Question:
Wondering if any you'll could tell me on average who has a faster turn around time at shippers and recivers, vans or flatbeds? Realizing the Flatbed has to be tarped/untarped and the van loaded/unloaded.
And on average which type of trailer did you get the most miles with?
I realize this depends on alot of different things so I'm just looking for an average.
Thanks.

Answer:
i have pulled both vans and flatbeds. i avg about 3000 miles a week with vans and i avg about 2800 a week with flat beds. now with the turn around for pickups and deliverys vans are better on the avg the reason it tarping and straps and chains on the flat bed and with vans drop and hook with flats it is a pain because you have to take your stuff off of one trailer and put it on the other. the good side of flatbeds are the wait time to find a load the normal is under a hour but with flatbeds you do alot of work that you dont get paid for .hope that helps
YOU CAN SLEEP AFTER YOU DELIVER THE LOAD

Answer:
Flatbeding is the best way to go.
They load it with equipment they take it off with equipment.
No grocery warehouses or DC's
usually 0600 to 1800 loading/unloading hours Monday through Sat.
NO LUMPERS
and BEST of all: NO GROCERY WAREHOUSES OR DC's
Dave Wadsworth
'wombat'
dwew@montana.com
There's no sense in worrying about it, Nothing is going to turn out OK.

Answer:
True, flatbedders do not have the grocery warehouses. We do have Steel plants. IMHO just as bad if not worse. Great example. A small outfit in Pittsburgh, Got there are 9am with 4 non-union flatbeds in front of me. Every time a union trucking company would show up, ABF etc, they would stop working on the flats and get the union driver in and out. Well finally around 3pm it is my turn to back in to get unloaded. It took them 3 HOURS to pull off 19 bundles of metal tube. The shipper loaded my trailor in 30 minutes. Don't want this to turn into a union discussion, but the fact remains, if you pull into a place that is union, and you are not union, expect to wait. At least that has been the case with me just about every time.
There are days I think about getting out of flatbed, but I guess I just like to suffer. Make no doubt about it, flatbed is usally alot harder then pulling a van. You will definately get alot dirtier. Sure you get a couple more cents per mile, but at the end of the day IMHO it does not equal out. So if you ask why I keep doing flatbed, I guess I never liked doing things the easy way.
DRIVER BY CHOICE
Buzzdog

Answer:
I pull both under my own authority and at times Neither 1 is a DREAM JOB , you get delays with FLATBEDS regardless if they are loaded / unloaded with machines, nice just to close the doors on a trailer in a wind storm than try tarping.
Get to a job site they forgot to book a crane , its raining equiupment can not be untarped if its wet out , like BUZZDOG said you get shuffled around at many plants, dryvan you get more DROP / HOOK loads.

Answer:
And I think that for me vans was better. I got alot of drop/hooks so not much in the wait dept. I did get some of those %$#@* food warehouses, and they arn`t fun.I didn`t like tarping and tying down stuff on a flat, specially in 110 deg summer heat, or in 0 degrees snowy winters.I drove for a local flat company and was only gone 2 or 3 days at a time, but when I was local it was loooonng days.I guess getting older makes it easier to take the easy way out.Now I drive a bobtail localy and home by 6.pm most nights. This works best for me.
fishman

Answer:
Well maybe I'm under the wrong impression. But before I ask about that.
I have pulled vans, flats and reefers.
Flatbedding was not fun. Mainly because of all the work that had to be done just to run very short miles. Many runs were in the 3-400 mile range. I also, like the others, found there to be some long waiting periods combined with alot of time spent securing, tarping and removing all the stuff at the end. It wasn't easy. But it did give me a sense of pride in a job well done along with some physical activity. The sad part was the pay didn't seem to fit the work.
Vans are by far the easiest of the bunch. Also the most boring. Lots of drop and hooks and lots of waiting time at docks. I didn't like vans. Just seemed way to pointless.
Reefers are my favorite. Their not hard to maintain. It is also very easy to adjust and watch the temp. I just like reefer trucks, reefer drivers and some of the places I unload at alot better. Farmers markets are a nightmare for most drivers. But I like them. I like the challenge they present for parking and the people that work them. You will of course see more than your fair share of grocery warehouses. You will also deal with alot of lumpers. But it's not a big deal because the company pays. Atleast they should. If not it would be time to find another job. To me it is simply more lively, faster paced, less sitting waiting on loads and requires a little more thought. I will say I have never worked for a large reefer outfit and don't think I ever will. Always ma and pa places. So my experience may be a little different than others.
About Flatbeds. I have the impression that starting as a FB driver some where might give a person the opportunity to move into different fields of work. Specialty stuff like oversize or heavy hauling, boats, equiptment, buildings or whatever. To me geting out of the norm and doing things a little different may be the ticket to better pay and conditions. I just never hear of anyone doing that. Most drivers do the same thing year in and year out. Never really advancing or getting much farther ahead. So tell me. For those that have moved on or are trying/wanting to. What are the possibilities?
I have the same impression about tanks trailers.
'Carpe Diem' does not mean 'fish of the day'.
"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles."

Answer:
Gimmee a couple more weeks of dragging this tank around and I might be able to answer that question

CD
If you think education is hard......try ignorancerecovering dweller..........oilfield trash division

Answer:
Well thanks everyone. It would be great if there was a flatbed company that took newbies and never tarped. I'd be all over it. I copied Stuffs post to see if there is anyone who has moved up in the flatbed out of tarping and into OD loads. If so can you list how you got to where you are today, Thanks.
Stuffs posted the following:
(About Flatbeds. I have the impression that starting as a FB driver some where might give a person the opportunity to move into different fields of work. Specialty stuff like oversize or heavy hauling, boats, equiptment, buildings or whatever. To me geting out of the norm and doing things a little different may be the ticket to better pay and conditions. I just never hear of anyone doing that. Most drivers do the same thing year in and year out. Never really advancing or getting much farther ahead. So tell me. For those that have moved on or are trying/wanting to. What are the possibilities?)