Question:
I have decided on PGT as the company to drive for , now everyone I know is telling me i'm crazy to drive flatbed. So i ask the guestion ,is flatbed all that bad.
Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks

Answer:
My husband likes it.
He gets a little exercise.

Answer:
My hubby wouldn't drive any other way.
But...
my brother who has been driving for years, was worried about him doing that right off the bat as a newbie. It is dangerous, don't take shortcuts on load securement and use your head while on top of a load..........that SCARES me to death!
So....I guess it's up to the individual. Money's a little better starting out...but then there's always the danger that outweighs the money.
And it's work.....
Kris

Answer:
I love it. Would rather get dirty and fight tarps then deal with the crap that is involved in reefers/Vans.
Not for the clumsy, over wieght, totally out of shape or lazy. That may be where those opinions are coming from .

Answer:
Thanks to everyone that had something to offer on working for a flatbed company. I like the physical work part of it, so as to keep in shape.I know that there is alot of work but that is a good thing RIGHT!!!

Answer:
Nothing wrong with flats. Nothing wrong with reefers either. Just different kinds of crap. I've driven both and prefere reefer. I've also seen lots of over weight drivers in every kind of trucking out there. As far as the work goes you get used to it after a while and it gets easy.
Personal preference is what it's about. What you like and what you want.
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"

Answer:
Originally posted by Stuffiu:
Personal preference is what it's about. What you like and what you want.
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"
True.
Actually stayed in better shape running reefers. At first job, lumped every chance I got. $120 or more for three hours work, you bet I did ! If lumpers would it for less have, they did it. Second job was LTL multi drop and throwing freight was what YOU did.
After that job just couldnt go back to work for "conventional company" set up. That and the new hire pay was a insult.

Answer:
I have pulled Flats , Reefers , Dryvan and Tanker. I like FLATBEDS and have done quite well with them.
As posted it takes a bit of extra effort when starting out to learn the rigging , securing loads ecte.
Do not believe that there is no WAITING to be loaded or unloaded with a Flatbed, like all loads you get your fair share of SITTING waiting for the truck ahead to get straightened out , for the crane or loader to get to you or even arrive at the site.
You can get CRAP loads as well try and stay away from "SCRAP CARS", most load in real HOLES with old loaders or you arrive at the mill 5 minutes too late and you sit until tomorrow.

Answer:
Look in the search feature. Loads of info there.


Answer:
Sure rolling tarps in the dead of winter can suck
As well as climbing around on your trailer while the wind is blowing so hard you can barely stand let alone get the tarp to do what you want
But even with all the hazards and poor working conditions at times, I still have to say I had the funnest time hauling flatbed. I mean I can probably count on one hand how many times a year that tarping and securing the loads was really bad. Like any job there are always going to be things you hate, but there was always more that I liked about it than not.
It's just that feeling of knowing you have the ability to wrap your load of steel like a perfectly wrapped Christmas Gift Santa may bring you on Christmas morning, all that's missing is the pretty little bow!! All you flatbedders out there know what I'm talking about. It's just the satisfaction of a job well done!
The main thing if you're deciding to get into flatbedding is to listen to every word the company and trainer has to say to you. I really don't think there's such a thing as knowing too much about flatbedding. You'll find that out once you do it for awhile.
Granted every trucking job has dangers, but with flatbedding you really have to pay attention AT ALL TIMES. When I started I heard one too many horror stories, one that sticks with me is the one I heard about a guy who was loosening his straps on a load of soil pipe and a huge 24" pipe came loose and fell on him killing him on impact. It's things like that which make me cringe! Just be carefull and always check and double check. To me, one can never OVERSECURE a load.
Flatbedding is very fun, but it's not for everyone. I loved flatbedding, but I never forgot that it was a job. Respect everything you haul and it will respect you back.
Have a good one out there and stay safe!!

Answer:
True Huskerman on your point about the man that was killed when he undid his load.
I was with my husband one week last summer. He had a load of these large pipes from a Phillips Petroleum in S. Car. Took it to a land fill in Ill.
the shipper was very safety conscious. He (hubby) had to watch a video, and receive instructions on the preloaded trailer. The pipes were such a way that they had to have straps on one level of the load and then up over the top.
When we got to the landfill........and had all the fun of finding the job sup., they had NO Idea how they were going to get this load off hubby's bed.
they had this little fork lift.......oh my the story is tooooo long to go into. Let's just say they left their brains at home.
Well, my husband had (safely) unsecured one strap, those were ready to be unloaded.....the guy on the forklift came, put the fork under the top pipes and when he moved forward, the load shifted, putting stress on all the other straps left on the load.....eventually a large part of the load was being held sideways on the trailer by the remaining straps.........THEN this moron supervisor allowed his young laborer to STAND up on the pipes and guide them onto the fork lift. Well of course when he got the pipe onto the fork lift the pipes under him shifted again and he went down. Luckily he was not hurt. But the sup. SAT in his little pick up truck and watched this. GRRRRRR
It all ended up well and fine. I checked with the safety dir. of hubby's co. and he said that Russell would not have been responsible had anything happened to these guys unloading the trailer.
Soo.........my point is that my husband unsecuring a load scares me about as much as all the rest. I have to trust his good judgement, but I'm always 'on' him about stuff like that!
And the climbing on the loads.......I don't even want to talk about that one.
As a flat bed driver's wife and he also, we rely on him using his smarts and prayer.....tremendously!!!
Maybe that's why he loves it so much, because of the challenge?
(Of course the guys that think they can secure a coil with one strap really tick him off!)
Kris

Answer:
Never pulled anything but a flat,and I would not have it any other way. Its a challenge and its a lot of fun and that aint no BS about paying attention to what yer doing. If your going to work for PGT your gonna be spending a lot of time in the steel mills,but keep in mind that not all flatbedding involves steel mills(i personally will never set foot in another one)but thats too long a story to be posting here,wish ya the best of luck out there and IYAFYAS!!
CD
"Not all who wander are lost"~J.R.R.Tolkienrecovering dweller..........oilfield trash division