Post your flatbed load pictures here

Not all tarp jobs are the same. The load that logan had is a 15 minute job to an experienced steel hauler. It is not a $200-300 tarp job. What passingthru is referring to is a totally different type of tarp job. We refer to those as "you can't charge enough." In addition to all of the things he brought up, you also have exposure to injury. The driver has to lift the heavy tarp, get it into postion, often 10+ feet above the trailer. A fall from there takes the driver out for months. Big work comp bills. We had a driver that feel off the top of a 5' side kit. That was close to $500K by the time things were said and done. Sure insurance covers it, but they pass that back to you in future premiums. It takes a lot of $200 tarp jobs to make up that kind of money. If you are an independent contractor, you should be even more wary of this.

I think too many drivers like to "just say no" when it comes to tarping. Tarping a load of steel plate or steel bars is simple and can be done quickly once you are used to it.

 

I appreciate you taking the time to explain what you said in the above. What type of injuries did that driver obtain or one obtain if he/she were to fall from that height??

KH

 

Years ago at the other company I was at, we had a driver just 24 years old fall off a ld. that was 10' high.
He broke his neck when he fell. Last I heard on that was he will be in a wheel chair for life..
I was helping a driver at the yard in Laredo, when he lost his footing standing on a forklift. Something we all have done, but we are not supposed to do thing.
Well he fell and hit the gooseneck.then the ground.
3 broke ribs later, we got him out of the hospital.

I have a strong dislike for tarping lds. myself, but it's part of the job.

We haul used machines sometimes and they wanted them tarped. They can be a pain.
Steel and lumber compared to that are the easy tarp jobs, so to speak. Some compaines might only pay the company drivers like 25 or 50 for tarp lds. no matter how many tarps it takes to do the job.

 

I got my shag position years ago because the current shag driver fell off a 14' load of vinyl window moulding. He went off the front and hit the catwalk on his way to the ground. He broke an arm and a few ribs. The impressive part is that he drove the truck from the drop yard back to the company he loaded at. He never went back to flats and went to the van division.

 

You are right on the money there Chris to a point. The only thing is here at LS I have gotten $200 to tarp a 4 bundle of playe steel just like the ones I used to haul there. It seems dependent on each agent, but every load here you get extra pay for tarping. I've seen $100 per coil and $800 for OS loads. When I had the SD I pulle a 125 mile load that was 10' x 10' crate that needed tarped. I had to buy a machine tarp custom to pull it but the shipper not only paid me $400 to tarp but added $1,000 to the rate to purchase the tarp!!!

Now I have a 30x30 machine tarp rolled up sitting in my garage which I will probably never use again tho LOL

 

My first ever OTR job running flatbed in 1991. 1985 Mack superline, 36" sleeper with 350 mack, 13spd and 48' flatbed.

I was 23 when I took these pictures.


the damage from when a 40Ton forklift drove into my truck while I sat at a stop sign on their yard. They tried to blame it on my in-experience. I was on the road solo less than 3 weeks when it happened.



4 of us at the 76 truckstop in Joliet Ill. We went next door for some killer pizza and beer. It had been a LONG day. The dogs were all tied up and it was beer-thirty.

 

Those superliners are a sharp looking rig

 

With the right suspension and setup,

Id drive one of again long before anything else.

 

man those superliners look great!!! there's a company where i live that has an all mack fleet, about 30 trucks or so, 10 are superliners in different schemes and colors and still run great til this very day!!

 

Never seen a Super liner in real life.
I the cab the same as in the R series?
I drove a R series with a Mack V8 for a while.