Diary of a current Swift flatbed driver

They protect the load and your straps. That in itself is important.

I can't see how it's loaded all the way around the trailer, which is why I didn't go there. What I saw from the rear view looked a bit off, but again, without seeing the whole load from all sides, I don't know if what I was thinking would've been ideal or have even worked. On the rear part, though, it would've been a good idea to put some belly straps over the bottom stacks.

Psst... neither do I. Again, the point wasn't to try busting your balls here. I do want you to be successful out here. I got my start with Swift's flatbed division, and I've made mistakes which I've had to learn from. Perhaps there'll come a point where my own experiences can prevent someone else from making those same mistakes.

You know the plastic corner protectors are bought by Swift primarily with lumber in mind, right? And there's a very good reason for this. Namely because lumber is very easy to damage with straps when you tighten them down, not to mention your straps can be very easily frayed by angled corners. So perhaps the thought should occur to you.

 

I have never heard of or seen anyone use vboards on lumber either...and I was Weyerhauser dedicated. Depends on the edge of the planks for extra protection.

As for the edge protectors Swift buys, if they're still those orange drywall strap protectors, they're about the most useless thing known to man for everything else.

The one thing that really helps these shify loads is somethimg that always ticked me off about Swift....we only put winches on one side of the trailer. Next time, if you can, throw a few portables on the other side of the trailer. What happens is when you tighten the straps you inadvertanly pull the load to the side the winch is on. If thays all to one side, well....then you shift to that side.

 

That's true, half the time you need to use portables on the other side anyway because there isn't enough to begin with.

 

In thoery I might agree, except that this load shifted to the right and all the winches are on the left. The winches "should" pull the load to the left, except in this case I knew that a mere winch was not going to straighten that load. After I had it straightened I added 2 belly wrap straps to the lowest level of the back bunch and one more strap on top. The back half shifted slightly about 200 miles south of Willows (giving me a near heart attack) but never got any worse.

I was never so glad to get a load to the point I was no longer responsible for it. I just hope that whoever T-called it in Phoenix has more experience that I and has an easier time of it enroute to Florida.

 

Lumber from California to Florida ?

 

Which ones are these? I had a few different white ones, and some blue ones which were about a foot in length. Those were the ones I used for lumber. Not only did they protect the straps, but they also distributed the pressure along a much wider area, which was beneficial when you had a load of soft material (such as lumber).

 

Didn't make much sense to me either. Except that it was a mixture of douglas fir and cedar, 2 woods I don't recall being native to Florida.

 

The edge protectors I carry are a thick black plastic about 12 inches long.

Since I've decided to start carrying a SERIOUS ladder (8' step-converts to a 16' straight) I'm gonna start using edge protectors on all my lumber loads. That way I can cinch the lumber down as tight as I do straps on steel.

 

The aluminum ones? Those are worth their weight in gold. Great choice for a flatbedder. They're not cheap, but it's money well spent, especially when you consider that you can itemize your deductions when tax season rolls around.

 

This is what my ladder looks like:

The brand name is Louisville Ladder. Mine measures 4' folded up, makes a very stable 8' A-frame/step ladder, or a 16' straight ladder. I've owned it for years, been stashed in the corner of my garage, unused. Takes up the right third of my headache rack.