Flatbed Variety

Hey Pat, I've enjoyed following your thread. Really cool pics brother!

Thanks

Well I did not remember to get photos yesterday of the 70k box but I did remember and had time to get a photo of the load for today. Just imagine the same box about 3 feet longer and 20,000 pounds heavier than the one in the photo. I also had a different lowboy trailer yesterday with a rear booster axle. Don't ever put too much air in the bags of the booster or you will be driving a VERY long straight truck. It will pick the trailer axles off the ground and will not off track at all. You know it real quick when the trailer is really close to going over the center line on a corner. It was after delivering the load because we had to drop the air in the booster axle so that I could turn around without breaking anything. Actually kinda funny once I figured out what was going on...

Anyhow, here is the photo of today's load along with the other trucks lined up to deliver. We had a total of 8 trucks delivering there today.

14 feet wide and 50,000 pounds. Yesterday it was 14 feet wide and 70,000 pounds. Man I love flatbed work.

Ok,,,,,, this is NOT my load but I snapped this pic as I passed it stopped in a rest area on my way back. I passed it going south on I15 just south of Butte, MT. The load was heading north and it is a monster. Took up both lanes of the interstate and part of the shoulder. The kicker is the number of trucks it was taking to move this beast. There were 2 pull trucks, one in front of the other and 4, yes I said 4, push trucks for a total of 6 trucks to move the monster. I think they were now waiting for night so they can close the freeway and get them through.

First load for today

Here is the load for today. It was 14'5" tall on the trailer and top heavy... LOL

Pictures stink because I picked up at midnight and dropped off at 4 am. On another note, I got to witness a police chase and the aftermath. The driver passed me in a winding canyon with no shoulder for me to get over and wrecked in the construction zone. Thankfully the driver was the only one hurt. He was being pursued by 2 officers and an ambulance, lucky for him. Don't know if he died or not.

Pictures stink because I picked up at midnight and dropped off at 4 am. On another note, I got to witness a police chase and the aftermath. The driver passed me in a winding canyon with no shoulder for me to get over and wrecked in the construction zone. Thankfully the driver was the only one hurt. He was being pursued by 2 officers and an ambulance, lucky for him. Don't know if he died or not.

This load variety is one of the elements of flatbedding that I think I'll really enjoy!

This load variety is one of the elements of flatbedding that I think I'll really enjoy!

That's why I love it so much. Some of it is the same but I love hauling equipment. Hauled a loader yesterday that did not have brakes. The loader weighed in at 64,000 pounds and I had 49,500 pounds of securement on that thing with 1/2" chain. The boss said, "Man, you did not want this thing moving." I replied with "You will never have to worry about something coming off my trailer.

You will also notice that I change trailers quite often too. Since I am home almost every night it is easy to change from one day to the other. It is also cheaper than having dedicated trucks that you have to find loads for. Even then 11 trucks is sometimes not enough.

We run about a 300 mile radius but will go much further. We pull everything from a 9 axle low boy to a tandem flat that was hit by a train. It does have a bend but it pulls straight and never goes more than 5 miles away.

This load variety is one of the elements of flatbedding that I think I'll really enjoy!

That's why I love it so much. Some of it is the same but I love hauling equipment. Hauled a loader yesterday that did not have brakes. The loader weighed in at 64,000 pounds and I had 49,500 pounds of securement on that thing with 1/2" chain. The boss said, "Man, you did not want this thing moving." I replied with "You will never have to worry about something coming off my trailer.

You will also notice that I change trailers quite often too. Since I am home almost every night it is easy to change from one day to the other. It is also cheaper than having dedicated trucks that you have to find loads for. Even then 11 trucks is sometimes not enough.

We run about a 300 mile radius but will go much further. We pull everything from a 9 axle low boy to a tandem flat that was hit by a train. It does have a bend but it pulls straight and never goes more than 5 miles away.

That sounds like a great set-up! I am attracted to flatbedding because of the physical work and the great variety of loads that you describe. However, for my first year, I wonder if going dry van would be the best bet in order to developing solid tractor skills. What do you think?

Here's one of my first loads on my new job. It is aluminum pipe. I've never even seen aluminum pipe before, but they tell me it is used in some mining operations. I picked this up at the SAPA mill in Cressona, PA. This load went Bluefield WV. My first load was about 1,700 miles - my total miles first week were 3,198. So far this is looking like an ideal situation. I never would have even heard about it if it weren't for Sand Man - a friend through this very site. Thanks again Sand Man!

Here's one of my first loads on my new job. It is aluminum pipe. I've never even seen aluminum pipe before, but they tell me it is used in some mining operations. I picked this up at the SAPA mill in Cressona, PA. This load went Bluefield WV. My first load was about 1,700 miles - my total miles first week were 3,198. So far this is looking like an ideal situation. I never would have even heard about it if it weren't for Sand Man - a friend through this very site. Thanks again Sand Man!

Nice pic and nice ride. Yeah aluminum pipe is used a lot. Some chemicals will absolutely destroy steel, even stainless. All those irrigation sprinklers that you have seen in the big crop fields are aluminum to keep the weight down and the maintenance.