Flatbedding , How tough really ?

I've always enjoyed flatbeds, be it building supply's, raw materials or machinery. Every load is different. Common sense is all you need to ba safe.

Dock bumpers can keep there vans.

 

My husband and I prefer pulling a flatbed. When he first got me into flatbed I was 260lbs on a 5'8" frame. After struggling my big butt up the loads like a monkey, humping those lumber tarps, and the daily slinging of straps and occasionally chains, you burn off the fat and firm up muscles you forgot you ever had.

Can it be dangerous? Yep. Through your own carelessness. If you pay attention you are not going to hurt yourself. I have been hurt twice, both times through my own inattention. First time I was trying to make a bungee do what it couldn't do-it snapped, hit me in the face. Gave me a split lip, bleeding gums, and nice bruise on my cheek. Lucky I didn't lose my eye. Second time, I was in a hurry and if you can believe it- walked right off the back of the flatbed. Felt like I wish I was dead. Came out of it with some seriously nasty bruises that took 2 1/2 months to go away. Point: YOU get hurt when YOU are not careful and attentive.

I love pulling a skateboard and it is what keeps me in truck driving.

In general, shippers and receivers treat you better and usually are happy to see you. Each load is like a puzzle that you have to put together. The other flatbed drivers are more likely to help you out when you need it, rather than just drive by like van and reefer drivers. Don't any one get po'd, I said in general.

As far as TMC, don't really know. They seem to have nice equipment but beyond that I couldn't say. We are considering changing companies to a flatbed only company and are seriously considering Melton.

Good luck in your decision.

 

Hauling an open trailer is different.

I say open trailer, because I'll even throw carhaulers into the mix because of the "Putting the puzzle" thing together.

I've pulled a carhauler, and a lowboy equipment trailer(for a construction company)...this means I've used the lowboy as a flatbed when the freight DIDN'T have wheels to drive on and off.

You've GOT to have a bit of common sense about you when it comes to pulling an open trailer. The ability to see the load as it should go on the trailer is the KEY to happiness...also...

I've NEVER tarped a load on an open deck trailer...so I can't talk about that aspect of the business. Notarps is probably jealous now.

I have thrown my share of chains and straps though. I DO prefer rolling freight as opposed to forklift freight...if it drives on and off...that's for me!!!!

Currently...I pull tanks and end dumps. Of the choices out there. I'd go for some kind of "Specialized" trucking and stay as far away from vans and reefers as I possibly could.

 

My misshaps in flatbedding, just for the idea that yes, it can be dangerous, so can climbing up into the back of a van, reefer, or climbing on top of a belly-dump and just about every other type of trailer out there, the only difference is that flatbed work pretty much dictates you are going to climb up on that trailer quite frequently.

Ummm, but my flatbedding has me on the platform several times a day as a local driver, along with strapping, chaining, using the cheater bar, etc etc etc.

Sooo - a slipped cheater bar. Happened to me a couple of times when the strap just gave up the ghost. No, the strap had no visible damage, I throw them in the trash can at the first sign of "DOT Infraction", to put it that way. Learned a long time ago to keep your face out of the way of a possible rebounding bar. The worst that happened was a sudden jolt and a little neck and shoulder pain.

Chaining -never had an incident chaining an equipment load.

Getting on and off the trailer. Yup, I admit that once, I attempted to get up on the catwalk, had my foot in the totally wrong place, slipped and fell face first into the headache rack. I'm not sure how I didn't get my face ripped off, considering I had not control and fell full force into the container on that rack that holds your staps (if that's where anyone else keeps them), but I got up and walked away from it with no more than a scratch on my arm.

However, since I get up and down off that trailer several times a day, 5 days a week, for a long time, I think myself fortunate and usually careful at the same time.

I had a friend who was strapping a load in a roofing tile yard - while he was doing that, another truck came by and one of the tires on the trailer tandems ran over his foot, cutting his achilles tendon and making him useless for a long time. I tend to learn from other people's misfortunes - one would think a driver going by another driver that is strapping his load would look in his mirror and make SURE he ain't running over that dude, but since THAT happened, I always stop what I'm doing, squeeze up against my trailer, and watch that trailer roll by, make sure I ain't about to be squeezed into orange juice.

I have never lost a load or part of a load, mostly due to the fact that I overstrap my loads and I also make the vendor take unsafe junk off the truck and re-wrap it or whatever they need to do to make it safe. I have done that with my own company - force them to take off portions of a load, and on a couple of occasions, reposition the entire load - because it was unsafe.

Whatever the case, without flatbeds, you have no sewer pipe underground. You don't have waterpipe either. In fact, most construction materials come on flatbed trailers, it's simply too difficult or even impossible to load that kind of material into a van. You want electricity? how do those giant transformers get to the power stations?

Block, brick, lumber, tile, the things that build homes, offices, buildings and factories - mostly comes on a flatbed trailer.