Flatbed Variety

I can't help wondering why that freight was shipped on a flatbed truck. Just seems a smaller vehicle might've been more efficient. What is it I don't know?

When you can get paid the same for 4,800 lb in lieu of 48,000, it's a good day!

Here's 3 titanium rods hauled to NY from CA. My dad advised these are worth big bucks. Nice thing about titanium is no rust action so no tarp action.

Rookie Doyenne,

As I understand it, a heavy weight load like this cannot be put in a dry van because a standard forklift can't load it. Small heavy loads like this are generally loaded with a crane. You can't load a dry van with a crane.

There was another thread that I couldn't find where the driver on this forum took a load that should have been in a flatbed. They had a special forklift at the shipper , but not at the receiver. He had to leave the trailer because the receiver needed to secure a special forklift to extract the load.

Plus, as Spaceman Spiff points out about exposure to elements for titanium, flatbed loads don't require as much protection for the elements. Tarps provide some protection from the elements, but not necessarily as much as a sealed dry van.

Turtle Protege' AKA Rob D wrote in response to Doyenne...

As I understand it, a heavy weight load like this cannot be put in a dry van because a standard forklift can't load it. Small heavy loads like this are generally loaded with a crane. You can't load a dry van with a crane.

There was another thread that I couldn't find where the driver on this forum took a load that should have been in a flatbed. They had a special forklift at the shipper , but not at the receiver. He had to leave the trailer because the receiver needed to secure a special forklift to extract the load.

Plus, as Spaceman Spiff points out about exposure to elements for titanium, flatbed loads don't require as much protection for the elements. Tarps provide some protection from the elements, but not necessarily as much as a sealed dry van.

That's a pretty darn good reply Rob. I'd like to expand upon this a bit...because to me, this is an interesting topic.

Without knowing the underlying Logistical issues to this load, it's very difficult to apply conventional logic and conclude "why" this was the chosen solution. It does seem to be overkill. We (truckers & trucking companies) are an intrinsic part of the supply chain (front-end or back-end) that in many cases must respond and quickly adjust to the Just-In-Time needs of a very demanding customer base. I'd suggest loading this on a 48' or 53' flatbed was due to one of the following; the path of least resistance was taken (as such, smaller equipment; straight truck-stake body for instance, is not practical for OTR coast-to-coast operation) or the customer required the carrier or shipper to expedite 3 rods for reasons that are unspecified (damage from the original larger load, who really knows?). Regardless...Spaceman benefited from whatever circumstance lead to this result.

"Some days you are the bat, some days you are the ball". Cool beans!

As far as some of the equipment explanations; a load like this can easily be "picked" from the side, something impossible to perform with a fully enclosed dry van. "Yes" a crane can be used, however I'd suggest that many loads like this are loaded and unloaded from the side with a forklift designed for such an application. The other tangible reason it's on a flat bed is possibly due to the almost infinite ways it can be secured in place (with downward force), something that becomes far more difficult and precarious within a standard dry van. In addition the floor capacity on most flatbeds is higher than that of a standard dry van. 4800 lbs in a 12 square feet (8' x 16") area is very dense and compact. In contrast the most dense lading I haul in a Walmart dry van is water pallets, each weighing about 2200 lbs, occupying approximately 18 square feet of floor area per pallet. Flatbeds typically have a heavy sub frame running the length of the trailer. Standard dry vans do not.

One last point here...although not as prevalent now, many LTL carriers like ABF, CF (now defunct), Roadway and others had tarp top (aka covered wagon) dry vans that when the tarp is removed, allowed for easy overhead loading and unloading of large objects. These vans were sometimes purpose built or re-purposed from older equipment and relied on a reinforced, heavier gauge top and bottom rail (cord) to compensate for the lack of a full roof that normally completes the overall structural integrity of the van. Some by design also had sub frames, increasing weight capacity ****il the advent of the curtain-side flatbed design). Container shipping companies have similar equipment with 20' and 40' corrugated steel, International Shipping Containers (ISO) that have removable soft tops enabling overhead loading and unloading.

On the topic of small/light loads check out this Thread

Sometimes a shipper fat fingers something or maybe part of a load was cancelled but due to timing they're still on the hook to pay the freight company due to how contract is written so may as well ship the part of it they still want. I've shown up to pick up what I've been told is 20,000 pounds just to find out it's only 1 pallet for 200 pounds. I may be taking that small load a couple hundred miles but I'm headed back to the DC anyways.

Who knows, maybe someone in the office is quitting and trying to cost the company money. Hard to say.

Anytime I hauled a load like this on a flatbed, it literally came down to the receiver’s inability to unload a dry van. It’s the same reason I hauled tons of palletized freight that would have been easier in a dry van-the receiver only had the ability to unload from the side or from above.

Turtle Protege / Rob D., G-Town, Rob T. & andhe78 - thank you for your rich responses. It was really worth my while to put aside some other things I'm doing this AM and expand my trucking world knowledge!

Heard a good flatbed joke today.

Guy says “ I have 8 kids so that makes me a true flatbedder”

How does that make you a true flatbedder?

Guy says “I hate tarting and don’t know how to back up”

Yall I am heading into my own truck Lord willing on Tuesday! Im excited and nervous like crazy cause I want to do well but just did not have a whole lot of time under flatbed. I took time off to see my parents and Grandparents and then Monday I am heading to Liberty University, where I will be in August to attend and get my bachelors in Aeronautical Science with a Military Cognate and I plan on doing it in the accelerated pace so I can get my bachelors around 28 years old and then jump into the Navy or Airforce. Im excited to see what is in store this year! God bless and I will do better in updating you all!

Yall I am heading into my own truck Lord willing on Tuesday! Im excited and nervous like crazy cause I want to do well but just did not have a whole lot of time under flatbed. I took time off to see my parents and Grandparents and then Monday I am heading to Liberty University, where I will be in August to attend and get my bachelors in Aeronautical Science with a Military Cognate and I plan on doing it in the accelerated pace so I can get my bachelors around 28 years old and then jump into the Navy or Airforce. Im excited to see what is in store this year! God bless and I will do better in updating you all!

I wish you WELL, for sure. Glad to see you back around. Please keep us posted / updated, however things pan out~!!!

This should be in the 'epic fail' thread, but I can't find it... just posted it as a photo in the 'office window' thread, a while back. Anyway:

What say YOU flatbedders, OLD SCHOOL AND TURTLE PLEASE REPLY!! G'town your wisdom is insurmountable, so this means you too!

I was running w/the hubby this day; we were stopped (as you can see) , getting ready to turn right, but sure wasn't gonna fall in behind THAT guy. We went straight; reclaimed our lane.. (see, we were set up for a buttonhook...) and .. well.. this guy got the pilot cars and escorts he SHOULD have had, (via the OHP, now!) ... before he started his journey. They pulled him into the coop just up the road to the right; we took a longer way to the interstate.