Some questions on Flatbed vs Reefer

Hey dudes, need some info from you. I'm planning to go back OTR and trying to decide wether I want to go reefer or flatbed. I have experience with reefer OTR, but no experience with flatbed. I've been looking into flatbed, as it would be a new venture, but I have a few issues with some things I'm seeing.

Length of hauls. Ok, so I love running the miles. One thing I enjoyed with driving reefer was when I could pick up a load going to the opposite side of the country, and for the next 3 days I would have no worries except running miles. Spend a day delivering a load and picking the next load up, then run another 3-4 days doing nothing but driving. I know reefer kind of specializes in those long runs, but does flatbed have similar runs? It seems to me, generally, flatbed has shorter runs. Is this usually the case? Are there flatbed loads that reach 1500+ mile trips?

Hometime. I've talked to quite a few flatbed companies around me. Most always offer "home every weekend, or every other weekend". Do most shippers/receivers close shop on the weekends? I like to stay out for 6-8 weeks at a time and bank up an extended home time. A lot of flatbed companies I talked to don't even work with you on this. It's either go home every other weekend, or just forfeit your weekend off. Now I'm sure I could find a small company that could work with me on the home time issue. But this "off every weekend" makes me assume that it's because there is no freight on the weekend?

Quirks. This one might be a tricky question. Running the miles on reefer was fun, but it had it's many quirks that could irritate you real fast. Warehouses that must be staffed by the local retirement community (aka slow), trailer washouts to pick up loads, receivers wanting to refuse items because they over ordered, shipper that always over load you and make reworking it such a hassle you contemplate just running over weight, I could go on for days. I understand all walks and forms of trucking have this issue, what are some of the major quirks of flatbed?



Thanks for the help if you can!!

 

You've pretty much covered everything yourself. Tarping can be irritating, especially in high winds. Some delicate products are a pain in the ### to secure without damaging them. If you drive a spread axle, you shouldn't make tight backing and turning maneuvers. Which also ties into some jobs sites that are off road or harder to get into. Some customers won't have the proper equipment to unload you, so you've got to drive out from under the load after they pick it up a few inches off the deck. Those customers usually have chains that aren't rated for the job either, so you might find yourself loaning some of yours for peace of mind.

However, once you get a solid grasp on flatbedding, you can move to OS/OD and things change. Long hauls pay better, but the rules and responsibility increase as well. You should know the rules for each state you travel, you might have a curfew, need a pilot car, have trouble finding a decent parking spot, etc. Someone else who knows more about that work can probably offer more help. There is a section in the flatbed forum for heavy haul that might be able to give you a better idea.

 

Shippers and receivers for flatbed loads are generally open weekdays during normal business hours. There are exceptions, depending on the kind of freight the company hauls. Oil field is 24/7, for example.

There are long hauls in flatbed, but the majority of runs are a few hundred miles on average. There's certainly more exercise in flatbed and more pride and satisfaction when you pull into a truck stop with a well secured and/or tarped load. Flatbed drivers will often go out of their way to help a fellow flatbed driver. Last year I had a rare windless day in North Dakota, taking a 34. I took the opportunity to refold my tarps into tighter bundles. Three flatbedders saw me start the job and came out to lend a hand.

If you are able to find a company that hauls high tariff freight that pays a percentage of money earned by the truck, then I would jump on that opportunity. Then you look forward to those local short hauls and don't mind the fact you are putting in that physical labor, because you made good money for a short day's work.

 

Want to really run the miles and make the money and get an education in driving tough?

Go sign up at an open deck carrier that runs all 49 and Canada. Many of the places in western Canada are closed Friday through Sunday. But you can make the money. One winter in northern Alberta and you will never complain again.

Look at Systems Transport or Combined Transport, Lonestar or ATS.

 

Well that's why I'm asking you all. This is all stuff I've heard or made my own assumptions on, so it could all be 100% wrong for all I know . About the OS/OD, I was actually looking at a company specializing in OD freight mainly moving machines around. My issue with that stuff is all the time wasted on curfews, permits, pilot cars, and other restrictions. I like to be running. I respect what them heavy haul drivers do, but I just don't think I would enjoy specializing in HH. Now I know sometimes you get OS freight on a standard flat, and I would have no issues with stuff like that, but doing nothing but OS isn't what I'm looking for. Thanks for the tip though!

Hmm, man. So let me ask you. There has got to be flatbeds that aren't going home every weekend. Do most shippers still ship loads on Friday that they are wanting to get delivered early the next week? But then what if they give you a load on Friday only going 400 miles that's due on Monday . Obviously I know not every shipper/receiver is going to be closed weekends. I mean is there a good chance if you don't get that load before the weekend your just gonna be stuck in a town for the weekend? Cause that would suck ...

I've looked at a couple of those, I think systems has a terminal in Florida near me. I got my passport with the first company I did OTR with, but never went into Canada. Honestly back then I was still very fresh with everything so I was definitely not pushing for Canada loads. I hear getting through the border can be a huge pain though, but it would definitely be fun to make some trips here and there. That is one of the big reasons I'm planning on making the move back OTR. I've been doing local for the last years and after enough runs you just get to know every highway, every back road, every intersection, every traffic light ..... ZZZZzzzzzzz .... oh wait .... what? Then to top it off I run Florida so there is literally no challenge besides controlling your road rage created by all the retired folks and foreign tourists .... oh and the horde of people with their face buried in their phones. Plus, the money is way better outside of Florida and even more so when I can throw all my stuff into a family members house and not have to worry about rent.

 

"Home weekends" is a recruiting tool. Not all drivers are interested in "home weekends" and would rather be running the roads; I'm one of them.
Melton Truck Lines and Paul Transportation are flatbed that run long runs coast to coast and both hire in Florida.

 

If you want to stay out and drive flatbed too, you can make it work.
Tell your dispatcher or DM that you want to stay out and if they can keep you loaded and moving over the weekend you'll do the rest.
Believe me, they'll try to work with you. Having a driver that wants to run and isn't looking for every weekend at home simpifies their job.
There's a guy with System that parks in our yard. He's been with them about five years. He stays out six or eight weeks at a time and loves it. He gets some pretty good Friday loads that run him all weekend, too.
Sure, sometimes the system will break down and you might not get to run exactly the way you want but I'll bet that once the office knows that you'll run they'll run you.

 

If you want to try something different, aply to Tri State Motor Transport. If you can pass a security clearance for D.O.D. you have what appears to be within TSTM's basic requirements. You will deliver to military installations and if you can stand teaming, that is where the money is. They are very serious about safety and will hold your feet to the fire as far as on-time and presenting a professional image. You will have to utilize Drive Axle so don't say you weren't warned, it sucks. Other than that, it is an excellent carrier. Good luck.

 

Oops, Tri State Motor Transit, always do that.

 

Good to hear. I've heard of both of these companies, was actually looking at Paul for a while but their website says they are switching to all autos. I've been using autos for local work and I am not a fan of them, so if it's possible I'm trying to stay away from them. I looked at a company the other day, Jordan Carriers. They have a bunch of Volvo autos, but saw on their facebook that they've been moving to new petes ... I just have to find out if those petes are manuals or autos. Still looking at some reefer companies, too. Nice to hear that flatbeds can run too, because that holds a lot of weight to me. I'm fine with tarping/strapping loads and stuff, but I just want to make sure I can get more than 300-400 miles out of a load. I know even in the reefer game you can get those short runs, but I just had an impression that those short runs were really relevant in flatbed. I get the impression that flat bed loads are generally going to be less miles than reefer? But I'm just trying to make sure It's not unreasonably short trips.

Good info, thx!

Honestly not too interested in that type of stuff. Biggest issue would be the strict environment of that, I don't thrive well in strict environments because of my personality. Thanks for the heads up though.