Physical demands of a flatbed

im full of worn out joints, torn tendons, carpal tunnel and degenerated discs. Sitting in the seat for 10 hours is the hard part.

 

Thats actually a great idea to get the feel for otr running a box trailer ... Flatbed makes you think more than anything and when ur new it could be alot to handle right at first when ur still learning the ins and outs of the job , especially if u have a bad back already , tarping is tough if u have bad back. My back hurts just looking at my tarps

 

Sorry so late to the party. I joined this forum a couple of years ago when I was researching a possible trucking career. I found a metric butt-ton of good advice compliments of the experienced drivers who frequent this site.

I will tell you that I’m an old guy (54), retired navy and at the time I was just bored with a 10 year gig fixing surgical equipment. It was time to get my adventure on again.

I was interested in flatbed from the start. To me it’s just a more interesting haul when YOU decide how a load is going to be placed on your deck and YOU have to engineer / effect a way to keep it there. I promise you, you won’t feel like a steeeing wheel holder.

As for the physicality, I carry all of two giant lumber tarps (8’ drops). They’re heavier than anybody else’s at about 160 lbs each. I work for a small company and that’s what they’ve used for decades. Doesn’t matter if it’s flat steel that sits a foot and a half off my deck, that circus tent is going to be used to cover it.

.......And I destroyed my knees when I was in the navy. They’ve both been reconstructed......with an arthroscopy to clean up partial ligament tears in between. Unless your knees give you regular pain now, I say go for it. Just don’t make a habit of jumping down off the rear of your deck. Climb down using the ICC bumpercas a step. It’s also pretty easy to carry around a 4’ step stool or even an aluminum folding ladder.

But don’t sign on with a mega. Just don’t. There are plenty of small companies around and they need drivers as bad as anybody. They pay better and treat you a helluva lot better. Look for them. Even if they aren’t advertising jobs, just contact them. I bet they’ll be very glad to hear from you.

Sam.

 

@perlhaqr

If you’re concerned about being old, out of shape or maybe just not quite up to the task physically I should add some things for you. Those were my concerns initially as well. In fact I had researched TMC and the physical test they use at their orientation as an indicator of whether I would be physically capable of flatbedding.

The toughest part of their test was manipulating a 100 pound tarp up onto the deck and further up on a 4 foot tall load. I thought that could be somewhat difficult. For perspective, I ain’t just old, I’m a runt too. 5’ 7” - 205. Ain’t hardly any of it muscle anymore either.

If I had TMC’s tarps today, I’d be in heaven. My tarps would make a TMC guy cry for momma.

There are ways to manipulate heavy tarps even when you’re my size and age. 99% of the time the forklift operator who loaded you will gladly set your tarps up on top for you. But every once in a great while you might have to find a way to get your tarps up on your deck by yourself.

This is where the ingenuity and engineering skills of being a flatbed driver comes into play. I take two pieces of dunnage and lay them up against the rear of my deck like a double rail with just enough room for me to stand in between. Drop that rolled up tarp a couple feet up on the dunnage and walk (roll) it up.


Sometimes just getting straps across a high load can be daunting task, particularly on a windy day. You need that strap to go across a particular way and you just ain’t got the arm you did when you were younger. Then the wind is foiling you with every attempt too.

Enter an old mariner trick : You get mooring lines across initially with a “monkey fist and hand line”. I have about 35’ of nylon line and a rubber baseball tied to the end of it. I hurl that baseball over and the other end is tied off to the flat hook on my strap. Run around the other side of the truck, find my baseball and haul that 4” strap across exactly where I need it.

Flatbedders use their brains.

Sam