Step By Step Observations Of A Flatbed Load

Today went pretty much as planned. That's always a good thing in trucking. While running this load, you've probably noticed my pattern of arriving near my stops the evening or afternoon prior to delivery day. It's a good strategy that helps eliminate last minute problems that can cause delays.

Today I did just what I said yesterday. I pulled up to the customer's gate at 0545. I had to wait a few minutes while a dry-van driver pulled away from the dock, got his doors closed, and headed out. It was all my show at that point.

I backed into the designated flatbed spot they have painted on the pavement, and as soon as I had things ready they started working. I had re-strapped everything and was out of the gate by 0645. The forklift operator rearranged those two troublesome bundles and I never had to make any adjustments for the rest of the day.

I stopped for some breakfast and then made another stop around 1300 for fuel and a shower. I drove 500 miles today and parked at a Casey's truck stop in Muscatine, IA. My customer is just about three blocks away. I have an appointment for 0400.

After removing 13 bundles at my first stop, my load now looks like this. Remember me telling you how they loaded it? That keeps it relatively balanced after removing the materials at the first stop.

I'll let you know how tomorrow goes and we will probably wrap this up. So far it's been a solid week. I'll get back in here as soon as I can.

Once again I formed a plan, then got it done. I'm not bragging. I just want folks to see how you succeed at this career. There are so many miserable truckers out here. It's really sad to me. I love this job. It's like a sports game to me. I know everyday what kind of opposition I'm going to face and I put a strategy together to win. Winning makes life a lot more rewarding. Knowing how to win makes the challenges more endearing. It's all part of a grand adventure for me.

I started my pre-trip inspection at 0330 this morning. By 0355 I was setting my brakes at my customer. They got me unloaded and by the time I had rolled up all my straps, shut my Conestoga, sent in my macros, and scanned in my paperwork, I was heading out for my next assignment at 0455.

Here's a shot of Leroy, the forklift operator getting it done in the dark!

When I woke up this morning they had three back to back pre-plans set up for me. The first one gets me back to Delhi, LA. The second is a two stop load from Delhi to Memphis, TN and Thomasville, NC. The third is running MT from Thomasville to Washington, NC. From there I am picking up some material going back to the plant in Delhi.

After finishing this morning's load, I have 3,266 miles for this week's pay. That's a fairly typical week for me on this account. I always run recaps and that works well for me.

Tonight I'm sleeping in Tunica, MS. I'll start my day very early tomorrow. We are just as busy as ever. If anybody is interested, we are always looking for drivers.

Hey, thanks for following along this week. I hope you found something interesting, and maybe even picked up a few pointers along the way.

That picture of the forklift unloading your truck was helpful to me. I wondered what is done with the steel tubing along the sides to get it out of the way for the forklift. But I’d appreciate it if you could further explain just how that works.

I've really contemplated switching to flatbed numerous times. Honestly the main thing holding me back is early am. I generally am most comfortable running late nights til about 4 or 5 am. But it is something that I can change. I do flip around my schedule frequently. I'm assuming you need a high degree of versatility with your sleep paterns to be successful in flatbed. I also have had runs of early am appointments that I just incorporated into my night program by running til 9 or 10 am. Wondering if that might work?