Some questions on Flatbed vs Reefer

I managed a winter "Deployed" to I-10 with a flatbed covered wagon. Jacksonville Chain and Cable loaded for Houston West and then Pipe for oil rigs etc east to Jacksonville for barging out etc. Back and forth from roughly end of Sept to following may. It was a very good winter season, the money took care of itself, the food was outstanding and I was able to soak into the locals wearing hardly little compared to the winter blast up north. Eck Miller's dispatch did a good job and I was able to pretty much stay on time and back and forth basically dedicated between the two cities on 10. Staying out 5 or so months created a growing list of gripes needing shop work (Broken toggles (Plastic etc) and eventually it was time to go home to Maryland for a month off. I consider that one of my best years.

Reefer work. I reduced it to Memphis TN, McKesson, Medicine, high value narcotics loads etc. Overnight to detriot etc. A reward would be to take a team delivered (Yakima WA Apples) to Safeway in Atlanta off I-20 in the NW outside of the beltway area. (It was a pretty sketchy area what with the houses of illrepute and night vices just off 20 to get there.) Safeway was a good reciever, with a large lady who would howl at 7 AM sharp war mah apples. Whar dem dey be ax? (You better be there)

Logging? Eh.,.. papers 10 hours driving takes 12 to Atlanta so a little HHG mileage to reduce it to something legal and back to little rock. to return to medicine support of teams going west from Memphis with our drop yard. It's pretty much 3000 miles a week just Little Rock and Memphis. Without the need to load at Yakima and race to Boston with Onions or whatever in 6 days.

I am going to attempt a few other relatively minor medical work later in 2019 to rebuild what is possible on the body. I hope to either get into farm part time which really is slow and not in a hurry supporting a combine gathering crops to silo or Coop. It will have to be a form of old iron to support the fields off road.

Trucking is what you make of it. That is all for this post without story telling and off topic too much. I had a good time with both flatbed and reefer. Flatbedding in Maryland consisted of Brick from Williamsport or York or regional area to Baltimore via our company yard in Bowman to be sent to the Oriole Stadium at Camden yards. something like 10K bricks at a time. They took a awful lot of bricks that year. It's a relatively mindless flatbedding.

 

I'm with you on that who cares what they look like I wish all convex were 6" round type.

 

On my Cascadia I can see a vehicle on either side that’s near the end of the trailer at a quicker glance then using the side mirrors. The key is optimizing the curvature and angle setting. Freightliner seems to have gotten them right on the new Cascadias. I can’t speak for other makes.

Also, when it’s snowing or raining bad, they seem to make vehicles easier to see that may be near the tractor, with or without headlights. It's strange but they work.

 

Absoultely.. I find myself using mine alot during rush hour traffic,watching vehichles right next to me that i cant see in my other mirrors.. Or when im makin turns in tight spaces ,alot easier to watch the hood mirrors and find out where my trailer is goin and still be able to watch what im doin in front of me .. I dont think i could drive without em

 

My company, Britton Transport, has done some Team flatbed. You could call them and see what they could do for you. Even as Solo my runs are typically over 1,000 miles and 3,000 miles a week when out a full week. The challenge with Flatbed teaming is that most shippers and receivers are only open during the day and not on the weekend so it can make the planning to keep a team running a bit more challenging.