & Looking for change. Once question I have is: "Is it pretty standard pay--$25.00 tarp fee, now days?

Thanks for any input.