Flatbeds...skateboards...why?

I am neither lazy or a flatbed hauler.. just old (er).. hahaha. However, if I was younger or in better shape i'd be hauling a flatbed. Right now I am happy with pulling the reefer.. I even get to supervise some of my loads and if I wanted to unload more than a few.

Plus reefers seem to attract flatbeds and in turn the girls. Hahahahaha

 

I have been in a van the past year and a half. I was not in great shape when I was in a flatbed, but was not fat either. I was around 230, mostly muscle.
Now I have been on a van the past year and a half. I do not eat often enough, but do not eat any junk when I do.
I have still gained 30 lbs. Mostly due to not eating often enough. So my metabolism has gone into starvation mode and holds onto all the calories it can.
I need to go from eating 1 time a day, when I get the chance (skip eating at least once a week) and go back to eating health snacks several times a day and having a good meal in the middle of my work day.
I just like to run all I can. I hate to stop in the middle of my day. I tend to stop only when I have too.
So typically I park at shippers, receivers or rest areas. Where I have no access to food. And since I cannot have an inverter I cannot cook in the truck. So choices are limited.

I say all this just to say that some drivers do not have a choice in gaining weight. I do what I can. I walk every day. I do not eat much. But still I put on some weight.
I do shower at least every other day. Some days I do not have the chance to do it every day.
On a flat I would shower every day. Had too, it was dirty work. But since I could fuel wherever I wanted too it was easy to get free showers. Though I pay for them as needed. Normally at least one of my showers each week I have to pay for. Since I cannot always get to a place I can get a free one.

 

Don't worry about the girls, they just like the chains and binders. Also they like that in general flatbedders are in better shape.
I know some flatbedders in their late 60s and in their 70s. These are all steel haulers.
Not allot of tarping on the stuff we hauled. And none of it was high. Though we did not do coils and some other things. Ingots, crankshafts, rough and finished forgings etc.
lots of weight and lots of chains.

 

"The women inside the building held up a sign saying "it's 70* in here" and laughed. The construction worker held up his own sign which said "it's $48.00 per hr out here!" "

But the lady in the office likely gets her 40 hours a week / 2080 hours a year , the construction work does not , lots of laid off periods or construction slumps.

 

I look at the tarping, untarping, securing and unsecuring as my free paid health club membership. I lost over 20 lbs and feel great! I also enjoy being around the different mills and seeing the whole process. I also enjoy directing the cranes ect while loading.

 

What crane company only charges $100 an hour?

 

As most already said we get paid more because we do more. plain and simple. Lots of hot days in the South Texas heat for me and even hotter in the mills.

I also saw a post about the "slobs". Showers are an everyday occurance in this area of our industry. Altho I could see if I was pulling a van and not sweating my face off almost all day while I either wait to load or while I am doing the loading itself, I could probably get by with every other day.

Someone on here has a sig that says "Trucking is not for sissies. Flatbedding is really not for sissies." That pretty much sums it up.

See yall out there.

 

Should it not be "Trucking is not for sissies and Flatbedding is really not for the sissies of TRUCKING."