First Year Solo. Knight Flatbed

Hey man, hope all is well

I have not been keeping up with this on a regular basis. Didn't realize a month went by since my last post. Time is definitely flying by out here. I'm staying busy and running hard. Possibly running too hard because I feel drained at the end of the day. I am running my 11 all the way down between 21 minutes and an hour each day. My days consist of loading, driving, eating, showering, sleeping and repeating. I'm so tired at the end of the day that I crash hard. Maybe I should change that routine.

But all is well for me out here. To date I have 102,405 miles for the year. I didn't think I would reach 100k before Dec 28th. It's a good feeling knowing I accomplished that. The last time I posted my smart drive score was through the roof and I have it at 2 right now. Feels good getting the safety bonus again haha. Right now I'm in VA finishing up a 5 stop run. I delivered to 3 stops today and have 2 more in Atkins tomorrow. This is on a Conestoga so it's not bad but to be honest I wouldn't mind if it was on a flatbed. The extra tarp pay would have looked nice on my settlement haha.

Not sure what else to add here as to not be repetitive. The days are all the same. I get loaded, drive, get unloaded, do a backhaul, if any then repeat the next day... Ah, I did go to a new place. Last week I went to Minnesota for the first time. That is the farthest West I have been. Did a back to back delivery to the same place in Blaine. Yesterday my DM called because he thought I got back to Cressona too fast. I had a 6 am appointment on Monday and was finished by 7am. I received an empty load assignment back to Cressona and arrived the next day, Tuesday around 1:30pm. When I put my empty call in he called and interrogated me haha. I was expecting a good job or something but no, he didn't believe I did that trip legally. I guess the only illegal thing I did was not go on duty while getting unloaded. I parked there the night before and didn't start my clock until I received my next assignment. Yes, I am aware thats a no no and I have to be on duty while working.

My first year is quickly approaching. In a few more days I will have completed my first full year solo. Its been fun, it has definitely been frustrating and its been interesting. Hopefully I will be on time for my last post for this thread in 6 days haha. Hope you all enjoy the holiday and stay safe out there on the road

I’m really happy for you! Glad you stuck it out.

Happy new year, hope all is well

Sometimes I think if we aren't hearing from TwoSides11 then he's doing fine. I hope that's the case.

Sometimes I think if we aren't hearing from TwoSides11 then he's doing fine. I hope that's the case.

I hope so, too.

Sometimes I think if we aren't hearing from TwoSides11 then he's doing fine. I hope that's the case.

I appreciate the concern. All in all I am well. Of course I have those frustrating days but I try to push through. Happy New Years to you all

Well the first year is now completed. It went by faster than I thought. A little late with the post because I was sick last week. Not sure if it was Covid because I never got tested but I felt horrible. Feeling much better now, just have a runny nose.

The end of the year didn't end in a good way. I got into a argument with my DM before the New Year because he gave me a backhaul on my scheduled hometime. I put in hometime for Dec. 29th, 2 weeks prior to that date. I was in Illinois on the 28th and when I completed my run he gave me a load assignment for a pick up on the 29th in WV. I refused to get it. The entire time of working here he always gave me a backhaul on the day I requested to be home. I never complained about it. I just did the backhaul and went home the following day. But since this was the holiday, I had plans with family and I told him no. I told him he never respects my hometime requests and his response was "because I never give a specific time I wanted to be home" He also said I only stay out for 2 weeks and my production is low. I lost my cool after he said that. The truth is, I stay out for 4-5 weeks. I was able to pass 100k miles before my year anniversary, I average 10k miles a month and I netted a little over 80k. I don't think those numbers are possible only staying out 2 weeks at a time, doing flatbed... I refused the load and he threatened to remove me from the flatbed division and said I wouldn't get paid if I came back empty. At the time it was fine with me because I will always pick family over this job. His threats were obviously bull**** because I got paid those empty miles and I'm still on the flatbed division. My DM is a condescending, arrogant, selfish A-hole. I can no longer work with him. This week I will be actively putting in applications to other companies. My time here is quickly coming to an end.

But on a brighter note.... This year was very interesting. I have learned a lot and there is still much more to learn. There have been good days and of course not so good days. There have been days I felt proud of what I was doing and days where I wanted to quit. But overall this experience has been good. Flatbed is a different kind of animal. I'm always dirty, my truck has to be cleaned everyday and the weather can make working unbearable. The rain and snow make the tarps 10 times heavier. The cold freezes the tarps and they are hard to fold. The wind will disrespect the progress you made when folding the tarps and the summer heat makes it feel like hell on earth. Can't ask for anything better haha.

I should have posted pictures while posting but I will do it now.

Big thanks to Chief Brody and others for introducing me to the fold technique. I can say with confidence that this is the one thing I have mastered...

Now onto my tarps. They are hit and miss some days but I have gotten a lot better as time went on. The taller loads still give me some problems with air pockets though.

This happened a few weeks ago. Scared the crap out of me

Great to read that you have stuck with it in flatbed for an entire year. That's a major accomplishment! Sean still your DM?

How did th hose two tires problem happen?

I have been driving for a year now and what is funny to me is that everytime I hop in my car to go home I still think its the truck. I have noticed on many occasions that I keep a healthy following distance. Something I have never done before. I also stay in the right lane on the turnpike and I reach for the jake break that isn't there when I slow down. All I end up doing is turning on my wipers which makes me laugh.

Well, it is now time to put this thread to rest. Thank you all for following my journey and for the support. I appreciate all of the advice I was given throughout the year. This site has been a major help to me. Again, thank you all!!!!

Ah, almost forgot about backing.... My backing has greatly improved. In the beginning I couldn't get in between two trucks and now I can't park straight unless I am parking between two trucks.... go figure....

Happy New Years everyone. Stay safe out there. Shiny side up!