Nickname or Lingo for a Flatbed Driver...

10-4 on the no backing you said it that's why I took it up that and most flatbed loads stay in the industrial parts of cities on the outskirts. Cant say much now I drive a chip van in the woods there's fun!!

 

I dont know what your talking about because almost all flatbedders can back better than van drivers.

I pull flats and I don't go into industrial parks, and van drivers would have a heart attack trying to back into most of the places I go. 10-4

 

And it's all dock for the vans that you see in industrial parks anyway. Skateboards go places vans would never think of delivering for the simple fact we don't pull your everyday items like vans. And our loads when we pick them up don't have 50 of the same loads sitting there.

 

I pull vans and flats and IMO backing a flat is cake compared to a van. Not a lot of 53ft skateboards and its a lot easier to back when you can see the right rear corner of your trailer in a tight spot.

There's a local dock that I'd love to see a skateboarder back into with a 53' van. ... no room to go in straight, blindside, uphill, telephone pole and trees on the right, a building, two sets of steel steps, and 3 steel poles to protect a power panel on the left.

 

I never said flatdeckers couldn't back up I agree 110% about the skill of van drivers was always blown away watching in truck stops wondering how some of these guys make a living backing into docks they always seem to want to do a blind side jacknife when a flat driver would just have sense to set up right and back straight in. Anywho all I ment was when I started wasent very good at backing and 99% of what I hauled was drive in drive out. P.S not saying all van drivers are worse drivers but i guarentee everyone has seen the blind side jacknife I mentioned.

 

Sand-n-gravel hauler Covered wagon Mobile parking lot
double drop deck curtain vans

"Mobile parking lot" can also be "portable parking lot."

Tanker Drop deck Low boy Chicken hauler Anteater

"Chicken hauler" is a modified flatbed (skateboard) that's fitted with cages. If they're carrying live turkeys, then we call them "turkey hauler." If they're hauling live ducks, then it's "duck hauler."

"Double drop decks" are for hauling tall products that would otherwise exceed the height limit, if they were mounted on a skateboard.

"Anteater" is the aerodynamic design of the tractor, as opposed to "conventional," which has more air drag. As the older drivers retire from trucking, the conventional is slowly becoming obsolete. The "cabover" became obsolete when it was determined they were a lawsuit waiting to happen. More truckers suffered fall injuries while climbing up or down from cabover tractors, so they had a higher injury rate than conventional.

Reefer dry box conventional cab-over Pneumatic Day cab double-van bull hauler

Note: the Papa John trailer in "reefer" has triple-axle tandem, allowing it to carry more payload towards the rear axle. The tractor's drive axle supporting the front end of the trailer is limited to only 34,000 pounds axle weight. I'm not sure, but I think the triple axle is allowed to 42,000 or 44,000 pounds. "Reefer" means refrigerated; it hauls products that require temperature control, like frozen and perishable food products. The reefer motor that pumps cold air inside the trailer sits behind the tractor, bout 3 or 4 feet away from the sleeper bunk. Sleep can be erratic as the reefer motor comes on and off every few minutes. When a reefer driver parks in a residential, you let him know you appreciate his consideration (noise generated by reefer unit) by shutting off the reefer unit, letting the products inside slowly spoil.

Pneumatic tankers (as opposed to liquid tankers) haul dry products, like flour, dry chemicals, plastic resin, etc...

On the "double vans" each trailer is 28 feet long, and they may be called "pup" trailers, or "double-pups."

"Bull haulers" are livestock trailers. When we first see them coming up from behind, we may call them "bull haulers," but when we see what animals are inside, we revised them to "pig hauler, sheep hauler, goat hauler," etc... Usually, these trailers are pulled by owner operators who had specked the engine to have waaaay tooo much power, so they go by at 75 mph (or more) and we can't make out what they're hauling inside. However, the stench of urine and feces from cattle is distinguishable from excrements by sheep, pig, etc... so if you've been in a farm, you can distinguish the livestock by the stench of their excrements.

"Curtain vans" are modified skateboard (flatbed) that has a roof and rear swing doors. After the products are loaded and secured, the canvas tarp slides like curtains, protecting the cargo hold from weather elements. The picture shows a "pup" curtain van, but they're often 53 foot in length.

 

If you're in advertisement, I'm guessing they want you to make an ad to attract and hire new drivers ‼ What they're not telling you, is they're having serious driver turnover problems because they can't stay in business without lying and cheating the drivers on their pay.

A lot of us veteran drivers had seen all the usual ads; earn more $$, more miles, guaranteed home time, yadahh - yadahh - yadahh... so here's a new approach -- tell the truth. Put out an ad that says

"We'll push you beyond your safe limits, providing you're willing to falsify logbooks ‼ If you're willing to practice 'creative record keeping,' and ingest narcotic stimulants, we can guarantee you all the miles you can handle, and guarantee your name will never come up on random drug testing."

After you pitch this idea, if your clients give you a dumb look, you say "gotcha ‼ I was only kidding ‼" then laugh hysterically. But if they contemplate and give it serious consideration, then it just grows to show, there's truth in the adage "the truth will set you free."

 

About that "set you free" part ------------
do you make reference to the pay-scale,
or what many shabby truckin' companies do with a driver
about the some time said driver is due a pay raise?
And/Or demands what's owned them?

It's said, that the squeekin' wheel gets the grease.
But in the Big truck truckin' industry, the squeekin' wheel
gets replaced.

 

U only see them in the winter time1 LOL

 

Here in the Land-0-Fruits & Nutz, California, ..... we see 'em
ALL the time. Probably because California doesn't really know
WHEN it's winter.
And some are in a constant fog and never know WHAT they're
seein' ANY time of the year.