Finally Got My Truck!
Topic 3774 | Page 3
Chris...theres a few rules in flatbedding.... When in doubt, add anther strap or chain.... Never think you can fly off a load by holding onto the tarp in the wind....you will fall off and break something. Never assume that whoever loaded you knew what they were doing...the hyster driver may have called in sick...CHECK your load. Never let your load wear holes in your tarp....it will cause you grief for eons.....
Enjoy your adventure.....it now begins..... Make us skateboarders proud !!!!!
Thanks for the advice Starcar, I made my first solo delivery this morning and I picked up my next load this afternoon that required 3 tarps to cover, and I still got over 500 miles in for the day. Loving it so far.
Good luck with Prime! I wish I would have went flatbed when I was with them, as I now drive flatbed for Swift and I love it. The great thing about buying your equipment is that it's yours when you pay it off, if you become an O/O you are set and ready. You guys haul a ton of stuff into the Caterpillar plant in Clayton NC so maybe I'll bump into you one of these days. Be safe!
What's you truck number Allan I'll keep a look out for you. We need TT stickers to put on our trucks so we can spot each other in truckstops. That would be cool.
121753. I am the guy in the white Cascadia with Swift on the side. The name is just wishful thinking though. Prime trucks are the only ones we can pass haha.
My first two solo loads for Prime. My first mistake today, forgot to twist the outside strap and noticed it slapping around, so I had to stop and fix it.
I am so jealous, I can't wait to finally get to say I did my first load, congrats
My first full week as a solo Prime Flatbedder I got paid for 2896 miles. I'm happy with that number right out of the gate. In my first solo week I had ran out of hours before I could get to a truckstop or rest area so I spent the night on a off ramp. Then the next day I ran out of hours at a shipper and had to sleep in their parking lot.
This is my second week solo for Prime and I will be home in Portland OR tomorrow after catching the greyhound 7 weeks ago for orientation. This week was a little slower since I was working on recap hours. One day I only got back a little over a hour due to me leaving Prime a day early just to spent a day 60 miles from my delivery, then I drove there the night before to spend the night onsite as to not have to start my clock. So that's where the hour recap day came from.
I will be home with a load that delivers Monday morning so basically one day off then back at it. I told my DM that I would be fine with just getting enough time for a restart before heading back out. When I drop Monday I will have 2082 miles for the week, and that's with a day off and one day with only a hour to drive gained back. So considering that I'm ok with those miles. Plus if I get a short load that I can deliver by Tuesday 16:00 then those miles will go on this week as well.
I need to work on my trip planning for sure, but I'm still loving OTR and feel very comfortable living in this awesome truck!
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
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.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Chris...you need to take some trip planning lessons from Redgator.....that girl can squeeze a mile out of a trip to the showers !!!
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Prime Inc First Solo Months On The Road Flatbed Items To Bring On The Road Photos Truck Equipment
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No Chin, yes I'm officially a flatbedder now!
John S. I hit up a walmart today and I have quite a bit in there, I'd post a pic but my phone service sucks where I'm at now. I have 4 rockstars, 4 red bulls, half gallon milk and Orange juice, sandwich meat, cheese, spinach, carrots, ranch dressing, and 5 bottles of water and I still have some room left. I'm very happy with it so far.
John P. I worked at Sygma for a year, I think they are a great company good pay and I was home two days a week. I left cause I always wanted to go OTR. Sygma is very physical you unload the whole trailer by hand truck out a side door down a ramp. After doing that for a year I figured throwing tarps wouldn't be so bad. As a matter in fact I lost weight working for Sygma and am now putting it back on doing flatbed.
John B. Thank you, I feel like a kid on Christmas with this rig.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
DWI:
Driving While Intoxicated
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated