Switched from flatbed to dry van at Swift, thoughts?

I don't miss it.

I don't have to worry about tarps or securement pulling tankers. And weather.

Most of the places were in and out. Untill I went to work for a company that only does Cali. Them union workers don't like to work.

 

I'd love to get 45 dollars for tarping. Lol flatbed gets better with practice

 

At least you got a raise from Swift. When I started with Swift over a decade ago, Flatbed pay .02 more than dryvan drivers. Now you get .04. Take the job as a stepping stone to open up other doors. Besides, tarping and strapping is good excise.

 

Swift offered me .47cpm to go back to them and pull open decks. I don't ever burn more than like 30 to 45 minutes securing and tarping a load. Said no thanks though. Miles were never the problem for Swift flatbed. For me it was the fact that it was always the exact same deal I was hauling. Wasn't worth the extra work to me.

That said, Central Oregon Truck Company will run the piss out of you pulling flatbed. You will tarp A LOT! But you will also make about 95k per year and the company pays all of your(and your dependents if you have them) benefits as well. They are an amazing company. Highly highly recommend you check them out when you have a year experience. They use shock cord and have hooks all over the trailer so tarping takes like 20 minutes total, and maybe 5 to untarp. 5 more to roll them up.

It's also not a CPM situation. It's performance based tiered salary. MINIMUM 70k per year.

 

47cpm for flatbed with some experience is trash.

 

Primes flatbed division starts at 47 cpm and you get about $40 per tarp job but they #### you on the company side and make you purchase all your own gear. Without looking it up the gear was a little over $3000 and they take it out at about $60/week.
On the lease side tarping is worth it because you get between $80-$100 per tarp job and once your gear is paid off it really adds up. A lot of other reasons one might stay away from Primes walk away lease deal so dont take this post as an endorsement.

 

Swift flatbed is the easiest flatbedding u will ever get. Ran for them for a year and a half . Yeah it sucks tarping in the heat . But tarping in the winter is much worse especially if its slush over everything and ur hands get wet. Flatbeddin aint for everybody. And it takes awhile to get good at it. The guys thats been doin it along time. Every step around the trailer is calculated. We know how to button up the tarps and by looking at it we can tell u if its gonna flap in the wind or not. It takes time and experience . There is a method to everything and u have to enjoy the challenge of it all.

 

You ain't kidding. Nothing worse than folding a frozen tarp.

 

Show me a video of you getting out of truck, pulling off & rolling 2-3 tarps ( COT usually uses 2 ), & putting them up ready to roll in10 minutes & I’ll be impressed. Not knocking COT, talked to plenty of there drivers, half happy, half miserable ( typical of most trucking companies).

 

10 might be a stretch but 2 regular steel tarps in 15 minutes ain't hard at all. But I also don't get anal about folding them up.