worst thing about flatbeds

You'd think you'd be safe at the yard of all places. Don't they have security cameras you could look at? Boy, I would be some pi$$ed off if I had my equipment stolen at the terminal.

 

@catalinaflyer is a problem solver. That's what he's paid to do. I understand problem solvers. But I also drove flat for Swift for a brief period to get back on the road. So I do see both points of views.

Here's what @catalinaflyer sees: You get back to your truck on Friday. You go to sleep waiting for the equipment mgr to show up. You have a load to pick up and don't have gear to get it. Swift has 3 flatbed terminals, LaredoTX, GaryIN, PhoenixAZ. Their main office is in Phoenix. Each terminal has a terminal manager, but the home office doesn't close until much later than Laredo and Gary. If you were not at one of these terminals, odds are they wouldn't have any gear for you and you would have to get your gear from another place. The stuff you were needing was common even at lowlife truckstops like Pilots and Loves. So someone between GreerSC and PhoenixAZ should have been able to wire you the money you needed in order to get the supplies you needed. And he wouldn't have rested until he had the gear needed.

Here's what you saw: You played phone tag all weekend. And didn't get anything accomplished.

@Boardhauler called it right.

Swift is a bottom of the barrel doorslammer company that has a few flatbeds. They are not a bottom of the barrel flatbed company like Maverick, Melton and TMC. They're worse.

Had to pick up a 10 wide for Swift out of OttumwaIA. Picked it up on a Friday. According to my Florida permit, I needed beacon lights on my trailer AND truck. In those days, their trucks didn't have beacons. It took 2 days to get someone to send me the money I needed to buy some extra wire, a cigarette plug, and 3 of those cheap beacons they sell in the truckstop. Back in those days, there was no OSOW movement allowed on Sunday in Illinois. But farm implements were exempt, and I didn't have a permit. There was no one in the entire Swift organization that could tell me whether or not I could run farm implements in Illinois on Sunday. They brag about all the trucks they have, but Swift is an organization of boneheads. That Monday, I put in an application to a real open deck company, got accepted on, got me an appointment for orientation the following Monday, cleaned out my truck that Thursday.

If you're going to play football, you go to a school with a good program. If you want to play basketball, you go to a school with a good basketball program. If you want to go to the NFL, why are you wearing a Kentucky Wildcats jersey?

Same principle applies in trucking. What works with the doorslammers won't work with flats no matter how much the beancounters wish that one size fits all.

 

Been there myself and been the guy at the truckstop selling crap I didn't absolutely need to survive so I could scrape together the money to buy something I did need.

Well as has already been pointed out, maybe the company you work for is the problem. There are open-deck carriers that will take inexperienced drivers that may not be the best but certainly better than where your at.

I'm sorry you take so much offense to what I said but I never called you names. I will however never be all PC and touchy-feely with what I have to say. Money an issue, I get that, wanna solve that problem, become a problem solver. I've posted many copies of my paychecks, I made north of $1.00 a mile as a company driver last year, I got here by getting things done. If you have the will, there is a way. I also never suggested you purchase gear for Swift, you buy it, it's yours. If your company chooses to reimburse for it then it becomes theirs. If a company the size of Swift can't find a person in 2 phone calls to fix the situation then my next phone call would be to another company.

Now you keep referring to the fact none of this would have happened if you were still pulling vans. Well, again no PC or touchy-feely here, you should probably go back to running a van, seems like the added responsibility of open-deck may not be something you want to deal with. Different strokes for different folks.

However if you decide to continue in open-deck and you want to be more successful and make more money then you need to change your attitude to "get it done" instead of waiting on someone else to get it done. I work for a company that has the lowest turnover in the industry and highest paid drivers but guess what, EVERYONE in the office is gone by 5:00pm and no one answers the phone at night or on the weekends. We haul some of the strangest, most expensive and largest loads on the road, we work around the clock, there is no one to call at 2:00am because we need something, we get paid to solve the problem and move forward. You want to sit there not eating because you can't get someone to advance you $25 or would you rather go eat a nice $30 meal because you have the money in the bank to do it? I don't know about you but I like to eat when I want to eat and when I'm hungry. No it won't happen overnight but without a change in your way of thinking and doing it'll never happen.

 

So true about problem solving and buying equipment yourself if needed. So far I have bought 2 4 in winches (one is companies cause I lost one of theirs), a knock off little giant ladder from Walmart (I wanted one to reach 13' 6" and company wouldn't buy an extension ladder), and a broom for sweeping the deck. I was getting ready to buy a couple 40' straps but I was able to convince the boss to buy them.

My philosophy is to not buy stuff that wears out quickly or easily damaged. Most everything else we have out here holds its value and you could hawk it pretty quickly if you get out of flatbedding.

Also keep your eyes open for stuff the company doesn't supply and you would have to make an extra stop to pick up. Rubber matting is sitting on the ground in back of most truck stops. My favorite is the thick rubber mud flaps over the thin stiff cheap ones. Old cut up straps for edge protectors. If you get real lucky like me, fire hose for chain softeners.

If you're ever near me let me know and I've got some fire hose for you.

If all you were lacking for the coil was edge protection that could have been solved pretty quick with the above advice.

As for experience with swift there are other companies that I believe are better that would take you.

 

There's always a way. The best thing about going to a company terminal is going to the shop and dumpster diving. Pull out all the broken chain, and make cheater chain. As long as it has 1 hook, you can use it. Pull out all the mudflap you can. Go to the terminal manager and talk to the person face to face and tell him what happened. I bet he can get something going.

Just about every truck in the truckstop with a beacon light is carrying extra gear. Most of them will give you a couple chains and binders for free. Especially their old snap binders. Snap binders are cheap brand new. Old ones will go cheaper than a cup of coffee.

When you're new to flatbedding, you are given bare minimum equipment. Running bare minimum makes the job more difficult than it should be.

You're going to pick up a 40000 lb coil. Your truck was raided. They took your ratchet binders and most of your 20 ft 5/16 chain. You scavenge around and you have three 20ft 5/16, five 5ft 3/8cheater chains with hooks on 1 end, and 8 snap binders. Can you make it work?

 

I wish more drivers DID NOT like flatbeds.

 

When your in flatbedding, there are going to be times that you will have to find a way to justify securing a load, "if" you don't have the right gear or enough. I have been in this situation several times and still ended up securing my load legally. It might take me twice as long or even longer, but I don't sit there and whine. I GET IT DONE.

 

I prefer the sit down and complain part.

 

Some of you drivers are pretty hard on a fairly new inexperienced driver,2 months in flatbed.
I know I would expect my equipment should be safe in a terminal yard. However for Wuss to assume it was owner operators that took his equipment is wrong also.
It may be his fellow company drivers took the equipment. Starving a man is the quickest way to turn him in to a thief.
Good luck to all.

 

I trust my equipment in my 20 truck companies yard. I would not trust my equipment in a company like Swifts yard. There is a big difference in quality of drivers.