Flatbed Variety

How about gut/belly wrap the ends with alternating pull and a regular strap (or two) over the middle? The belly wrap should prevent the twisting since the alternate pull would tighten with any shift pressure. Issue might be the length of the strap, but then you could use two straps hooked together.

How about gut/belly wrap the ends with alternating pull and a regular strap (or two) over the middle? The belly wrap should prevent the twisting since the alternate pull would tighten with any shift pressure. Issue might be the length of the strap, but then you could use two straps hooked together.

That's a great idea! Next time I'll do it that way. Friction mats wouldn't help since it was pre-loaded and I can't lift more than 500 lbs off the deck with one hand.

This was a fun load I had. It was very light so I got good mileage. I am always trying to get the fuel bonus that Melton offers.

This is also one of the rare loads that I actually helped the customer load and unload the items.

This was also a place I backed into a dock to get loaded.

Being on time can be critical in flat bedding. In this case, the customer hired a crane to load my trailer. Those cranes are very expensive and charge by the hour. The loading time window was small, but certainly not impossible to do. Here the crew is working on loading.

They finished and now comes the time to figure out what and where the securement will be.

Now the load is secure and I am ready to roll. Notice the crane crew is already gone. This load went from NC to a southern border town in AZ. Ultimately, the load was going to Mexico and would be picked up in AZ by a Mexican contractor for the final leg.

Here is one of my first loads that I hauled solo. It is some sort of resin oil for the drilling rigs up in the oil fields. I loaded in Mobile, AL and took it to Williston, ND. That place up there is a boom town and truly a sight to see.

The first time I stopped by my CDL school was with this load. My instructors complimented me on the fine tarp job. It was actually an easy load to tarp seeing that it was perfectly symmetrical.

Here is one of my first loads that I hauled solo. It is some sort of resin oil for the drilling rigs up in the oil fields. I loaded in Mobile, AL and took it to Williston, ND. That place up there is a boom town and truly a sight to see.

The first time I stopped by my CDL school was with this load. My instructors complimented me on the fine tarp job. It was actually an easy load to tarp seeing that it was perfectly symmetrical.

How would you strap that load down?

How would you strap that load down?

Good question. Every flat bedder asks him/herself the same question on every load. You have to look at all the pieces in your analysis to ensure everything will be secured. This load was pretty straight forward. The barrels are four on a pallet. They are steel banded into one unit. So what I did was on the front pallet and rear pallet, two straps. All the other pallets in between got one strap. At first I though I may need V-boards, but it turned out I didn't. Naturally, I had to put strap protectors so the straps would not get cut. Also, the pallets with only one strap across them, I placed the strap to the side so that it would be directly over a barrel. That way, I was able to torque the straps pretty tight. I like the straps to sing like a banjo string when I am done.

Keep the photos coming Wilson, They look great..

Here is a little excavator that I had to pickup and deliver today. I had already picked up and delivered a telehandler forklift this morning and this afternoon I loaded a backhoe for delivery tomorrow afternoon.

Hey Pat,

What was your total weight?

Thanks

Hey Pat,

What was your total weight?

Thanks

Somewhere between 92,000 and 95,000 pounds. The truck alone weighs 23k and the excavator is 54k and I just guessed at the trailer being 15k. It might be a little more.