Just gott my CDL thinking maybe Flatbed?? Any good company out there for Newbie CDL from So.Cal

not trying to demote you or anything but flatbed is very hard physical work and it will take its toll on your body but im not saying dont try it me personally i would like to do heavy haul but in a later time id say you start doing refer work learn how to drive and back up and once u get experience and u still wanna do flatbed id say go for it but thats just my two cents good luck to you

 

If you got into trucking for the money alone: you’re gonna be disappointed.

 

hey if you willing to hustle i dont know what your friend is doing but the ports if you hustle and have PATIENCE you can make 1800-2000 a week

 

If you are considering open deck because it may pay more .... best not donit.

It comes down to either you are an open deck guy or your not. You develope the same driving skills pulling either type of trailer but with open deck there is another layer of skill required.

And it requires self motivation- no one is going to come and inspect your work. The down side is if you are a guy who cuts corners or needs the easy way - the freight will have your ### and could easily kill you or someone else.

Do it because you have pride in your work and want to build a well rounded skill set.

You will learn the respect speed and space. On a flatbed you will haul freight with a higher center of gravity - this will teach you to be smooth and careful around corners. Concentrated loads will teach you to be gentle on the brakes and increase your following distance to avoid hard braking.

Or not - go swing doors and do what ever they do - which I can not explain. Mostly I see them in ditches or 1 foot from the car or truck I front of them or layed over in a 30 mph corner cause all they do is steer.

Good luck

 

Well every company is different in what they offer, but I would say most flatbed drivers typically make a few cents more per mile than their dry van/reefer counterparts, which isn’t much but there also are accessorial pays that come with flatbed like tarp pay. So the short answer is yes it pays better but you have to earn it with more physical labor. Again, every company is different so it’s hard to give a universal answer. I mean some companies I swear tarp everything, others don’t tarp at all.

I will say this, after almost six years of hauling dry vans, I switched to flatbed earlier this year and I haven’t looked back. I love it. But I should also point out that I am local and paid hourly... I can’t say I would like being paid by the mile as a flatbedder.

 

I didn’t say there is no money in it: I said if you’re only doing it for the money you’ll be disappointed.

$1400-1800 a week sounds like a lot til you realize it isn’t. And if you don’t love it, or at least like it, you will realize that for sure.