Experienced Dry Van Driver Switching To Flatbed All And Any Advice Welcome.

Hey guys I drove dry van for 3 years and I'm seriously considering switching to flatbed I've got a real good work ethic so the manual loading and unloading of the job doesn't scare me none lol but seriously before I get into this id like some advice from all you experienced flatbedders out there to a youngster starting in this area of business any and all help would be greatly appreciated thanks!

Hey Stephen I did the exact same thing! I started my career pulling reefer , then spilled dry van for a while, then made the switch to flatbed. At this point, it would almost take an act if God to get me to switch back! I absolutely love flatbed.

My advice is to go for it. Not sure who you drive for, but if they have a flatbed division and you're satisfied with the company, make the switch and see how you like it.

Being an experienced driver, the learning curve won't be as steep as you might think. You already know the physics of the truck, and I'm sure you understand time management and dealing with shippers and receivers. That all stays pretty much the same, you've just gotta learn the best methods for keeping the freight attached to the trailer lol.

Yeah I know all about time management and such lol thanks for your reply bud appreciate it the entire concept of load securement is intimidating to me though that part is rather important isn't it? lol

Hey Stephen, we have some excellent teaching materials for load securement. You can find them in our High Road CDL Training Program. They are absolutely free to use and you will learn a lot by working your way through both sections.

You may also both enjoy the read, and learn a few things about flat bed work by reading this thread on Flat Bed Variety. It's a classic!

Load securement is one of those things that in my opinion, looks more complicated than it really is. There are multiple ways to secure every different load, but they can all be boiled down to one simple concept: restrict the movement of the load in all directions. No matter what the load is, you want to keep it from moving forward and backwards, side to side, and bouncing. Just keep that in mind at all times.

Whatever company you start doing flatbed with, as long as they know you've never done flatbed, will teach you the basics, and they'll teach you specifics of how you haul certain loads that are typical for them.

There are lots of videos on YouTube showing different securement methods on different loads, but they all follow the same basic principles.

So yeah it definitely feels complicated when you're looking from the outside, but with a little bit of training, you'll start looking at loads from a distance and know exactly how they need to be secured.

1. Never get less than eight hours of sleep.
2. Never play cards with anyone named after a city.
3. Never sleep with a woman that has a tattoo of a dagger.

Hey, you said any advice welcome... 😎

Thanks so much for your help guys! helps a lot! yes..."any" advice lol