Flatbed Driving

I've gone thru a few weeks of CDL training. I've been out on the road with my instructor who runs in a Reefer division. All this driving all night and sleeping during the day is driving me crazy.

After I get my CDL I'll have a choice of running flatbed or reefer. I'm strongly leaning towards flatbed now. My instructor stated that flatbedders generally run during the day and stole I. The evening.

Is this generally the case?

Old School should chime in. I think it depends on your company & the route you are running. I was offered flatbed by a company that only does flatbed.that position meant my deliveries would all be during the day. Thus, most driving either day or early morning to arrive during normal business hours.

Good luck.

Hello Leedoshuffler, and congratulations on your accomplishments thus far!

I'm just going to say that for the most part flat-bedders have a schedule that allows them to drive mostly in the day, but there are times when a good driver will choose to drive at night. Also, I don't think that just because they have a daytime schedule is a very good reason to choose flat-bed. I mean there is a lot more physical work involved in a flat-bed gig. So give some thought to the whole package that you are getting into - you may enjoy getting to sleep at night while cursing the trucking gods in the brutal winter months as you are trying to climb around on an ice covered trailer unfolding frozen tarps that now weigh in at about 175 pounds due to the fact that they are covered with snow and ice. Every trucking job has it's attributes that can be trying - you've got to pick your own battles. One man enjoys the physical aspect of flat-bedding, while another enjoys the challenges of meeting the reefer's crazy schedules. I'm a big promoter of the flat-bed work, but that's because I personally enjoy it - I realize it is not for everyone.

One more thing I would add to this discussion is that a good driver learns to take every advantage he can so that he is productive. We talk a lot on this site about how trucking is a performance based job. I still drive through the night usually about two nights on average per week - this is not something I have to do, but it is something I will choose to do to get an advantage in my week's worth of work so that I can be a top producer in my fleet. I don't do this for the accolades from my company, I do it because I just happen to enjoy the benefits of the difference in an 850.00 paycheck as compared to a 1,500.00 paycheck.

If you think you would enjoy flat-bed work then by all means go for it, but don't just use your preferred time for sleeping as the only thing that pushes you in that direction. A person's chosen line of work should bring a certain level of satisfaction and enjoyment in their lives. Don't cut yourself short by choosing what you do based on what you didn't like about what you did before.

Also chics dig flatbedders.

Thanks for your replys.

I can see why I should use more motivations then just sleeping patterns. I don't mind running a few nights every week especially if it means more money. This far in my reefer training I've run midnight to six 80-90% of the time. I actually been inspired by Old Schools comments regarding the extra exercise, challenges of securing a load and satisfaction of a well secured or tarped load. I've found myself looking over all the flatbeds I see and observing how well their loads are set up. I'm not a big guy, 145lb soaking wet, but I'm tough (former marine) and I believe I can handle the physical and mental challenges ahead.

Wish me luck at finding a second phase flatbed ding trainer. Our company does both but primarily runs reefer. So finding a flatbed trainer will be more difficult.