van, reefer, flatbed or tankers

[all18wheels]

i think its been discussed before. but with all the new readers, maybe its time to discuss the pros and cons of all.

ive never actually drove a van or reefer. i went straight to flatbed.
maybe its just the company i work for and the loads they get, but i cant imagine driving anything else but a 48ft highdeck with a spread or a single drop or and RGN.
Flatbedding is fun for me and i get to haul alot of cool stuff.

what say you?

[Mackman]

Dont forget about tankers.

I started driving stright trucks but my 1st tractor trailer job was a tank. I like pulling tanks they are low you can go uner alot of bridges that are less then 13'6. Easy unloading just hook a hose up and open a vavle and let it rip. If i have to drive tractor trailers i would go back to a tank or dump trailer.

[all18wheels]

i have actually thought about tankers if i ever want to go to a daycab.
flatbedding is good, but im gone all week and home on weekends.
sometimes i have to take a long haul which will keep me out longer.
i just got back from a 2 and a half week haul to the east coast a few runs in MD and VA and then NJ to back home to Travis AFB.
i ended up going to long island ,NY which wasnt bad, but it was on the eastern part of L.I. which was alot better than queens bronx or brooklyn.

[Chasing Daylight]

My background is reefer. It's the kind of job you either love or hate.

On the bad side there are a lot of grocery warehouses, lumpers to deal with, 2AM delivery appts, lots of multi pick or multi drop loads. You also have to pay attention during loading. Van drivers get to crawl in the bunk and take a nap. A lot of reefer drivers do the same but shouldn't. Even if you aren't fingerprinting, you should be checking skid temps. If you haul refrigerated more than frozen and get into the produce racket then you have perishables to deal with, lots of time sensitive loads, and the occasional load that is bound to be headaches (strawberries are a good example, oddly enough so is asparagus.)

On the good side, the freight is generally there regardless of the economy, as people always have to eat. Plus, if you get in a slow freight area or bad time of year you can always pull dry goods. Produce tends to be cyclical, but it is also predictable, so even though you are irregular route you often know where you are going to be routed to, at least when your nose is pointed West.

[Rocketdog]

Since trucking means different things to different people, there is no "one size fits all"

Take a look at Landstar's motto: "The perfect loads means different things to different people"

One likes this, one likes that....

I know tanker drivers who will never touch a reefer and I know flatbedders who will never pull a van..

Me personally: I like them all. I've pulled everything except mobile homes and I enjoy the diversity. Closing yourseld off from a particular industry makes you less marketable.

Florida is a fine example. How many times have you seen flatbeds coming UP the 75 N/B empty??? I haul frozen OJ out of Auburndale FL all the way to Oregon....nice load.

[DDCavi]

Ive only been working for two weeks, but I dont see enjoying anything other then tankers.