Welcome To Flatbed

As some of you know, I originally got into trucking to pull flatbed. Well the time has come. I finished my first flatbed run, a 7 stop preloaded drop deck full of arctic cats, last week. Then took hometime to organize my truck, and take inventory of my equipment.

I am now on my 2nd run. 45k lbs of Lumber.

I have yet to unload, or even load a trailer in nice weather. I already experienced hail, sleet, rain, and tons of mud. But the one thing i realized, is that I have finally found my niche. This 270" wheelbase and spread axle has it's own learning curve, too, lol.

Let the flatbed journey begin!

*LIKE

Congrats! You’ve put in the work. Enjoy the new adventure!

As some of you know, I originally got into trucking to pull flatbed. Well the time has come. I finished my first flatbed run, a 7 stop preloaded drop deck full of arctic cats, last week. Then took hometime to organize my truck, and take inventory of my equipment.

I am now on my 2nd run. 45k lbs of Lumber.

I have yet to unload, or even load a trailer in nice weather. I already experienced hail, sleet, rain, and tons of mud. But the one thing i realized, is that I have finally found my niche. This 270" wheelbase and spread axle has it's own learning curve, too, lol.

Let the flatbed journey begin!

Awesome.

Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of flatbedding! You'll either come to love it or hate it, and you'll certainly never forget it.

I gotta say though... That arctic cat load needed some belly straps.

I have yet to unload, or even load a trailer in nice weather. I already experienced hail, sleet, rain, and tons of mud. But the one thing i realized, is that I have finally found my niche.

Welcome Danielsahn! It sounds like you were born for this. I wish you all the best!

I gotta say though... That arctic cat load needed some belly straps.

What Turtle is referring to is the fact that after you have solid crates or bundles that are stacked 2 high (like back on the lower section of your step-deck trailer) you should have a strap thrown over them (we call it a belly strap). Then you finish it out just like you did with your other straps.

If you picked up a pre-loaded trailer, it would be very tricky (but not impossible) to put the belly straps in. Most flatbedders have some sort of homemade tool that they can use to fish the straps through those tight spaces.

It's nice to hear from you. Is this a new company, or is it the same one you switched to not too long ago?

If you picked up a pre-loaded trailer, it would be very tricky (but not impossible) to put the belly straps in. Most flatbedders have some sort of homemade tool that they can use to fish the straps through those tight spaces.

Just to expand on this really quick, I bought an extendable paint roller from Walmart and took the roller part off. I use it for running belly straps through loads and it works like a charm lol

I was wondering what turtle meant. Lol. Each tall stack was just under 4k in weight. I was just under 15k in total weight.

It's nice to hear from you. Is this a new company, or is it the same one you switched to not too long ago?

Long story short-ish..... I was supposed to transfer to Hummer of Iowa, same family "different" company, but under the same umbrella. It turned out, that neither are able to work with my new place of residence. (we are moving back to Michigan, finally.) Dragon breath mentioned his company, but I was just shy of minimum road exp. So they sent me to their little brother company, to get my experience here, then transfer over to them.

In hindsight, I realized I could have stayed with Swift this entire time, and then tried for flatbed once we completed the move, But I am beyond thankful for the experience.

I agree on the belly straps. You can use a painter pole with no attachment or attach a 1" roller handle to the end and use that to pull the straps as opposed to pushing the straps through. X straps on the back of the load could also be used to prevent any part of the load from "walking" out. I was taught that any load 10' or more gets 2 straps in the first 5' and 2 straps in the last 5' with atleast 1 strap every 10'. All that means for that load is adding a strap in the last 5'. Oh and alternate straps if possible on your trailer. Sorry not trying to nitpick just throwing out some ideas and sharing my personal experience.

Danielsahn, belly straps are not really required by the weight you are carrying. You are correct in calculating how many straps you need by the weight, but the belly straps are required due to the way the material is stacked. This is all explained (well you know how they explain stuff in government documents) in your green book. I don't have the time right now to look it up. Maybe one of our other flat bedders can give you a reference. If not, I'll do it when I get the chance.