I am debating between going flatbedding and dry van. I've heard experienced drivers not recommend flatbeds for newbie's.

I would like to know why newbie's shouldn't start out in flats? Are they that much more difficult to drive than dry van? What are some of the main differences in the two, excluding tarping and securing?

thanks.

 

Flatbedding is the best place for a rookie to start. First there is better money in it, the home time is better ( so it is easier to ease into the profession with a family ) and going from flatbed to van is easier to transition to than van to flated ( or at least that was how it was explained to me) But as far as i'm concerned I'm in it for the money so it's flatbed all the way.

 

I see no prob for a newbie to startin flat... except that there isn't a box/van to hold your load on/in the bed of a flatbed trailer...

go borrow a pickup that has a flatbed on it... try to haul a ball on it @ 65 mpg... without the sides that you have with a regular pickup bed the ball would fall off...
that is Big Bad DOdo in flatbedding......

YOu just have to be more careful with load securement!
not that load securement in a van should be slacked on...

and on average flatbed haul more weight and weirder shaped loads... in other words harder to secure....

 

Two things you don't see every day:

I saw a dirty TMC truck today. Heh heh.

And...

I also came up behind a blue beat-up steel flatbed trailer with TMC flaps. Hmm.... As I passed him I saw it was a Yellowstone trucking rig. It was dirty and beat up. On top of all of that he was carrying a lumber load.

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A question- where do the long-nose TMC 379s come from? I see a ton of TMC trucks on all of the roads leading to and from my neck of the woods (Houston), and the majority of them are short-nose 379s with the odd 387 thrown in.

I've always thought that Peterbilt got the lines of the long-nose 379 just right, but the proportions of the short-nose 379 were a bit off.

-p.

 

You are QUITE welcome!

 

It USED to be that the long nosed Pete's were given to drivers with TMC for 5+ years as a status thing. Now it's a toss up. A driver gets what's available when he's ready to get into his own truck after training. Our trucks are "retired" after 3 years and a new one is issued. It's GREAT when a graduating class coincides with a delivery of new Petes as all the rookies get new trucks whoo-hoo!!!
Peterbilt offered both long and short nose 379's but not anymore. The 379 has been discontinued.

 

Thanks recurve! If you or anyone here ever has any questions, feel free to call or PM me anytime.

 

Well said! Add to that list: You'll stay in better shape and generally get treated with more respect on the road, in truck stops and at customers' locations. Also I'd rather haul 50,000 pounds of freight that I secured and not some underpaid dock worker. Just because a load is covered up while inside a van, does NOT make it safer. At least i KNOW the load i'm carrying is secured properly and I can SEE if anything is going wrong with it. I also get to go to a lot of "cool" places (copper mines, steel plants, manufacturing and building sites, etc) and see some MONSTER machines and meet lots of nice blue collar workers.

 

Flatbeds are a bit more difficult to drive, just because of the spread axle and tight turning track. The dump valve fixes that.

You can have vans, IMO. The money is better for newbie's, at least for the first few years.

Flatbedding is hard work. You have to enjoy the physical labor and tolerate the weather. I would rather go back to being a chef than drive vans. People that enjoy flatbedding, stay with it, and like TMC's style are a different breed of cat. If you came from a world of 9-5, M-F, don't have the ability to get through frustrating situations easily, and can't be self motivated...you are wasting your time.

I would also suggest that you go to a truck stop and talk with drivers. They love to talk about their work, as long as they aren't in a rush.

Good luck and God bless.

 

got my cdl learner's permit yesterday and can't wait to be layoffed from present job so i can start TDS in April here in NC,
hoping to make it in flatbedding seems like a good choice
love reading this stuff