Flatbed Variety

This was a "reely" big load. It was as tall as the cab. Plastic pipe going to Canada, eh. Twelve chains and binders in 97-degree sunshine. Fun!

Flatbedders will often find they have to pull/back into a building to load/unload

Being inside a building was always a strange feeling to me. It felt like I was somewhere I didn't belong or something, like having an elephant in a living room. I didn't mind, of course, especially on a rainy day. But seeing big rigs inside a building just always seemed strange.

Flatbedders will often find they have to pull/back into a building to load/unload

Being inside a building was always a strange feeling to me. It felt like I was somewhere I didn't belong or something, like having an elephant in a living room. I didn't mind, of course, especially on a rainy day. But seeing big rigs inside a building just always seemed strange.

I have to do that routinely both at Firestone in Deforest, WI, and at Hunter in Chicago. It is sometime fun to watch flatbedders try to back up their truck.

Flatbedders will often find they have to pull/back into a building to load/unload

Being inside a building was always a strange feeling to me. It felt like I was somewhere I didn't belong or something, like having an elephant in a living room. I didn't mind, of course, especially on a rainy day. But seeing big rigs inside a building just always seemed strange.

Maybe Old School will grace us with a picture of his truck inside the building in Cressona. I'll try to remember to get a pic of the building in Pueblo where they sometimes load the slinky coils. I always feel like I'm in a movie there, waiting for the bad guys to show up.

Here's a load of steel brackets etc., going to SLC and the Bay Area in Cali (four stops). On Monday my student will drive Donner Pass with this load, if I don't chicken out and decide to drive it myself.

We picked up 5 bridge beams on Friday and delivered them this morning. Had to back a mile down a dirt road to the cranes as there was no place to turn around down there that did not have water in it.

This last photo is a picture of the crane crew doing a pick and pass. With no bridge we have no way to get one end of the beam to the other side of the creek. The trailer is located on the right side of the crane. They pick the far side off the trailer and swing that end around, we then back the truck along side the crane and he hands off the other end of the beam to the crane that is over there. He then swings back and picks the end off of the truck and we get out of the way for the next truck to come in. These were little beams at about 80k each.

Pick and pass sounds just a little scary, Pat!

Here's our load back to Springfield where my student will test out early next week, onions from California and ultimately on to PA.

Pick and pass sounds just a little scary, Pat!

Here's our load back to Springfield where my student will test out early next week, onions from California and ultimately on to PA.

EEEEWWW You bumped a dock...LOL

Pick and pass sounds just a little scary, Pat!

Here's our load back to Springfield where my student will test out early next week, onions from California and ultimately on to PA.

EEEEWWW You bumped a dock...LOL

Yeah, and they took an hour and a half to start loading!

My student backed it in, so good practice for him...:except he's going tanker, so I doubt he'll ever bump a dock again lol.

Maybe Old School will grace us with a picture of his truck inside the building in Cressona.

As you wish Bud, here I am - I picked up a back haul load at Cressona, PA two days ago. This load went to Unicoi, TN. I actually end up inside of buildings quite often in my truck. One of the most memorable buildings for me was a new Distribution Center being built in Shippensburg, PA. I made several different trips to that place. First I hauled some of the concrete tilt wall sections to the job site, and then later I brought some of the steel girders that spanned across from wall to wall for the support of the roof panels, which I also brought a load of later on. Then my final trip there was a load of the shelving for the palletized goods that they kept in storage inside the building.

This is where I am backed up inside the building at Cressona to pick up my pre-loaded trailer.

Here I am after I have pulled out of the tarping station. They have strict rules at these SAPA plants, one of which is that you cannot get up on your trailer. You must be in their tarping station to get on your trailer. You can see in this photo that my tarps are on and you can see the two trucks in the background that are in the tarping station, The other truck over on the right hand side is waiting his turn to back into the tarping station. There were approximately six or seven of us in the building on this particular night.