Want to get into flatbed, where to start?

I personally think if your going to go flatbed, you minus well go with a company that pays for your hard work. For instance I work for Werner but they don't really pay that well for a flatbed operator. I don't know what the pay scale is for other companies like Swift but maybe dieselgrl could answer that question

 

I'm a lease op, so my pay scale is different... I don't want to lie about what we start company drivers at since I don't stay up to date on it to be able to speak on it. We do make more than the van drivers, I believe for company drivers it's an extra penny per mile.

 

What do you mean its new on the flatbed side? The flatbed side has been there quite a while, at least prior to 2008 and I understand it's been there before that.

Taking over the Grill Pit there is like a Flatbed Division Tradition.

Do you mean they're training drivers out of there for flatbed now instead of sending them to Phoenix?

I know Henry, and he's a PITA.

 

New for flatbed dispatch. I'm actually BASED out of Laredo. Prior to that it was only Phoenix, Gary and Greer that held dispatchers for flatbed. No training classes yet, however.

Henry is a good guy, and he's the best DM I've had in a long time with Swift. It's all in how you approach people. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with that blasted useless POD system in Phoenix anymore.

 

It's a penny more per mile, but Flatbed doesn't sit. If need be, when freight was slow, they got put on vans to keep them rolling.... while van drivers sat.

 

If that's true then that would be a sweet gig, only if they keep the same pay I suppose. I don't know if you said this already but who do you work for? Sorry if that's a stupid question but I'm on my android rite at the moment.

 

They do. If for some reason flatbed gets slow in a region we do get priority on van loads that take us back to flatbed areas and get paid our regular cpm rate as flatbedders. That said, in the last two years I've hooked to a van exactly TWICE. It doesn't happen often because we have more flatbed freight right now than we have trucks to run it.

 

Not a stupid question, I'm not working for anyone right now. Considering my next move right now....

 

Are you lease purchasing through Swift or did you buy your rig out rite. Totally off subject, I know.

 

I'm about to jump to a different company thinking of kllm. Werner is jerking me around to much. But that is for a different thread I'm about to start up.