Flatbed Variety

This load of structural steel goes from Missouri to Ohio. It's 10 layers high, so we had to do a lot of belly straps.

Hey Bud that load looks really good, I like the way you put a twist in each of the straps so they aren't vibrating in the wind. It's sometimes the little details that can really make a difference in how those flat-bed loads roll down the road.

Also, I'm curious about the sheetrock load from Oklahoma. I can't remember the name of that little town in Southern Oklahoma that I used to pick up sheetrock at but the concrete floor of the plant was raised to the height of a flat-bed trailer and when you backed in there to get loaded, your bay was sort of sunken with about two or three inches of clearance on either side of the trailer to get it backed in there. That way the fork lift was rolling right up to your trailer without even having to lift his forks to get your load up on to the trailer. I remember as a rookie going to that plant and thinking "how am I ever going to get this trailer in that hole?"

Does that sound like the same place you picked up at?

Since I run up to Connecticut from Louisiana a lot on this dedicated SAPA account they are always trying to find me a back haul load from up there to pay for my trip back. Often times I will go to the SAPA plant in Cressona, Pennsylvania and grab some load they have that is headed south. We also have the responsibility of hauling "return" materials back to the various SAPA plants to be melted down and reproduced into something useful. This week they had a back haul for me to pick-up at one of our customers in the area called "PermaSteelisa." When I got there it was only one bundle of material weighing about 800 pounds.

So I called my dispatcher and told him that it seemed like a waste of fuel for me to haul this one piece all the way back to Louisiana when the really large customer (Stanley) that we have up there had a whole truck load of returns sitting there waiting to be hauled off. So we made a new plan and I went back to Stanley and picked up what they had, but had them load it so that I could get the one bundle from PermaSteelisa off the trailer without disturbing the rest of the load. The returns from Stanley needed to go to the plant at Cressona, but the other bundle needed to go to Delhi, Louisiana. By doing it this way we could get the fork lift operator at Cressona to take my one bundle off and transfer it to one of our Conestoga trailers sitting there at the plant. This way I can just drop the loaded trailer at Cressona, and not only would I be accomplishing more on this trip, but the company can charge more money for it, and we also get to retrieve one of those nice Conestoga trailers and get it back down to Delhi where we need it to be.

Sometimes you just have to help your dispatcher out like this, after all I am the eyes on the ground at these stops I make, and he wasn't even aware of that whole load of returns up there that needed to be moved.

Here is what these return loads look like. This one is actually pretty clean, but most of the time they are kind of "higgledy piggledy." If they are not secured well the vibrations from the road will cause some of the pieces to start slipping out of position and then you have the potential for losing some of it on the highway. We don't have to tarp these loads, but sometimes I do just to keep some of the smaller pieces from slipping loose and giving me grief. I managed to get this one done with out throwing my tarps on it.

Here is the single bundle that we moved over onto the Conestoga trailer at Cressona, and then hauled it the rest of the way back to Delhi. I looks kind of lonely back there doesn't it?

covered wagon flatbed trailer at SAPA plant" title="single bundle of steel loaded on covered wagon flatbed trailer at SAPA plant">

I looks kind of lonely back there doesn't it?

I don't know. I'm a loner myself so I was thinking it was probably enjoying the peace and quiet and likes having the house to itself. Cook up some popcorn and enjoy a good book maybe?

Hey Bud that load looks really good, I like the way you put a twist in each of the straps so they aren't vibrating in the wind. It's sometimes the little details that can really make a difference in how those flat-bed loads roll down the road.

Thanks, OS! Praise from the master just made my day! It's funny, my trainer never twisted straps, but an old timer told me to do it always, and why. I do it on every load now unless it's super low.

Also, I'm curious about the sheetrock load from Oklahoma. I can't remember the name of that little town in Southern Oklahoma that I used to pick up sheetrock at but the concrete floor of the plant was raised to the height of a flat-bed trailer and when you backed in there to get loaded, your bay was sort of sunken with about two or three inches of clearance on either side of the trailer to get it backed in there. That way the fork lift was rolling right up to your trailer without even having to lift his forks to get your load up on to the trailer. I remember as a rookie going to that plant and thinking "how am I ever going to get this trailer in that hole?"

Does that sound like the same place you picked up at?

I picked this up at Duke, OK. We have a small yard there. I've never gotten a live load at that place, so I'm not sure what their docks look like. This was a repower that was loaded at Georgia Pacific in Acme, Texas, just across the border from Oklahoma. That place has docks like you described where the deck of the trailer is even with the floor. Some of their docks are very narrow, too - like an inch of clearance on either side as you drop into the hole. Could that be it?

Imbedded in a recent reply, Old School pointed out:

"So I called my dispatcher and told him that it seemed like a waste of fuel for me to haul this one piece all the way back to Louisiana when the really large customer (Stanley) that we have up there had a whole truck load of returns sitting there waiting to be hauled off. So we made a new plan and I went back to Stanley and picked up what they had, but had them load it so that I could get the one bundle from PermaSteelisa off the trailer without disturbing the rest of the load.

The returns from Stanley needed to go to the plant at Cressona, but the other bundle needed to go to Delhi, Louisiana. By doing it this way we could get the fork lift operator at Cressona to take my one bundle off and transfer it to one of our Conestoga trailers sitting there at the plant. This way I can just drop the loaded trailer at Cressona, and not only would I be accomplishing more on this trip, but the company can charge more money for it, and we also get to retrieve one of those nice Conestoga trailers and get it back down to Delhi where we need it to be."

"Sometimes you just have to help your dispatcher out like this, after all I am the eyes on the ground at these stops I make, and he wasn't even aware of that whole load of returns up there that needed to be moved."

Could not agree more, with an exclamation point! Dispatchers will not forget a well-placed act of professionalism like this.

Sometimes you gotta get down and dirty. Waiting on a wash now.

Sometimes you gotta get down and dirty. Waiting on a wash now.

We need a wash too! When we got empty at the back of the job site today, we drove out only to find that an excavator had blocked the road we took in with big piles of dirt. It took a half hour for a front end loader to cut us an alternate route out. It had a little bend in it and the mud was slick. I got stuck trying to plow through so the front end loader gave us a tow for about 40 feet until we got out of the slick stuff. Every day's a new adventure!

Picked up a load of drywall in north Texas today. I didn't take a picture of the load, but I did sneak a couple of shots of the well I had to back into, one of the tightest places to get into that I've encountered. Is this the place you were thinking of, Old School?

Here's a pic of the load to Kansas.

Picked up a load of drywall in north Texas today. I didn't take a picture of the load, but I did sneak a couple of shots of the well I had to back into, one of the tightest places to get into that I've encountered. Is this the place you were thinking of, Old School?

That's it Bud! The very place. I had it in my mind that it was Southern Oklahoma just above the border, but I'm sure that is it. Brings back some really good memories of backing into those loading bays. Whoever thinks those flat-bedders don't have to do some challenging backs have never been to some of the places we go to. Gotta love those sheetrock plants!