The Truckers’ Report flatbed Hall of Shame.

One day I was messing with my load and this young "kid" comes walking up. He ask me if I would come over and take a look at how he had his load tied down.

He was having some trouble with it and called his dad for advise. His dad told him to look around the truck stop and find a "gray haired old man with a flat" and have him look at it.

It felt good to have a young man reach out and ask questions and use his brain to evaluate what I was suggesting. Smart kid.

Not saying all, old gray haired men know anything. Some of them are as dumb as a box of rocks.

 

One time I was parked waiting to be loaded at a customer. Another truck pulled up next to mine and he got out and headed toward my truck. He said it was his very first flatbed load and was curious if I don’t mind looking over his load before he leaves.

I said it was my first flatbed load also and we laughed and laughed lol.

I think flatbeders are pretty social and happy to help most of the time.

 

Newish flatbed driver so don’t beat me up too hard.... but.... on those shingle loads if you don’t have vboards can you just use your 8ft dunnage boards on top and strap over it? This puts pressure from the strap to the dunnage to the shingles.

 

I’ve seen that done but I don’t like it. It’s best if you don’t have vboards to flip that oddball bundle on top of the others either leave it the same direction or turn them 90* and line them up down the center of the load.

 

I absolutely hate when a shipper wants to throw a pallet on top of a pallet of sacks or pails. Why? That pallet will creep on you. Your straps get loose, then you lose control of the load.

V-boards or wide edge protectors are essential to control a load of shingles or similar freight. I made my own V- boards out of 1x4 hardwood with 12" used straps. I rarely use them, because of the kind of freight I normally haul, but they are absolutely essential for hauling pallets of pails or barrels in my line of work.

Dunnage boards on the edges, as you describe, will start creeping inward. Your straps will start getting loose. Don't apply anything to the top of the load that can move.

 

Hey that's a picture of my load.

 

You have some ‘splainin to do.

 

It works for me is all I can think of.

 

Shingles, shingles everywhere... Lol.

I've seen entirely too many types of shingles between my time working in roofing supply and my time in trucking. Those GAF Timberline shingles are stacked 56 to a square, four bundles to a layer. All GAF shingles coincidentally are stacked that way (as are Certainteed shingles, 48 to a square)...which made it annoying as all get-out to have to get up on the deck and spin that one oddball bundle up on top and line them up down the middle together before strapping down--but I takes no chances with stuff like that. Of course, TMC doesn't stock the four-footer v-boards, so it was either reposition the oddball bundles or futz with the 8-foot wooden v-boards many of us made ourselves out of old 1x4s and old straps (like the gentleman mentioned up above). Oh how I miss those days...NOT!!!