Flatbed length question

Thanks dirtyrabbit. Since you are representing the 53's - do you agree with richter that a flat is more versatile than a step down?

 

I hualed for TMC and we hauled a lot of building material. Shingles, Sheetrock, lumber, rolled paper, I beams, Lowes or HD distribution center, steel sheets, steel coils, aluminum pigs and ingots.....all nearly max weight.

Insulation, farm equipment, fencing, were all pretty light.

There are flat companies that hual light freght, but there is a lot of heavy freght to. If your company hauls nothing but light freight a 53' would be a better option since you can haul more, but there are more 48 flats ont he road, proving my point that most loads are limited by weight, not space.

 

Lol, we had the winch bars with one open end that were called cheater bars lol....if you need to put a bar on the the winch bar then your just week. I could get all the loads nice and tight and i only weigh 140. I has a racheting winch bar though witch made it quicker.

 

if it was 48 foot long then you didn't take advantage of the extra 5 feet even on a light load, so that proves my point, why have 5 more feet? The shippers are set up for 48
even for light freight where you could potentially haul more.

 

I worked for TMC. They have one of the best training programs showing you how to properly secure your load. I got paid way more then pulling vans. In flatbed you spend time strapping and securing so you have less time for driving do to the 14 hour clock. I normally drove only 8-10 hours a day. Driving 2000 miles a week on average I made 64,000 in my first year. So yea, its harder work, but the pay is way better if your work hard. When i started training, I would have made over 80K if I trained for a year. I left TMC to become an O/O. I made so much at TMC i bought a truck without financing. TMC was a great start to my career and I would highly recommend them. Feel free to PM me if you want more info on TMC. AND NO, I"M NOT A RECRUITER FOR THEM....I just had a lot of success working for them and want other new drivers to be successful to.

 

Richter - great info on TMC, as well as painting a good picture of the skateboard routine.

As far as trailer size, I liked the idea of a 53', but 48's are far more common - Since my tractor will be about 5' longer than normal, I like the idea of a trailer that puts me back at an average length.

 

This is exactly why flatbedding appealed to me. I've been doing it 8 months now and love it. The physical work is great for keeping in shape.

As others have mentioned, flats often carry heavy loads. The max your entire rig with cargo can weigh is 80,000 lbs. If you have a 53' vs. a 48' trailer, that's 5 extra feet of trailer weight that subtracts from the max weight available for cargo. If you haul mainly shorter, heavy stuff -- coils, plates, bars, etc. -- then why have a heavier trailer when you'll seldom or never need the extra length?

Another aspect to a step-deck vs. a total flat, is that the step acts as a built-in barrier preventing forward motion of the load. If you're hauling a stack of plate steel, you definitely care about that, since that stack tends to act like a deck of cards -- you most definitely want to prevent forward motion if you have to stop quickly. On a total flat, you have to manually build a "bulkhead" out of 4x4 beams across the width of the trailer, held down with chains. But on a step that's taken care of for you. (Unless your flat has something built onto the front called a "headache rack," which many flats don't have.)

 

If you do a 53' step deck - as I understand it that leaves the main deck at about 42'. Is this going to limit the loads I can take? I realize with a drop deck you pick up taller loads and probably drive on loads. How many vendors won't put regular flat loads on a drop trailer? Will I still get the building material loads; or am I too short with a drop deck? Do they spec 48' for pipe, drywall, coils etc - and then I am out of the loop because I have a drop deck?

I'm guessing that a drop deck gets me even more interesting loads - just concerned about what I'd be giving up.

 

For a lot of the loads that flatbedders carry -- steel or aluminum coils, pipes, sheets, billets, etc. 42' will usually be plenty long enough.

Some places I've been to require that you get permission ahead of time to bring a step-deck trailer in for loading. This is because if their dock is set up at the height of a full flat and they want to load you with a forklift from the side, they will have to load you outside of the dock (e.g. bring the load outside on the forklift) and they would then need to fit that into their schedule. Places that crane-load you from above will usually not care whether you bring in a step vs. a full flat.

Building material loads like sheetrock, plywood, particle board...if you're going to haul mainly those, then a regular full flat is what you want. Since those aren't crane-loaded, if you come in with a step-deck the shipper is going to have to load you in a spot where they can drive the forklift up to your side from ground level.

I've never seen a drop-deck carry anything other than heavy machinery like excavators, bulldozers and the like, where you need to be able to drive the equipment onto the trailer from the ground. The usable length on a drop-deck is essentially just long enough for the machinery being carried.

 

Lots of good info coming across this thread. . . Flats are the most versatile for load choices.