Oldeskool going flatbed

Well good luck, hope you are in great shape cause those tarps can and will kill ya.
Joke: When are a flatbedders hands clean?



After eatting Kentucky Fried Chicken, umm finger licking good.
Sorry ......I couldn't help myself

 

Lumber isn’t hard to haul usually. Know when to use your edge protection because it can damage your straps or you can damage product if it’s finished. Belly strap any load that’s 5’ or higher or has multiple layers. Make sure it’s nice and tight so boards don’t walk on you. If ends are sharp than get in a habit of padding the sharp edges so you’re not spending your weekend fixing the tarp. Watch some YouTube on tarping so you have a good idea.

 

Also get yourself some Milwaukee cut resistant gloves level 3 from Home depot. They will last you a good amount of time. Regular gloves will tear in a heart beat.

 

COT has a whole series of videos on tarping. They might not apply exactly to what you'll be doing but maybe you can pick up a few tips.
Tie down tight, drive smooth.

 

3 weeks to train someone to haul mostly lumber on a flatbed?




Alright

 

Western, prime, melton, p&s, and others have training that is minimum a week, and it’s still not enough judging by how they secure and tarp….

 

Let me be the 1st, apparently, to say, good job. I heartily endorse your move. So many times we hear of people saying, BY GOD, THIS TIME I"M DOING IT,,,only to hear from them months later, nothing changed. Selling the truck, another great move, and tarping can be a hassle. I used to "pick up sticks" near Reedsburg, Wis. in a container, how did they load it, you ask? They pushed the stacks in with a front end loader, and ALL my wheels had to be blocked for that, but while waiting once, the wind was a howling, and this guy next to me was fighting a losing battle with the tarp. He'd get one side, and the other blew off. Finally, I could see his despair, and got out and helped him. You may get extra for tarping. Thing about flatbed, if you can handle it, so many "box" rules go out the window. No docks or pallets or crabby receivers, generally low wind resistance, and the best part, most times, the stuff you haul, these guys are WAITING FOR YOU, unlike another load of aXX wipe to a DC. I did some flatbed, and you learn fast. The most impartent port[sic], the load can't fall off. Good luck, keep us posted, eh?

 

If we judged ability off of tarping prowess, I'd have to go dry van