So I Failed At Flatbed (not Really)

"Of all the things involved in flatbedding, tarping will be the thing to eventually chase me out. To me it has the highest risk for the lowest pay. But I'll admit when I finish a particularly hard tarp job I'm kinda proud. Yeah I know, who notices?

Well, another flatbedder would notice I guess. But i digress..."

Well, Turtle, I've never tarped a flatbed load, but i know how dangerous, dirty and taxing it is. I notice a neat tight job, especially on an awkwardly shaped load, and mentally tip my hat to the driver. And then remind myself I'm glad it was him not me. I'll just as easily spot a haphazard flapping-in-the-breeze ruin-the-tarp job as well. More people are noticing if the flatbedder takes pride in his work, or was in a hurry or is just sloppy than you probably think.

To ALL new drivers out there: ^^^THIS^^^ is how you change jobs. If you decide what you are doing or the division you are in isn't really for you, find what you want/need then change divisions WITHIN YOUR COMPANY, that way you can give a division a TRIAL RUN and if you find its not for you, then you can move to another division within your company, that way you don't look like a job hopper and you still have a lot of opportunities.

While I agree that he handled it well, company policies vary on letting drivers switch divisions. For example, if you wanted to try flatbed (CRST's Malone division) it wouldn't be as simple as talking to your FM and making the switch. You would have to quit CRST for 6 months then reapply as an external applicant to the Malone division.

if you wanted to try flatbed (CRST's Malone division) it wouldn't be as simple as talking to your FM and making the switch. You would have to quit CRST for 6 months then reapply as an external applicant to the Malone division.

That's an incredibly rare exception. Most companies are delighted to let a proven driver change divisions. Whatever keeps drivers around and makes them happy.

That setup at CRST sounds like some sort of a anti-poaching agreement after a buyout or something. Whatever their structure is, it's certainly not the normal setup you'll find at most major carriers.

Well not really. Anyway after almost 9 months of doing flatbed at Prime I have decided flatbed is not for me. The good thing about Prime is the many different divisions we have so I can still stay with them. I really love Prime and enjoy working here. I plan to finish my year up here in October and still have no plans of looking at other companies. I talked to my FM and told him my feelings and that I wanted to make the switch to the tanker division. So last week he brought me into Springfield and I went through our tanker bootcamp we have here. It was a lot of information and we had a test at the end. We did a written test as well as pump on and pump off product on our own. I passed both so did not have to do any additional time with a trainer since i have over 6 months solo here. I just completed my first tanker load delivering some Palm Oil to Chicago today.

Tanker is very different. To begin with the surge is very real. I always heard about it and just thought it wasn't too bad. No its very bad but as I get better and more used to shifting with the surge and just overall driving smoother and controlling my stops and starts that part will get much better. I enjoy the physical part of tanker also as far and pumping and being out of the truck doing physical activity. I also enjoyed flatbed but it was way more work than I ever anticipated it to be. Plus the constant worrying over my load securement didn't make it much better. My hats off to the flatbedders on here you have my upmost respect. I gave it my all for almost 9 months but I feel like our tanker division is a much better fit for me in the end.

Again Prime has been good to me and giving me so many opportunity's to learn so many new things I will forever be grateful to them. This is why I worked with them to still stay here with them just do a different division.

To ALL new drivers out there: ^^^THIS^^^ is how you change jobs. If you decide what you are doing or the division you are in isn't really for you, find what you want/need then change divisions WITHIN YOUR COMPANY, that way you can give a division a TRIAL RUN and if you find its not for you, then you can move to another division within your company, that way you don't look like a job hopper and you still have a lot of opportunities.

Icecold24k, Sir, my friend, you did NOT fail. YOU STUCK with it for 9 mos before deciding it wasn't for you and you moved within your company. You sir handled this the way we always encourage people to do here at TruckingTruth. Kudos to you and you have my utmost respect for sticking with it as long as you did. Some drivers don't even make it a month in flatbed. You did it for 9 mos. Its NOT an easy job. Thanks for your service on here.

Thank you so much for the kind words and the encouragement. I am happy to stay with Prime. They took a chance on me to get me my CDL and hire me and I owe them for that I refuse to back out of my obligation to them especially how accommodating and good they have been to me.

You are so welcome. EVERY DAY you are out there sir turnin those miles, you truly are a blessin to this industry. I just wish I had that level of determination when I was driving before.

Everything Brett said here is so on point! Trucking is demanding. It's easy for an entry level driver to confuse the demanding realities of the career and let those demands make them think they've chosen the wrong company or type of freight to pull. To do this right, and make some decent money, takes considerable commitment, more than most newbies realize.

Yes i do agree it is demanding and takes a lot of commitment especially the first year. It can be very tough. I feel I am truly committed to what I am doing. I have done well at prime in the 9 months I have been here. I just made the decision and realized that I simply was not cut out for flatbed. I just do not want to perform that level of physical activity on a daily basis and decided to switch to our tanker division and try it out because I am committed to Prime and enjoy working here.

Good luck in the tanker division at Prime... I notice your trucks on the road.

Thanks a lot for that!!!!

I'm sure you'll do real well man. I completely understand where you're coming from. Flatbedders are crazy, that's why they're flatbedders!

Tanker has some of the physical aspect to it, and I'm assuming you were drawn by the physical aspect of flatbedding in the first place. Hopefully you will find just the right mix of being slammed around by your freight, dragging hoses around, and climbing ladders repeated times just to make sure you've vented your tank, to give you a more desirable experience with your career.

Best of luck to ya! Man, we hate to lose these good flatbedders to tanker jobs.

I'm sure you'll do real well man. I completely understand where you're coming from. Flatbedders are crazy, that's why they're flatbedders!

Tanker has some of the physical aspect to it, and I'm assuming you were drawn by the physical aspect of flatbedding in the first place. Hopefully you will find just the right mix of being slammed around by your freight, dragging hoses around, and climbing ladders repeated times just to make sure you've vented your tank, to give you a more desirable experience with your career.

Best of luck to ya! Man, we hate to lose these good flatbedders to tanker jobs.

I'm sure if I make another 'Adventures of Daniel B.- Tanker Edition' we tanker yankers may be able to take more flatbedders away from you!

I'm sure you'll do real well man. I completely understand where you're coming from. Flatbedders are crazy, that's why they're flatbedders!

Tanker has some of the physical aspect to it, and I'm assuming you were drawn by the physical aspect of flatbedding in the first place. Hopefully you will find just the right mix of being slammed around by your freight, dragging hoses around, and climbing ladders repeated times just to make sure you've vented your tank, to give you a more desirable experience with your career.

Best of luck to ya! Man, we hate to lose these good flatbedders to tanker jobs.

Thanks! Yes for sure my hats off to flatbedders. You guys have my upmost respect.

I'm sure if I make another 'Adventures of Daniel B.- Tanker Edition' we tanker yankers may be able to take more flatbedders away from you!