Ex-Flatbedder considering dry van. Opinions Wanted ASAP

[GoldiesPlating]

Many of you may know me as Flatbed Fred from my old posts. I drove for about a year with TMC and liked it a lot. To make a long story short I left them (on good terms), took a few months off (5 months), met a wonderful woman, got a new pet (2 ferrets) and now have the itch to go back on the road again. TMC does not allow g/f's or pets.

My girlfriend loves the idea and wants to come along which is great. My ferrets want to come too lol.

My question is this: In your opinions (and ALL are welcome), will I like the dry van driving way of life? I loved flatbedding and the load securement challenges (though not in bad weather lol) and I also liked being OTR and seeing the country. Nice equipment was a big plus too.
Is van VERY different than flatbed other than the securement differences?
I'm considering US Xpress and am open to other suggestions.

[Malaki86]

The biggest difference between dry van and flatbed is that some of the delivery/pickup locations are a little worse, such as grocery warehouses.

Other than that, it's open the doors, back in, get loaded, pull out, close the doors and drive. You may have some loads that you have to nail blocking down or put in load straps, but that's nothing after doin flatbed.

[GTR SILVER]

Many of you may know me as Flatbed Fred from my old posts. I drove for about a year with TMC and liked it a lot. To make a long story short I left them (on good terms), took a few months off (5 months), met a wonderful woman, got a new pet (2 ferrets) and now have the itch to go back on the road again. TMC does not allow g/f's or pets.

My girlfriend loves the idea and wants to come along which is great. My ferrets want to come too lol.

My question is this: In your opinions (and ALL are welcome), will I like the dry van driving way of life? I loved flatbedding and the load securement challenges (though not in bad weather lol) and I also liked being OTR and seeing the country. Nice equipment was a big plus too.
Is van VERY different than flatbed other than the securement differences?
I'm considering US Xpress and am open to other suggestions.

check out ATS.................


http://www.atsinc.com/articles/truck-driving-jobs.jsp

[GoldiesPlating]

check out ATS.................


http://www.atsinc.com/articles/truck-driving-jobs.jsp

Just checked out their website. They sound very interesting. I'll have to look into them more closely. Damn it GTR, you just gave me ANOTHER choice to make! GRRRR!!!! :evil: :P :evil:

[heavyhaulerss]

(this is a biased opinion by a flatbedder) i could not go to van after pulling flat.. you should be able to answer your own ? especially since being with tmc. most loads were loaded/unloaded outskirts of town. not in some dowtown metropolitan area. a lot of places you went had good receiving times, like late at night or 24 hr shipp/rec. lots of places you pull thru & not have to back to a dock & with tmc you probably had flat w/tarp so when you did back up you could look out your window across your trailer because you had a flat instead of a van. next is the pay. my opinion is do what you like. if you pull van & dont like it the pets & gf probably wont make it worth it. good luck on your decision. i will also say there is nothing wrong with trying.

[west_coaster]

I talk to quite a few ATS drivers out here in Oregon. They haul a lot of wind generator parts from the Portland area up 84. So far, every one of them has nothing but good things to say about the company. Most of the loads I see them haul are over-dimensional things that take a good driver and one with good securement skills. Of the trucks I've seen they've been mostly new Freightliner Columbias. Good luck!

W.C.

[wonderman]

fred have you thought about tankers i love it and the pay can be higher. You dont have to fudge to make a living. I wouldnt go back to flatbedding for twice the money. wonderman

[GoldiesPlating]

fred have you thought about tankers i love it and the pay can be higher. You dont have to fudge to make a living. I wouldnt go back to flatbedding for twice the money. wonderman

I'm looking also at Mystic Tank Lines which would be a local gig for me. My problem is that since I only KNOW flatbed, I can't say what I do and don't like. I know I enjoyed working for TMC very much and my biggest fear right now is making a wrong decision. I'd be back at TMC if they took the g/f and pets but they don't so in a strange way I'm "free" to choose where I want to work all over again just like when I first started posting on here over 1,000 posts ago. And I HOPE I make a good choice and feel as good about my choice as I did when I chose TMC over a year ago. It's great to have choices but SUCKS trying to make a decision! lol

[GTR SILVER]

check out ATS.................


http://www.atsinc.com/articles/truck-driving-jobs.jsp

Just checked out their website. They sound very interesting. I'll have to look into them more closely. Damn it GTR, you just gave me ANOTHER choice to make! GRRRR!!!! :evil: :P :evil:

all the best fred.. :wink: .....i thought you'd like them (good pay & equipment !!!!)

pets and rider..................don't know.......give them a shout! 8) 8) 8)

GTR

[bigorangefan9999]

Wonderman were you with Maverick before?

[Evinrude]

Get your farretts stuffed and put them on the dash and go back to TMC.

Man some people...

[mdf1576]

fred have you thought about tankers i love it and the pay can be higher. You dont have to fudge to make a living. I wouldnt go back to flatbedding for twice the money. wonderman

Most chemical tanker companys dont allow girlfriend or pets. Dont know about food grade though

[GoldiesPlating]

Get your farretts stuffed and put them on the dash and go back to TMC.

Man some people...

Wow.... a TRUE "animal lover".

[DaveP]

Fred, Fred, Fred......*shaking head*

OTR and flatbeddin' are 2 itches that just aren't going away till you scratch them.

Let me repeat that.

OTR and flatbeddin' are TWO itches that just aren't going away till you scratch them.

:wink:

[GoldiesPlating]

Fred, Fred, Fred......*shaking head*

OTR and flatbeddin' are 2 itches that just aren't going away till you scratch them.

Let me repeat that.

OTR and flatbeddin' are TWO itches that just aren't going away till you scratch them.

:wink:

lol so true

[dieselgrl]

Fred, Fred, Fred......*shaking head*

OTR and flatbeddin' are 2 itches that just aren't going away till you scratch them.

Let me repeat that.

OTR and flatbeddin' are TWO itches that just aren't going away till you scratch them.

:wink:

I second that! I tried to go to reefers after flats....hated it. (And I started on dry boxes!) Once flatbedding gets a hold of you, it really never lets go. I got bored with dry box and (god forbid) reefers.

[GoldiesPlating]

Fred, Fred, Fred......*shaking head*

OTR and flatbeddin' are 2 itches that just aren't going away till you scratch them.

Let me repeat that.

OTR and flatbeddin' are TWO itches that just aren't going away till you scratch them.

:wink:

I second that! I tried to go to reefers after flats....hated it. (And I started on dry boxes!) Once flatbedding gets a hold of you, it really never lets go. I got bored with dry box and (god forbid) reefers.

Hmmmmm.... :?

[kc0rpm]

Did you say ferrets? Most companies dont allow them little critters for some reason. Most pet policies are retricted to a cat or a small dog.

[GoldiesPlating]

Did you say ferrets? Most companies dont allow them little critters for some reason. Most pet policies are retricted to a cat or a small dog.

Hmmm, I never thought about that. I'll have to make sure and specify FERRET when talking to a recruiter I guess. Thanks for the tip!

[kc0rpm]

I forgot to ask, do you like backing up a 53' trailer? I've had to put these things into some of the tightest docks you could imagine, and blindside to boot. I am retiring from pulling a van come January to pull a flat instead. Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that you will be delivering at some of the oddest hours of the night and probably about 75% of the freight is by appointment only. If you miss your appointment time you get to wait until they feel that they have time to unload you. If you show up early sometimes they let you park on site, but a lot of the time they tell you to leave and come back later. It seems that these people really dont need or want the freight that you have. I hope this helps you in you decision.