Little Update…I’m A Baby Flatbedder Now!

I ended up going with System Transport and just got assigned a truck on Thursday after a week of orientation and 3 days of training on the road. Driving came back sooooo fast.

Look at my truck, she’s so puuurty 😍

I’m driving a T680 with 310k miles on it. It’s an automatic 12 speed with a big ole Cummins in it. One thing that’s cool about this company is they really invest in good equipment. All our trucks have disc brakes and all our newer trailers use disc brakes too. We’re gradually phasing out all the older ones with drum brakes. All Michelin tires (I found out at my last company that the tires make a huge difference), auto 5th wheel release, the trailer tires all have the auto fill mechanism. We have the extra air bag pressure gauges in the truck for telling the weight of the load and the trucks have a built-in inverter with a fridge and KIMS unit (basically an APU but different), and a tv mount already installed. When I picked up the truck it was absolutely spotless, probably the cleanest I’ve ever seen the interior of a truck honestly. My driver manager is the same DM my trainer had and he has kept me running super hard since I started.

Oh yeah and flatbedding is a BLAST!! I wish I’d done this years ago. I’m filthy and tired as hell but I’ve been having fun so far.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Driver Manager:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Awesome news. I love my KW t680. Been curious about flatbedding down the road. Glad its working out for you.

Nice rig, wished they all had went to disc brake systems over drums lol When I worked for waste management back in the 80's as a master tech they went to all disc brakes on the new Volvo's they bought, WAYYY easier to do brake jobs, if only the pads needed done, I could do a wheel in 30 minutes or less ! Other lazy techs we had took hours, milking the job!

Congrats on your new gig, good luck out there, be safe !

Nice rig, wished they all had went to disc brake systems over drums lol When I worked for waste management back in the 80's as a master tech they went to all disc brakes on the new Volvo's they bought, WAYYY easier to do brake jobs, if only the pads needed done, I could do a wheel in 30 minutes or less ! Other lazy techs we had took hours, milking the job!

Congrats on your new gig, good luck out there, be safe !

Yeah they’re great. I was really impressed they are using them on their trailers now too.

Awesome news. I love my KW t680. Been curious about flatbedding down the road. Glad its working out for you.

They’re sweet dude. And I think they look great, especially the blue. I’ve never had a truck I would look back at as I’m leaving it just cause I like the way it looks 😂😂

And yes, that truck is a beauty! Just remember to tell her that you love her several times a day. That's key to maintaining a solid relationship. BTW, what's her name? And don't tell me it's Ken, for what it's worth.

Congratulations Pianoman! System runs a great flatbed operation. Here's something unique that I have noticed about them. Of all the other flatbed companies I come across in my journeys, they appear to hire the most women drivers. We even had one of our female members working for them. I don't know if any of you remember her, but we called her "Sunshine."

Congrats Pianoman! Being a skateboarder is no joke, and you chose to do it just before the winter. Have fun with that! Seriously, good luck to you man. Be safe.

Welcome to the the flatbedding world. Please post some more pictures and share some of your experiences.

I see a lot of System Transport trucks on the road but I very rarely see them at my shipper or receivers. So I'm curious what you'll be hauling.

Hey Chief Brody, I know the Hydro plant at Cressona, PA isn't your favorite place, but you are bound to run into some of them at that plant. I've met several of their drivers at that plant.