Dry Van ...OR Conestoga? Your Thoughts?

Why are onions on flats/connies, O/S?

Anne, I know you are a good cook. So, I know you have experienced how onions make you cry when you cut them. Onions put off a gas that will cause them to spoil in the back of a sealed up trailer. That is why they haul them on flats. There are some special trailers that look similar to a dry-van, but they are ventilated so that onions can be hauled in them.

Thanks, O/S .. yes indeed I DO love to cook !!! We usually use sweet onions for the cold side, and Vandalias for cooking. Crocktail onions for ... martinis! (Misspelling on purpose, that darn filter, haha!)

Malodorous, dang. Worse than the pig haulers, I'd guess?!? Sheesh, I never THOUGHT about that.. Oh yeah; the gasses.. omigosh. I always WONDERED why y'all pulled 'em on flats; makes sense now!

I've seen those silver/metal slatted trailers you speak of; didn't think further about it at the time, however. So I guess they can't be unloaded like potatoes, with a tipper ?!?!? LoL....

Thanks AGAIN, my friend!!

~ Anne ~

Thanks guys for the comments. Out west here we haul lots of commodities in big sacks or palletized stacked bags. Like rice, and seeds. Also tomato paste...ships in 4x4x4 plywood boxes. (they have an antiseptic mylar bag inside full of delicisous tomato paste! Ships world wide) But we load vans, shipping containers and flatbed with these boxes. So a conestoga would be an easy yes.

Also, I ran into a couple of guys at the fuel pumps with conestogas and they have hauled all kinds of "dry van" loads,(dog food, bottled water etc).. They just have to load differently ie flatbed style, from the sides.....I guess nobody wants a forklift driving on a flatbed trailer from a loading dock..Yikes!

So OLD SCHOOL, you stated that, ""I've seen plenty of dry-vans pulling some of the same materials as me, but I never haul the products they haul."" so you've seen dry vans with steel coils and re-bar? LOL...but serioulsy...I guess I can't haul papertowels on a conestoga because they wont load it outside?

So, what DID you decide on ?!?!? I'm just inquisitive / curious, LoL!

~ Anne ~

Conestoga loads sound interesting without tarping. Do you still strap the stuff like on a regular flatbed? Also do they pay like a dry van or does it pay more like a flatbed?

Onions are hauled in reefers all the time. I've taken many loads out of Western ID/Eastern OR down to CA, TX, up to WI and a few other places. They have us open the little door on the trailer door and run the reefer at 45-50°.

The onion odor is no worse than those Mt Olive pickles I have been hauling. In fact, that smell remains even after a trailer wash out. :-P

Laura

Conestoga loads sound interesting without tarping. Do you still strap the stuff like on a regular flatbed? Also do they pay like a dry van or does it pay more like a flatbed?

You still secure the load with straps or whatever it needs. The Conestoga provides no structural support like a dry-van wall. The pay is at flat bed rates. Here is a picture of my set up at Knight. If you are ever interested you could check into switching over to their flatbed division.

I guess nobody wants a forklift driving on a flatbed trailer from a loading dock..Yikes!

I haul palletized aluminum coil with a Conestoga and I back into a standard loading dock to get loaded and unloaded. Forklifts have no problems driving on and off the trailer. I just roll back the curtain. Normally my back haul s can range from Drywall, Pallets of Joint Compound, or Pallets of Bricks - which I'm currently waiting to get loaded with here in Pen Argyle P.A.

Hey Chris L.... Thats great to hear you got loaded on a dock. That's been my biggest worry, that dock loads at DCs that only have"back in docks" will not load a conestoga! And thanks to you all for your comments. FYI...I love onions.

Conestoga loads sound interesting without tarping. Do you still strap the stuff like on a regular flatbed? Also do they pay like a dry van or does it pay more like a flatbed?

You still secure the load with straps or whatever it needs. The Conestoga provides no structural support like a dry-van wall. The pay is at flat bed rates. Here is a picture of my set up at Knight. If you are ever interested you could check into switching over to their flatbed division.

I definitely may look into it in the future after I gain experience. It seems like a good mix between some of the points of flatbed and dry van.