alright, time for me to jump the fence

I appreciate it yall. Dont me wrong im not afraid so much as just nervous. Which, a certain level of nervousness helps me to be sure I'm not being careless so thats a good thing.

The instructors for the carrier answered all the questions i asked and I have the personal cell number of their lead load securement trainer so its a lifeline if i have any questions out there.

Just figured I would ask around. The more I know the better off I'll be and the fewer unexpected situations I will run into.

 

I now how you feel I was in your position not to long ago.

 

Me too!

If you have an email capable phone then you can send pictures of anything that may concern you to one of your trainers.
Other flat bedders are a great help. Just the other day I got some suggestions on securing my bridge that I hadn't thought of.
have fun!

 

Look at the thread "post your flatbed pictures here" in this sub forum and you can see pics of different loads and how it was secured. You should post some pics of your loads and let us all critique them as it helps. Another thing to keep in mind is dont drive the flatbed around like the jackwagons pulling a van. You have a spread 48 I presume and that dont like sharp turns nor do you go racing around everything and slam on the brakes unless you are testing your headache rack

 

To be honest, securing a load is 99% common sense, the problem is that it seems only 1% of drivers have this lol.....

Just be over cautions, takes turns extra slow and don't ever feel rushed by others. When u rush is when u forget something important (like your winch bar on the deck, and then u remember it when u see it bouncing down the left lane)

 

When you rush, you may also leave a door open on your headache rack. Trust me lol.

 

treat whatever you are hauling like it is gonna fall off and like it is an egg that you are gonna break and you should have no problems.What ever is going on in the drivers seat is also going on back on the trailer I do not think a load has ever been lost because the truck carrying it was going too slow either.

 

it is also ok to be smart enough to be afraid or to get scared.Sometimes what you do not know can be worse than what you do know

 

Well said sir.

 

I always get in the truck and get situated, mark my log book and then I hop back out and check all the box doors. I'm OCD about that one.

Getting into a routine is a very good way to make sure u don't forget something. And as said before, drive slow and after 50 miles, stop and recheck everything. And if at any point in your trip you feel uncomfortable about the load or question something, stop and check it again, as many times as needed.

I know on my 1st load of pipe I stopped about 15 times to recheck everything. I'd rather be over cautious than to kill somebody or my career.