New Gig! Back On The Road

I have rejoined all you fine gents and ladies on the open road again, AND I’m back to flatbed again!! I hated leaving my last company because I really loved it there and they treated me well and I made good money but I’m selling my house and decided to live on the road for a bit before buying again.

I’ll post some pics but this gig is a little different than the flatbed gig I did before. I’m driving a four axle tractor now and we also pull maxi trailers (four axle trailers) a lot of the time too. We have some spread axle trailers and one tandem axle flatbed that apparently everyone hates lol. We do alot of steel apparently as well as a variety of other stuff. So far I’ve had concrete forms, assorted building materials going to a nuclear storage facility, roofing supplies, steel, crushed metal bales for recycling, and this current load is crushed cars also in cubes for recycling. The load I have right now is 94k lbs which I thought was heavy at first but even after just a couple weeks I’m learning that’s really not a crazy amount of weight at all lol. I didn’t know this job entailed pulling a little more weight but I’m actually really happy about it because it’s already forced me to understand more about bridge law.

Probably the coolest thing to report so far is I finally got to cross something off my bucket list. I got to go to Canada this week! I had no idea how much Canada is like the US. The highways are a little different and everything is in km instead of miles but other than that it’s almost exactly the same. A couple things I did notice that were kinda interesting…most of the trucks I saw up there were not brand new aero rigs. I think most trucks were at least several years old and lots of hoods. And most of the rigs up there had at least three axles on the trailer or they were pulling doubles with lots of axles. Even the Walmart trucks I saw up there were pulling doubles. To clarify, the company I work for is based out of UT so this was up in Alberta. Idk what it’s like in other parts of Canada. Crossing the border was a breeze even though I was nervous. On the way back into the US the dude even gave me a treat for my dog lol.

I’ll try to post some different loads from time to time. I’m just really happy to be back doing flatbed again. I really enjoyed pneumatic tanker but flatbed is where it’s at. I’m also happy we have more variety at this job than my last flatbed gig. My current load is actually the first load I’ve ever thrown chains on. We never used chains on the flatbed fleet I was on previously.

I’ve also got not one but two dogs with me which has been interesting. Long story short I got a second dog several months ago not knowing I’d be going back on the road and I couldn’t rehome him and didn’t have anyone to take him temporarily so he’s with me too. It’s a lot but I love my furry companions and the company I work for doesn’t mind as long as I keep the truck in good shape.

Anyways, glad to be back. Pics to follow!

My current load…bales of crushed cars:

Some long bundles of steel:

You probably can’t tell but I had 5 ft of overhang in front of the load and about 2 in the back. It wasn’t loaded properly which is why I actually ended up being the driver to take it. It was preloaded but the truck that was supposed to take it didn’t have room for so much front overhang.

And doggos: they love my sleeper even more than I do lol

Congratulations Pianoman!

Will you be pulling any RGN trailers hauling equipment? That looks like an interesting job. You'll be enjoying the variety of loads flatbedders get hooked on.

Hey dude, I was just about to call you to see where you went! Glad you found a good gig for you in your current circumstances. Enjoy all the outside time that goes with flatbed. Great timing, lol.

How did you find the current job market to be? Was it easy for you to get hired on with another company?

Looking forward to hearing about your new flatbed experiences.

Hey man I'm curious, that looks like an Ag needs truck I've seen, I live less than 20 minutes from Richmond where I see them parked, I've thought about applying to them but that's beside the point. My point is, is it an Ag Needs truck and if so then thats cool because I really think I've seen that volvo on the road several times. I'm through Utah 2-3 times a week chances are I've seen one similar but I just thought it's a small world.

Hey man I'm curious, that looks like an Ag needs truck I've seen, I live less than 20 minutes from Richmond where I see them parked, I've thought about applying to them but that's beside the point. My point is, is it an Ag Needs truck and if so then thats cool because I really think I've seen that volvo on the road several times. I'm through Utah 2-3 times a week chances are I've seen one similar but I just thought it's a small world.

Haha yes it is!! It may or may not be the same one. We have several of these. I don’t think this one was used for flatbed before I got here so we outfitted it with a headache rack and moved the air lines around when I got here a couple weeks ago. They’re not a bad little outfit from what I’m seeing so far. They’ve kept me rolling constantly and they’re saying they’re pretty busy right now. They said they only have 21 flatbed trucks right now and the other 50ish are reefer

Congratulations Pianoman!

Will you be pulling any RGN trailers hauling equipment? That looks like an interesting job. You'll be enjoying the variety of loads flatbedders get hooked on.

I wish but unfortunately no RGNs for me here 😢. I’m happy to be getting more flatbed experience though because If like to do true oversize/heavy hauling in the future.

Hey dude, I was just about to call you to see where you went! Glad you found a good gig for you in your current circumstances. Enjoy all the outside time that goes with flatbed. Great timing, lol.

How did you find the current job market to be? Was it easy for you to get hired on with another company?

Looking forward to hearing about your new flatbed experiences.

Thanks Bruce! Yeah don’t remind me about the white stuff lmao. I’m not thrilled about it this year.

It definitely was not easy finding a decent gig. I don’t have a perfect record as I got some serious tickets in my personal vehicle almost 5 years ago (speeding, not alcohol related). Still, it was almost 5 years ago and the only ticket I have since then is a front license plate ticket in my personal vehicle from almost 3 years ago so I figured it wouldn’t be difficult since I’m insurable. Wrong! Companies are being picky right now. I got three offers (not counting 1099 companies) and I’m estimating I applied for a good 20 companies probably. I think it was easier finding a gig a year and a half ago than it was now.

I’m also pickier though too now so I don’t know how much that plays into things. I think I applied for a mix of large and midsize carriers and a few pretty small ones. Idk if it would have made a difference if I’d applied to more mega carriers. My guess is it wouldn’t have made a difference. Sometimes it’s easier to get on with the little guys for whatever reason.

Glad to have you back! always a pleasure on the road!

Congrats on the new gig. Definitely seems interesting and I for sure relate to going back otr. I still haven't finalized my decision yet, but will keep you in the loop.