Those who left flatbed , why did you do it?

You usually hear about the driver who went from dry van to open deck and on to heavy haul. What made you leave flatbed and pull another wagon?

 

some do both. some are tired of the work.

 

They’ll take my winch bar from my cold dead body

 

The winters (no work) got too long.

 

I'm considering leaving open deck work, maybe for tanker or end dumps. Kind of burned out with it all, and frozen tarps make me hate my life.

 

Seems like every time i tried to tarp a load, it's raining,windy, tarps frozen etc. Most flatbed loads were short trips. Since its hard to take a shower every day i was always dirty.

 

I'd like to leave the entire trucking industry.
Does it make sense that a manufacturing plant that cost $7,000,000,000 and makes products that produces 85 million in profits each year can't afford at least a few trucks and driver's?
The shippers use cheap labor, cheap brokers, and hate paying for transportation and hate paying any time soon if not late. They love there customers but really don't care for the working guy or understand his needs in good fair rates or timely payments.

Upper class excutives that don't understand the working guy.

 

I never really left flatbed until I discovered medicines. Its easier than anything. Reefer 65 and doors closed with papers, off you go. The money takes care of itself.

Running coil from Logan Ky to Williamsburg VA (Busch) next morning service was quite plenty for me. Most of the time it's not that difficult. Its the stamina for being sufficiently rested when you can to stay on schedule across the smokies in all weather.

The more difficult flatbed was local within 250 miles radius in day cab. sometimes two, three or even four loads daily in 16 hours give or take. Get about 5 hours sleep per night before you do the meals and roll out at 3 am sharp every morning regardless of weather. That was quite enough of that for me. I moved within that company to regional van. So I would be alot more rested. However the company's 55 mph policy was just too #### slow against 70+ mph traffic. That was one of the biggest problems that ultimately made me choose to quit that outfit.

 

I will leave trucking but as long as I am trucking I will be flatbed...

 

The only people I have personally known to leave flatbedding did it because they were sick of tarping loads or getting too old to keep tarping loads.