SO HOW HARD IS it BEING A FLATBEDDER

honestly ( not trying to be funny) Ive always wondered if pulling reefer is as hard as it sounds

 

ah that is true, tarping stations are ridiculous but you hit it on the head, flatbedding is far more interesting then pulling a box, I'd still take a tarping station over an old big greasy machine thats precarious as hell to climb on and have to fully tarp it.

 

Speaking from experience, sounds like..lol

Yup, ive been there myself. Both of those options suck. To me though, id rather do either of those than be a dock bumper.

Heck, I may hate it at the time, but doing either of those in the cold/rain/wind/heat is still more rewarding than sitting at a cold storage warehouse for hours.

 

I'm thinking of getting into flatbed after 30 years of reefer and van....
I think I can handle it. Most loads will be those huge heavy equipment tires or cast concrete...So not tarping every load anyway.
I'm in my 50's so lets see if us older guys can learn some new tricks!

 

So, I just recently started flatbedding. Like 2 weeks ago recently. Consistently lumber, but even then different cuts seem to have different chances of shifting on you. So far, I love it.
I actually have only been driving for a year, and had some strings pulled to get this job. Though, I do have some of my own merit to stand on.
I mean I drove various large vehicles in the military, I haven't had a ticket in over 10 years, I have been in one wreck my entire time driving a POV, and that was at 22 when a lady ran a stop sign and hit me.

If you're complaining about tarping and strapping being hard... Well, you're lazy. No beating around that bush. I like it, because the excercise is nice. I pack in muscle fast and the added beef to my arms (and strangely abs) is nice. As I told the guy who trained me, I've done a lot more work for a lot less money.
But, what I love about it is that in two weeks I've already had to become a better driver. You cannot hard brake loaded, or you can smack the headache rack with the lumber (I surely did my third day on the job). Then, in the best case scenario, you manage to force the lumber back into place and resecure. You can't hard brake empty, because that flatbed is light and can whip around on you. With the split axle, you've got to keep your turns tighter, because you can't spin it on its axle like a van. You'll drag the front axle and tear something up. Seriously... I was bored with van, and now I feel myself being sharpened.
Maybe it's just me, but I enjoy learning and challenge.
If I get bored here, tanker next. Or maybe a lowboy hauling heavy equipment.

In any case, I'm learning. I enjoy it. Haven't messed anything up, yet. Trying to stay safe.

 

The first 6 months suck and you will hate your life; once you get decent at stacking stuff and tarping, it'll be easy to tell if it's for you or not! Then you start pulling a roll-tite and all of a sudden life makes sense.

I like to eat.... I can see my ### getting fat again just thinking about going back to dry bulk. And I just realized how old this thread is!

 

Depends what kind of work you’re use to. If you are a door swinger, then yes it’s a lot harder than that. I use to deliver for Pepsi and Coke. Unload truck myself and stock shelves. So flatbed isn’t hard at all for me. I love it!! Could never haul van. Way to boring for me!!

 

The first problem is ur asking refeer guys if flatbed is hard.

 

Reefer work over the years kept me at the same weight I graduated at. When I got into flatbedding I did not work as hard. No where near it. The tarps and big wind make for battle some days but it's all part of the game. When I discovered medicine hauling in a reefer that pretty much eliminated everything truly bad about trucking that was my home.

at the end of the day it's only hard as you make it out to be.

 

Not sure what kind of reefer work you've done, but for me, just strapping once per day is more physical than lifting bulkheads, etc.

But, at the same time, I'd say everything can be niche to a degree.

I like my lumber. I like the physical. But for me I strap and tarp 1-2 per day, which I like for the excercise, but more importantly, I like that I have to be much more mindful of how I am driving.