"Do not ever drive flatbed"

I will pull whatever has the best pay. Be it Box, Reefer, Flat. I wont do Liquid Tanks though, had a friend get killed pulling milk.

 

Meh! I drive cars and haul them , too!

Flatbedding was ok, and tanker too. But once you're a carhauler, there just isn't any going back!

For a second there, I was afraid my browser had cross-loaded a Craigslist ad!

There's more to satisfaction than money; I left a gravy tanker job w/ killer bennies because I was tired of the BS that went on at that place.

Flatbedders (not the any-hook, any-hole guys) and carhaulers (<----uh, ditto!) are special breeds. It's not a job anyone can easily do. And while there is a physical aspect to that, I'm speaking more to the mental side. It's a spatial intelligence thing; if you've got it, you can excel at either job. If you don't, you'll work harder, and be adequate rather than exceptional.

It's funny that flatbedders get a bad rap about backing, because the good ones, the ones with the spatial intelligence, are usually far better backers than any box driver. Sure they might not hit a dock as easily, for they rarely get that practice; but out on a location that requires a serpentine back, the box guys would be lost, most them having relied on the visual clues of the dock and truckstop environments for so long they are no longer able to put the truck where they want it without those clues. And you guys who do it know: there's often no room for a quick pull up, nor the high wheel cut maneuvers we so often see to correct for bad technique. You either set it up right or pull all the way back out and start again.


And now all the back to the OP: most of those who would tell you "not to ever pull flatbed" fall into the "you mean I have to work to get paid?!?" crowd. Mind you, I wouldn't haul cars (or drag a skateboard) for door-slammer wages, but a little bit of work isn't going to kill ya! When they're old, and crippled up from too much inactivity, they'll wish they'd have done something that required a little work to have kept the ol' bag of bones in a tad bit better shape!

 

Hammer, I will drink my next adult beverage in your honor. Well said.

 

Excellent comment Hammer. I'll have a drink when I get home.

I agree so much with the. One shot to get into some alley by a dumpster cross two lane traffic. Their is no time for pull ups. Well said , we'll said..

 

I love skateboardin' and wouldn't trade it for anything else either. I feel better from the physical activity. Load, stop, shower, little grub to replace burnt calories then on down the road. My body doesn't get stiff and ache from just consistently sitting and driving all the time. Keeps me active, healthier and in much better shape. Wife don't care for it much because of the safety concerns but someone has to do it and what better than those who have the love for it.

Just please guys, don't throw your hooks over the load. Other drivers get seriously injured from it. Every time I see I get bent. When a guy does it right next to me I blow my ####### top and threaten with a law suit so he will stop. Throw your rolls, not your hooks! Only reason I say this is year before last I was hit in the back with a hook by a BTC driver up in Ohio and it hurt like hell.

 

You threaten with a law suit? Lovely

 

notice also he has a comment regarding capitalism as the " greater of all evil", if it wasn't for capitalism he wouldn't have a job. that said after i get my cdl in hand, i want to switch to flatbed asap. i did pull box, and flats when i was in the army, and have secured loads on to flat rail car as well. i figure it all should come back to me quickly. plus i like the variety of loads and challenges ya can get by skateboarding

 

Flat beds, step deck, RGN and green paint worked well, when it paid 7 bucks a mile.

 

I'm a flatter forever

 

Agree. To that