Anticipation

So August 22, I start with TMC Training. Where I'm at just went to one shift running my area because we have too much in stock and all I'm thinking about it getting started sooner. Any advice for a new guy getting into flatbed right off the bat? I was reading the tarps weigh 125. I guess if I can pick up a 200# part and walk it 3 feet with no issues I should be good right? Just little concerned about some things. Especially since my wedding day is in 2 days lol

If you can make it a few feet with it already, then just some repetition (aka doing your job) and making sure you are getting enough to eat, especially extra protein, should have you dragging it around without issue a few weeks in. People who look at something heavy as if it is like moving a mountain because they never pushed themselves before just have to make that decision; do I trust what science tells me and fuel my body more and keep at it to build the muscle needed to perform the task well, or do tell myself that my body cannot do what it was designed to do and just quit before starting?

Watch out for the wind on your first windy day. When you are opening it, make sure you are holding tight, but only to one corner/side at a time. You don't want it ripping your arms off because you held onto it like a sail when it caught a big gust. Some of the experienced guys can probably share some special tips on how to deal with the tarp in wind.

Bring a poncho and extra socks.

Double and triple check your load. You don't want something falling off or shifting around a corner because you forgot to make sure a strap was tight. I know that from hauling stuff on a 10 foot trailer behind a pickup, but I am sure it transfers just fine to the big stuff.

Beyond that, there are a few experienced flatbedders that pop in here on TT. Hopefully you get one of them in here later today to give you some advice.

Hope your special day is wonderful, that first day you hop in the seat, fire her up, and get rolling. Hope your wedding is nice too.

My lumber tarps weighed around that much. Matt H. Is correct, be careful how you hold your tarps in the wind, or you will be collecting a lot of gravel as you take a ride across the ground.

I flatbedded over this past winter, and learned some great stuff in flat bedding and trucking in general. When the temps are really cold, and especially when ice is on your tarps, it's really hard to get them nice and small and tight. They get crunchy. But, any possible way that you can get them tight and compact will help tremendously when you put them back on your trailer. Big floppy heavy tarps are really tough to handle compared to tight compact heavy tarps. They feel 100 pounds heavier when they aren't rolled tightly. You will be taught how TMC wants their tarps rolled, just like I was at my company. Whatever the number is of flatbedders on the road, that's about how many different ways there are to roll tarps, so learn all the different ways and you will know ways to roll them better and faster in different situations.

Also, when you wind your straps in icy conditions, it is good to fold the end a couple of feet back so that your straps can feed through the winch a little easier, especially if the end is a bit frayed. Lesson learned the hard way for me, and a Canadian guy taught me that.

If anyone says you have too many bungees, ignore them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life. I collected tons of them, and some days it took all of them on top of my shock cord to get the tarps under control. Some loads are just crazy and shaped like the loader drank all night before his shift so the wind just kept getting under the tarps. Bungees help immensely, and you can do just about anything with them. I got a steal on mine at a Pilot in Oregon when they were overstocked. $15 for ten, so I bought three bundles, and then more later on that week.

You really do have to do load checks often. This isn't a joke!! I've saved myself lots of grief checking my loads often, more often that prescribed, and kept finding things that needed attention: tightening straps and chains, tightening the tarps, replacing broken bungees and shock cord, etc.

Hope that helps.

Allie Knight did flat bedding and has videos of those adventures. Also on YouTube look for the flatbed chick. She has some good videos as well. Hope that helps.