Should i start off with OTR flatbed?

I say go for it. I started with flatbed on my first ride out of the gate. I'm still loving it.

 

Here's a good example... A few years ago I went to a shipper to pick up my load. I drive a van trailer. For some reason this shipper loaded vans and flats for the same freight. Maybe it was due to the receivers requirements, I dunno. Anyway, when I arrived this driver and his wife were tarping their load. I opened my van doors and was loaded and leaving in about 45 minutes. The flatbed driver and his wife were sweating and tarping when I arrived and when I left. Do you want to do 2 or 3 times the work for basically the same pay? CPM is basically the same. Yeah, you get paid to tarp but wait til you have to crawl around in the rain or snow or in the dark when you can't see.

 

The last I checked they won't load and can not unload collars, subs, mud motors or any other directional down hole tool in a van. And yes, $pm is more.

 

And so is the unpaid deadhead. There are some good gigs in all area's of trucking. I would just advise the OP that starting out flatbed is not the best way IMHO. It's tough enough learning the skill's you need to drive and survive on the road. Adding in the skills for flatbedding and it might be overwhelming for a new driver. Just saying.

 

Go for it. The only time i ever pulled a van was in cdl school, an empty van. Went fb right outta school and wont go elsewhere unless it involved home every single day and a big pay hike. Most company pulled flats are 48' spread axles. But as others had said, be prepared to get wet, cold, snowed on, rained on, sweat to death, dirty, smelly, sore muscles, ect ect. Read the thread 'so you wanna be a skateboarder' The member redd sums up pretty good. Fb aint easy, but the hard word is rewarding.

 

You can choose to do worse things....

Like run a reefer...

So says the guy that started on a flat and is now hauling reefers again...

 

I don't see how the guy's hauling pipe and drill stem make it, it seems like they always dead head back.

I consider myself luck, I had back hauls 72% of my hauls last year and this year is looking good thank the lord

 

I personally think it's best to start with van, gain experience, then make then change. Learning your way around this business is a challenge without the added stress that flatbed involves. You're under more scrutiny with dot driving flatbed because of load securement. Meaning more ways for you to jeopardize your license, and job. Within 6 months of driving van, you can have the basics down, get into a trucking lifestyle routine, and then the swap to flatbed will be a lot easier, IMO.

I have a couple of buddies that drive flatbed, and we are in the same ballpark money wise. I make up the extra pay that they get in the miles I drive. They are always having to get loaded/unloaded by appointment when most of my loads are drop'n'hook. It takes me 30 minutes at a shipper when it takes them a couple of hours or more.