Should I?

Lesson one: Fill a coffee cup, a 20 ounce syrofoam without a lid. Put it on your floor ahead of the gear shift.

Drive until you do not spill coffee.

Thus ended your Lesson and qualifies you to haul flatbed.

Seriously, you will love flatbedding. It's a higher art form of trucking when done right. It's always good to make changes to your world when you identify boredom and need to remain interested in your work. Otherwise why bother?

I did it for a while and it will be close to the best years of my work ever. It's fun. Sometimes scary. But the attention lavished on that machine load on your deck that took 40 people 3 months to hand build going to a shop that will work it for the next 40 years... making stuff... it does not get any better than that.

 

Im medically retired since 2001. We were a husband wife reefer team running million dollar loads out of McKesson Memphis. My last company was JBH as a solo but only three weeks because I took out a car with a old international cabover, just like I warned the Recruiter, dont put me into cabovers, I take cars out with them. Conventionals only. Ergo took out a car. (My third) I decided to quit trucking because my eye surgeon revealed a growing problem that led to blindness to that reason which was fixed by surgery in 2009. Arkansas grandfathered me with the CDL under Tier Two rules and no medical card in sight. That changed recently when all CDL must have a medical on them. It will take a million in heart valves, stents and other replacement parts including a spine to make me quailify to drive again. Frankly I don't want to. But it's in the blood.

Flatbedding, Ive done with DM Bowman of Frederick Maryland, we hauled tamko shingles direct and also Lowes transload railroad import wood from asia in Hagerstown for direct store or big box delivery next day 250 miles, mostly Altoona for me in winter. (Babcock Ridge is the place... a switch back mountain hill that is awesome on ice...) I also did some more flatbedding with ECK miller out of Rockport until they tried to starve me on miles over a period of time. I won the case against them through Maryland Courts and they black listed me pernamently from ever hauling steel again anywhere in the USA they have influence. Im over it. All of my coils arrived perfect except for a few busted pallets here and there.

There were other flatbedding as well. Even as small as a dodge 55 flatbed truck dually on a 3 speed column shift with 15000 pounds of stone or stacked rolls of hay from the fields. That is fun fun fun. Love the old iron. /rave....

 

I did van and refer. I'm doing flatbed now and I love it! something new all the time

 

Yes just be warned bungee n tarps suck in the cold lol.

 

And you will be well nourished by a thousand cuts of iron and other minerals off the dust, salt, ice etc all over your deck, chains etc. You might have a binder get loose on you and kick you enough to stick you in the ER waiting for the Xray. Or fight a tarp 30 feet by 50 feet in a howling nor'easter at 10 degrees losing your fingers then your wrists. There are a thousand ways to benefit from flatbedding. But also ten thousand ways to get hurt around them.

I love the #### things and cannot get enough of it. But you young ones can have it. =)

 

I occasionally have to use a 40 x 40 tarp with nylon sides on it. If I'm alone folding it in the wind I put it on the deck in a ball and strap it down. I'd rather fold it up in 10 minutes in the shop over spending an hour fighting it in 30mph winds that change directions every 10 seconds.

Another fun part is when it's -10 out and your straps are frozen solid in the winch. Can't use a torch to thaw them or they might melt.

 

I started doing flatbed in January. While is wasn't fun to tarp or strap in the cold it is doable. A pair of carhartt insulated bibs, a warm jacket, and a good set of gloves will keep you comfortable enough. Half the time during winter I'm outside working wearing just my bibs and a hoodie. Throwing chains will keep you warm enough that you won't want to wear the jacket anyways.

I started out hauling vans like you just to get my initial driving experience. After a year it got boring so I moved on to flatbed. Best decision I've ever made. I enjoy the variety and the challenge that comes with trying to figure out how to tie down each load.