Is working with flatbed harder than a regular trailer?

I AM NOT an expert as some are on here,( no sarcasm) but,I have pulled dry and flats,-NEVER plan on pullin reefer,but as a currrent happy? flatbedder,trust me,it can all be hard depending on the situation no matter what your pulling behind you.

 

Pape requires 2 years of flatbed experience.

Tango has a flatbed division
Davison use to have a flatbed division
Jordan Carriers is in & out of shreveport all the time

Have you checked Boyd Bros, Hornady, Maverick, Lonestar?

 

Wasn't aware Tango had flatbed and I'm just a hope skip and a jump across town from the terminal. I forgot all about Davison. Haven't seen their truck's around in a while. I'll give them a look sense I do have Hazmat and tank. Lonestar won't take me. I don't have any skateboard experiance at all. I'll check into Boyd and Hornady. I've been looking at Melton as well but there's something that just doesn't seem quite right about them from everything I've read and haven't been able to put my finger on it yet. And Maverick is a no go from all the layoff's I've been hearing about.

 

Looking at Tango's website, I guess I'll go over and see them Monday sense the oil patch work didn't come through. Hopefully the money is decent and shouldn't have a problem getting home more often. And if they do hire me I hope like hell to get a manual and not an automatic truck.

 

You are absolutely right! I am not a trucker, but my ole man has done both van and tanker. From my stand point as the woman in his life, I would rather him do anything but tanker because he was hauling chemicals that one wrong move and "BAM" he would be gone as well as a whole city of people. Scary! He is hauling van right now, but considering Hornady just so he can have some better home time! Sux not seeing your family for a month or more at a time! Any suggestions for someone who lives in Florida?

 

Hey truckingguysgirl,
The company I work for is hiring in your area. My email is mickeymurphy99 at aol dot com. We are home a lot more than Hornady. Email me for more info.

 

Mickeymurphy99,

Thanks! Sent you an email!

 

I totally agree with this guy....... Flat bedding is just down right fun.

 

If you know in advance that you will be OUTSIDE the truck doing physical labor no matter what the weather is like......and you enjoy that sort of thing....then I suppose you could call it "fun". I currently flatbed locally for Bluelinx and started OTR with McElroy in flatbedding. I will admit that I originally went flatbed straight out of school simply due to the higher starting C.P.M. offered. Now that I have been doing it for as long as I have (which is not as long a many here I'm sure), I'm not so sure I would call all of it "fun".

To me, the "fun" of driving a Big Truck is the actual DRIVING portion of the job. I LOVE driving a Big Truck with a full load on going down my "own road" ; which used to happen a lot OTR but now RARELY happens Fully loaded to 80K, tarped and bungied to X-Mas present perfection, gearing all the way up to 10th and setting the cruise control on 65 MPH with nobody in front of you, beside you, behind you, or otherwise in your way. A.C. (or heat) cranked to optimal temperature, Stereo cranked to your favorite Sirrius channel, and you are the Captain of your own ship and (seemingly) the Master of your own destiny

Then at 4:00 A.M. there is a serious pounding on your cab door. You leap out of bed to find a forklift driver standing in a foot of snow telling you to "get out here and pull the tarps" because he is ready to unload you. It's only 8 Degrees outside and the tarps are literally frozen solid and sticking to the load. Despite however much money you invested in "winter work gloves", your fingers immediately begin to all feel as though there are ten pairs of pliers squeezing each one. The forklift driver simply sits on his lift drinking coffee with a look of disgust, having to suffer "the indignity" of watching you un-bungie 60 some odd cords and then attempt to pry the two tarps off by yourself. As you finally manage to pull the front tarp loose and off the load, the lift driver immediately starts pulling his units. Meanwhile, your previously supple vinyl tarp is now a frozen sheet of crumpled mess that will fight you for 15 minutes before being allowed to be folded and rolled. Perhaps you will get it done before the lift driver is finished with the un-tarped sections, but either way, you already know an identical ordeal awaits you before you are through.

Yeah......I know........that doesn't happen EVERY time or even most of the time.......BUT - that is a true story. Windsor, VA one winter morning. Just one of many. And THOSE kinds of stories I wouldn't classify as "fun".

It's a living and one I am currently in, but I will say that a lot of the "fun" for me personally has left since I went local. At least in Va. Beach, we don't get that cold

 

I agree...

Personally, I think van/reefer is the way to go being a new driver. Once you've spent some time on the road, you'll be better acclimated to the challenges of flatbed. Driving van is a challenge for a new driver, I couldn't imagine loading on the knowledge you need for strapping/tarping and so on. Once it gets warmer out, I plan on switching over.