Gotta love Flatbed to do Flatbed

There have been places a flatbedder will have to do some maneuvering. Think mines on top of a mountain with a single lane road and a 2 acre landing zone to unload and exit. Steel mills and drywall and cement plants can have you backing into buildings that require you to back into separate bays after you already backed into the building. Done a few loads of racks to new warehouses,.. and being a van driver you should know what that ramp looks like going into the warehouse. Now imaging some of the more tighter lots and trying to back a fully loaded 53' spread up that ramp and into a building you cant see into with dumb ### laborers who would let you back into a pole and take down the building just to see it happen.

We have our moments regarding tight spaces. But yes,.. for the most part,.. I'd say a good 80% of my loads,.. its as simple as pull up and swing around to where they want me. When I ran reefer I always had an address for delivery or pick up. Flatbed,.. you get out to places in the mid west,.. or BFE places in Alabama, Tenn, Kentucky,.. even PA has had me scratching my head a few times and studying Google Satellite maps to get my bearings to make it to a delivery that has no address.

As far as delivery times,.. other than a few rare times,.. its been mostly bankers hours. No appts. Typically 8am to 3pm is your window. I try to plan my trips to make AM deliveries so I can reload the same day. I run hard when I am out.

The only time I will have multiple stops is if I managed to score a partial along the way. I'd say partials make up for 15 - 20% of my income.

As far as backing into a space at a truck stop,.. only if I am empty does it become easier. Even a 3 - 4ft tall load blocking the back of the trailer,.. I will be no better off than with a load sitting up at 13'6 - 14'. Backing is like anything else in trucking,.. once you've mastered it,.. it doesnt matter what your pulling,.. you put it where it needs to be.

8 drops in Brooklyn,.. you got me there. But that doesnt mean we dont have to drop in Brooklyn and then hike it over to JFK for a pick up. Or drop over on the east side of Long Island and come back out for an 11ft wide pick up in Trenton,.. as you know will send you over the Narrows and Jerseys brilliant traffic patterns to get out to 287.

Driving is the easy part.

Hurst

 

Take your time and pay attention to everything your mentor says and does. Later you may find different or better ways once on your own. This comes with experience.

The main thing to keep in mind with flat bed is that your load is out there for ALL to see. How you secured it, what you used to secure it and what its doing while you are traveling down the road with it. There are no walls to catch it. Your life as well as those of the families and people sharing the road with you depend on you to keep them safe from your load and your truck.

Its ok to be excited. Just try not to get too ####y and over confident. That load you just spent 2 hours to strap down and tarp. I can almost assure you,.. 20 - 30 mins down the road,.. something loosened up and needs to be re-tightened. Thats the nature of Flatbed. You need to constantly watch that load and check it every few hours to make sure its still secure. I cant tell you how many times I've pulled into a rest area to leave my regards, come back out and check my load only to find a snap binder opened up, or the load shifted and a chain came loose, or a strap came loose. Its not for lack of skill or doing anything wrong. This is the nature of the beast. That curved bridge with the big bump before it thats right in the curve,.. yeah,.. I stop and pull over anytime I hit something like that. Most of the time everything is ok. But its that one time you neglect to check and something falls off and kills someone that will either ruin your career or scar you for life.

Driving is the easy part. Master your skills and maintain a professional attitude. Thats what many drivers forget. We are professionals,.. we are held to a higher standard out there.

Hurst

 

Love it!

I know they are just forklift ramps, but you would think when they design these buildings, they know they are going to send flatbed trucks up those ramps if you have a load that would otherwise be impossible for a forklift to get inside.

There is small warehouse in Chicagoland,.. in Bensonville IIRC,.. thats set up just like that. There are maybe 5 - 6 bays as you come in and the last bay is the forklift ramp. The only way to do it is to 90 deg back in off the street and then do another 90 deg blind side up the ramp. They always have those poles and a guardrail down on the ends. The one in Bensonville has big 12" round poles with many battle scars from trailers that if I had to guess,.. lost to the pole.

Hurst