List of Items to Make a Flatbed Drivers Life Easier:

You got that right. Tryin to back a heavily loaded 10'2" spread into most lots is ROUGH. Not saying impossible just rough. Thats why I try my BEST to get to the drop-off to sleep. Also try to leave the house after dinner on Sunday, that way if I'm on a long run MY timing is different than most other drivers. I shut down when others are first starting up. Makes for a quiet 10 hr most of the time, just hafta park away from the pumps and the entry/exit. All you need to do is THINK a little bit more when backing, you can't just aim and go like some.

 

Its really not that bad in winter, worst is the wind when it moves everythin on ya. Invest in a good set of warm clothes, most companyies will buy u a set of warm coveralls, buy good gloves, as for the trailer..... you should be draggin a slippery trailer anyways, u gotta salt it down before you load it so the load wont shift. As far as somethin frozen invest in a sledge hammer!

 

If your going to be tarping, just get yourself some Light weight coveralls and prepare to lose about 15-20 pounds in the first month. Flatbedding is great if you dont mind a little physical exertion. Its about like lumping 1/4 of your load in drybox or reefer. If your not tarping its the easiest of all. And all you have to remember on securement is to put more straps or chains than you need. Know the tensile strength on your chains and straps. Know the weight of the freight and figure it out from there. Then add extras. Good luck.

 

How long does it take to tarp a typical full flatbed load?

Do 30' Lumber tarps exhist? - The size needed to tarp a 10' tall load.

Do you get paid any detention pay for tarping? ie....if the shipper gets the first two hours free, and they get you loaded within that two hours do you typically get paid detention if it takes you another hour to tarp your load?

 

Tarp pay just covers tarping/untarping. Doesn't matter how long it takes. Detention only covers loading/unloading and won't count how long it takes you to tarp.

 

You can get tarps made any size you want. Tarp is a four letter word. lol

 

I don't get paid anything specified as tarp pay. How long does it tarp? It depends on the load, dimensions, weather, & many other factors. I've tarped loads in 20 minutes then had those loads that you look at & wonder how the #### am I going to tarp that.

You can have your tarps made for any length that you want. Most tarps are in the 20' in length area. Much easier to handle & I could only imaging what a 30' tarp would weigh. I'm guessing that I wouldn't want to lift it.

If your tarping a 10' tall load... make sure you have over sized permits. That would put you over height with a flatbed. Tarps generally come with a 4' drop, 6' drop, & a 8' drop.

 

Thanks Fellas! This helps!

We've finally clarified - the customers freight is actually 9' tall (including pallet) and a tarp w/ 8' drops (leaving 1 foot of the product exposed) is acceptable.

Now....another question: are LUMBER tarps the standard tarp that a flatbed driver carries? I am getting so many conflicting stories from carriers! Of course I'm talking to the dispatchers - which you guys all know - will twist a story to fit their need. I always prefer to talk directly to the drivers themselves.....It's been my experience thats the best way to find out the truth.

 

When I ran for Melton, we had 2 and 3 piece 8 foot drop lumber tarps. If you pull specific product you usually get special tarps for it, like glass loads, from what I saw. But for the most part, you can tarp a fair amount of stuff with just the lumber tarps if you use a little ingenuity.