Do flatbed guys make more?

Yep whatever you Do Not Become a flatbedder.
No Money in it! Never become an O/O
Like Red 379 said rates are the same just more work for nothing!
Hmm
1st load this week $1942.42 for 680 loaded miles
2nd $992.75 for 371 loaded miles
3rd and last load for the week $609.50 for 222 loaded miles

Left on Sunday and this is Thursday and I am on the couch at the house and load on Saturday for Monday Delivery.

Total is after the company I am leased with gets the 25% they demand and the .10 a mile I put back for maintance

$3544.67/1273 = 2.73 a mile That's the same as dry van right? I would do that but I can't back a closed tandem

 

National average for dry van is lower than $2.

 

You may not make more in the beginning but decks has a higher pay ceiling. It's tough to move turbine blades in a van.

 

OK this is the straight and skinny. Flatbedders make more per mile, drive less miles, and work harder. On the other hand from my experience in the "olden days" flatbedders were in better shape, were better looking, and got more sex.

 

Ooh, good to know. I've been thinking about going O/O after I get settled in at System Transport. They have a percentage pay plan and now I've got a good reference on what I should be looking for on a mileage breakdown. The tricky part seems to be the fuel surcharge, they say they pay 100% to the driver....but how much should the fuel surcharge be?

True, sometimes the starting pay is more average but with the right company you can bump up quickly. I was looking at Melton before and they offered 43cpm but it would have bumped to 48cpm after 5 months(12 total experience).

 

I'm right up there with ya:

Total mileage driven thus far this week:

1213.6 miles.

Total Revenue to truck:

$3410.44

I get 28% as a company driver, so that's around $950 to me or $1.27/mile all miles. And I still have enough time to grab another load or two AND go home for a couple of days over the weekend (our pay period runs Tuesday through Monday).

I tell recruiters there ain't a dry van outfit out there that can afford my lazy, spoiled behind!

 

If you are gonna end up in flatbed, start in flatbed. Dryvan won't teach you anything you won't need To relearn dragging a deck. Trust me, I pulled a box for 15 years before I jumped over to flatbed. Dang near had to relearn how to drive all over again! Spread axles are a different beast from tandems. Plus, you have to be much more aware of where your freight sits on the deck, cause them spreads don't move! Get the axle weights wrong, and you are either heading back to get load redone, or ducking scales.

That said, my last dryvan job required a lot of driver unload or "tailgating" freight. I work far less now as a flatbedder than I did then, and the money and hometime are much, much better.

 

Just rember the credo: your mistakes are on display. Personaly i love flats. Whenever i have to slip in a box, (hehe) i cant stand it. Let the ups boys play with the pallet jacks and privite drives. Ill keep my cranes and cool as projects. (The new taj ma ziggy) thats the vikings stadium for you non minesotans

 

For me, I dont think we get paid more on average, with the exception of OD or specialized loads. How ever,.. I dont think we sit around as much as Van and reefer. I am constantly on one load after another. Never sit,.. ever,.. unless I'm in an bad freight area and not liking the rates,.. I'll sit and hopefully something comes up. Otherwise I either dead head out or suck it up and take something to a better area.

So I think we make more by virtue of working more. At least thats how I run. I know some of you guys dont like to run that way,.. instead go after much better paying freight than what I get most of the time. I do ok rate wise most of the time. But or me,.. I think its the steady load after load that I do. Cant make money sitting around.

As for working harder,.. yeah,.. it can be a lot more physical. Flatbed is definitely not for slackers. I take pride in that I can handle it and I know I work hard and give everything I have when I head out on the road. Steering wheel holders, drop n hook, LTL need not apply. No offense personally.,. you guys have your thing. We have ours.

Hurst