What to do if Im not liking the flatbed gig

When you apply for a private fleet like grocery chains (Teamster Union contract @ $20+ an hour), a job hopping history will mean you'll quit after they invested training hours to familiarize you with their local operation. If your company has a van or reefer van division, ask to transfer there. If your company has dedicated accounts (same route, same customers). that might appeal to you more than having different customers with different types of loads.

Sounds like you had a bad trainer who only wanted the increased miles, but couldn't care less if you did the job properly or not.

When I pulled flatbed, I carried a 5-foot standing ladder, which helped when I trapped the load. I'd crawl beneath the tarp and place cardboard along sharp edges of the load that will likely tear or cut a hole on my tarp. Carry binoculars to observe other flatbed drivers from a distance while they secure & tarp their loads. I think some drivers will purposely do it wrong when they sense others are watching them to learn trade secrets. Me, I especially don't like Hispanic flatbed drivers watching me. I place a few straps, the barest number of chains & binders, then move a few blocks away where they can't see what I'm doing. IMO, these hispanic drivers used fake social security cards & a fake birth certificate to get their license. I know because I used the same trick to run multiple IDs on different licenses to hide my MV moving violations.

After you secure the load, check for slacks after 5 miles, then re-check every hour to 2 hours. Most loads will settle, creating slacks on straps, chains, or poly ropes.

When you open a box of cereal; its ¾ full. The box was full to the top when it left the factory. As it travelled down the road, the motion and vibration caused it to settle, which is why its only ¾ full. The same effect happens to most flatbed loads.

If you're working with chains & binders, careful not to let the winch bar smack you as you release the binders. Some drivers had gotten killed by this. On rough roads, the binder can come loose as you hit a bump. Tie rubber bungees or cheap rope to keep the binders from snapping open on bumps or rough roads. Keep your CB radio on; most drivers will warn you over the CB radio when something is wrong with your load.

When hauling lumber like 2x6 of 2x4, elevate the rear donate by 2 to 4 inches higher to keep the lumber from gradually shifting, then you eventually have lumber protruding in the rear, then climbing up to hit each protrusion with a hand sledge to drive the lumber back into the stack.

Are the dock workers Latino Hispanic ?? In some places, I see a pattern where they take longer to load/unload you unless you speak Spanish, thile the Latino Hispanic drivers who pull in and speak Spanish are in-n-out inside 2 hours, yet non-Hispanics take 6 hours or more. Its their way of saying "hey gringo, you don't belong here. This job rightfully belongs to my cousins in Mehico."

 

Nope, American Union workers. It's the steel mill union. Some of the mills a pretty decent on getting you in and out, others like to hold you up for hours.

 

Its called "bleeding the time clock for more overtime $$. When you pass through city & suburban areas, you'll see UPS, grocery chain drivers, etc... hourly paid drivers who want the time-n-a-half overtime (after 8 hours) & double time (in some states like CA) when they exceed 12 hours in a shift. This is why you pay so much in food & groceries; to cover the labor cost of people who bleed the time clock.

 

I like all the posts you write, but this post here sounds very racial, don't you think?
In my State it is IMPOSSIBLE to get D. license if you are not legally in this Country. I dont know in any other state but in Georgia the DMV is connected on line with the DHS. As soon as they type your SSN it will tell all about you, if it is fake, it is jail, no doubt about it.

Now, if GOD disguise himself as a Hispanic person, you might let him down, hum? - I wonder and question myself about people that refers to other human been by their color, nationality, faith, etc
Now, with this in mind I wonder, ARE YOU or were you a good trainer??
It's kind a little contradictory, don't you think?

 

this is good info, this is exactly what I did when I started out. I also took pictures and wrote down some notes on each load after a few months I started doing the same loads and it got easier.

 

this is not true I'm a Hispanic flatbedder and I don't get special treatment I think you have other issues, I get that from reading your posts.

 

I'm not Hispanic, but I don't go along with the racial garbage either. In the years on the road, I've met with a lot of good people of all colors. I've also met some that I'd like to see go away forever. Some people just deserve to disappear.

 

There are many locations that are a majority minority workforce, and, yes, they do show bias against other races. Ever been to Miami, Laredo, or Las Cruces? There is a huge racial vibe against non-brown people. Just open your eyes and it's quite obvious. They will ignore you, load their buddies ahead of you, and you will see them helping the brown drivers with tarping but will not ask a White or Black guy if he needs a hand.

It's not like this everywhere, but you will see it a lot along the border towns, where they are in the majority. Racial bias is called out on White people at the drop of a hat, but when non-White people do it, it gets a pass. Why?

This is BS, nit to call it out evenly against every race that does this. And they ALL do it.