Thinking of pulling flats. Not sure what to do
 

Well here is the story. I drove for CFI for about 4 months and the home time killed me. 3 to 4 weeks out at a time was just not cutting it. Since then i have come home and taken a crappy job that pays nothing and is pretty much dead end.

Now i loved driving, and recently i have been desperatly wanting to jump back in. The thing is TMC garuntees home most weekends and i think i could handle that, I just find myself a little nervous about pulling a flatbed.

I know there are plenty of posts that talk about both TMC AND flatbeding, but i was just looking for the short and skinny from someone. A lot of the fears i had about dry van turned out to be not as bad as i thought they were. Is that sort of the same with flats? Is it hard to get used to and acclimated with? I'm not asking if its hard (obviously it aint going to be easy), just asking if i will be strugling a lot.

Thanks Chris.

PS is someone wants to drop me a line about TMC feel free. tried reading the massive thread but only made it like page 35.

Re: Thinking of pulling flats. Not sure what to do
 

Faltbedding will be like anything else once you get used to it. It's just dirtier, colder, hotter, sometimes a little slower, and DOT tends to look at you a little closer so your load doesn't wind up in someone's windshield. But like anything else, it's a trade off. Now, as far as hometime goes, don't know much about TMC, but you know how used car salesmen, I mean recruiters are. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

OTR means over the raod, which means gone all the time, and ppl with more experience and seniority get the better runs. Which bears the question, doesn't evryone know you are going to be out a lot? Or was the lure of 40,000 a yr too great to pass up? If you have a family, this job sucks for a lot of ppl. The common theme is away from home too much.
It seems it's becoming suited for us older baby boomers, and you'd think recruiters would be all over that like a cheap suit. any way, I digress. So, if ya want to be at home, go local.

Re: Thinking of pulling flats. Not sure what to do
 

The home time is not guaranteed but is at the mercy of the freight. I have only been stuck out one weekend where I didn't want to be out; my FM was on vacation too.

Flatbedding is the only way to go for me. That is just me. I would never be content to bump docks and drive. The shipper/consignee BS is probably the same. Money is way better for a newb.
The first few months are a struggle, especially if your company and/or trainer sucks. After a few months you become Flatbed GI Joe with Kung-Foo Grip and it becomes pretty cool.

In my husbands short experience with both May Trucking and Davis Transport.

Flat bedding pluses at Davis
1. Not as much waiting for a load appointment
2. No funky delivery times like Midnight then not being able to find a parking spot at a truck stop.
3. With Davis much longer runs.
4. With Davis at least even during the slow time he is running allot of miles.
5. For us more home time or should I say we see him more because Davis runs the I-90 more than May Trucking did.
6. Tarping is physical work that helps keep him in shape.
7. He only has to tarp about once a week because of the long runs.
8. Receivers will generally take the load early vs waiting for your delivery time.
9. The docks are not funky drops like some of the dry van or reefer places.

Flat bedding downfalls.
1. It is sometimes slow tarping a load depending on what you have.
2. You will get dirty.
3. Davis has flat-top cabs for new drivers as does many other flatbed companies. (They are upgrading there whole fleet to Kennworth Condos so eventually this will not be an issue with Davis).


I do not know how TMC is or where they run. I can speak of how many miles or how long the runs are or how much you will be tarping. This is something you will have to find out from TMC drivers.

I am just listing the things we know that we have personally experienced between the two.

Goin Fer It's Wife

Re: Thinking of pulling flats. Not sure what to do
 

:lol: :lol: This is one reason why I love the site....many of you keep me laughing so hard :lol: :lol:

i appreciate all the responses. Afraid i am still stuck as to what i should do. the only thing that really did it in for me last time was the home time. TMC does GARUNTEE home out most weekends, but i haven't actually talked to any drivers with them to confirm that. If that is true then the only thing holding me back is my apprehensions about pulling a flatbed.

Like has been said, everything seems hard to grasp until you get down and do it. I'm sure this is the same way. Just still kind of nervous to quit my job and get back into driving.

Where do you live??
I assume the 4 mos. w CFI is all you have, correct?

Depending upon where you live TMC or Maverick or someone like them should get you home pretty much every weekend.

As long as you are in decent shape you really shouldn't have many apprehensions the work. Yes, it is harder than opening and closing the doors on a van, but it's not that difficult. I wouldn't let it scare me off. I've seen people all shapes, sizes and sexes pulling flatbed, it's really not a big deal. My advice would be that if you have any conditions that would prevent you from partaking in the average daily gym workout, then flatbedding might not be for you. If you could somewhat easily handle that type of workout, then you should have no problem.

Flatbed usually offers more pay (at least starting out) and more hometime, those are the biggest reason why anyone that I know went with flatbed. A big reason why flatbed outfits offer you the weekend home is that you will deal with a lot of union steel outfits and they are only open M-F. There are some who are open, but my experience was that if I couldn't get there by 3-4 PM on Friday, I wouldn't be delivering until first thing Monday morning.

Just my 2 cents... Good luck!

Flatbeds are a natural progression step to heavy haulage. If thats what you eventually want to do, then go for it. :wink:

Re: Thinking of pulling flats. Not sure what to do
 

Well, it's been a lonnnnnnnng week so maybe this is unkind, but my immediate reaction is that if you're not willing to read a thread full of valuable information on the company and subject you say interests you . . . and . . . you just want someone to make it easy for you . . . then flatbeds may not be your thing.