Flatbed Variety

We keep talking about the variety of loads that flatbedders haul and I thought that maybe we could make a thread with photos of the variety of things that gets tied to a trailer.

I will start with a load that I hauled today.... prefab walls for a house that is being built. Apparently it is cheaper to make and ship the walls than to build on site.

Here is an earlier load that we hauled....

Tomorrow I am hauling dirt so you probably do not want photos of that.... LOL

I was watching my mirrors more than the road with this one.

Like I said, I was hauling dirt today.... Davis Bacon wages.... Doing it again tomorrow. I did not haul this in but here is what came on a flatbed.

Here is the 350 ton grove crane that was placing the beams. Yep I said 350 tons. I know that I said I would not take a picture of the dirt but it would just not get out of the way. Sometimes it is very important to be on time with flatbed loads as cranes can be very expensive.

And the last one is with the beam almost lowered into place. One of these on each side of the creek will carry the bridge spans across the creek.

All in all it was pretty cool to watch those guys put them into place.

By the way, those 2 straps were not the only thing holding the beam. They were left on until he backed down to where the crane would unload him. And they weighed 76,000 pounds each

Thanks for all the pics, Pat! Really cool to see the variety of things you deal with. Flatbed is looking more and more interesting. Do you ever see any women in the field?

By the way, those 2 straps were not the only thing holding the beam. They were left on until he backed down to where the crane would unload him. And they weighed 76,000 pounds each

Good thing you mentioned this cause when I saw that pic I was like wtf? No way two straps have a 50k plus weight rating.

Thanks for all the pics, Pat! Really cool to see the variety of things you deal with. Flatbed is looking more and more interesting. Do you ever see any women in the field?

Sure there are women doing flatbed. I have met a few. While trucking I has always been a male dominated industry, which will never change, I have been to a few construction sites up in the NE and it's even more so up there.

I am sure you can do the job but how thick is your skin? From the few sites I have been to is like being around a bunch of 13 year olds going through puberty and just discovered there are girls in the world. It can be a pretty brutal place if your unprepared for it. I am sure not every place is like the ones I went to but they are out there.

And don't even get me started on the union job sites cause I will not stop cussing for 3 days. It's not a fun place to be around.

Thanks for the feedback, Guy. I appreciate your straightforward approach.

I have worked male dominated jobs most of my life. Attitudes vary from job site to job site no matter where you are it seems. It ranges from guys who want to carry everything for me to guys who wanna give me a hard time. But whatever, they don't sign my paycheck.

My main concern is how physically demanding it might be. I delivered plumbing supplies for two years locally on a Class B flatbed which required a lot of hand unloading which at times was pretty tough. I guess mostly I would just be tarping and strapping with Class A, though. I'm also kind of short so climbing around on the truck to strap and tarp might be an issue. I'm curious to hear more about that aspect of it.

I think I might share your opinion on Union job sites!

Thanks for all the pics, Pat! Really cool to see the variety of things you deal with. Flatbed is looking more and more interesting. Do you ever see any women in the field?

Sure do, everyday.

The other day I was stuck in road construction and while sitting there waiting for the traffic going the opposite direction to pass by there were three trucks that rolled through. All three of them had women drivers.... Flatbed, Sidedump, and a tanker.

With straps I have never climbed on the load but you also have to remember that you will also be required to use chains at times. Throwing a 3/8" chain over a tall load can be a challenge. Especially at the end of a long hot day when you are tired. You will get good at throwing the straps. It is mostly in how you roll them up.

As for tarping, I have never tarped a load. This is mainly because I work for a 2 truck outfit and the stuff we haul does not require tarps. Can you imagine having to tarp the loads that I posted so far? Heck, we make plenty of money without having to tarp....