Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower pric

RichM · Oct 14, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

Tall, think back and what happened about 2 years ago. Watkins LTL came into the Fedex Family renamed Fedex National LTL. I have seen many reefer pups rebadged from Watkins to Fedex National LTL.
Thats where the reefer freight has gone.

davekc · Oct 14, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

I would agree with Rich and Talcal. There is a market for them, but that is much different than a return on investment. If just looking at rates, I can make alot more with a flatbed than I can with a reefer, and have a fraction of the investment.

Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

arkjarhead · Oct 14, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

PLus with a flatbed you can get a good paying brokered load just about anywhere if you need it and not have to deal with multiple picks and drops, or lumpers.

greg334 · Oct 14, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

So..... should I rip the reefer box off my truck and put a deck on it?

arkjarhead · Oct 14, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

my comment was more t/t than straight truck. most flatbed loads i know of would take more than a six wheeler to haul. If you had a tandem with a tag then you could do a lot more.

davekc · Oct 14, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

Have to get down along the coast. Hotshot and oil rigging loads seldom exceed 10,000lbs.

Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

arkjarhead · Oct 14, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

If you had the axles where you could carry the weight I think you could haul some of the steel coils. They really don't take up much room, but you are looking at least 30k pounds so you would need more than a six wheeler to haul it. There are alot of things that go on flatbed trailers that don't have much volue just weight.

poison · Oct 14, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

hey charlotte just sayin' hi.

don and robin everson

FAMILYEXPDT · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

Absolutley on the flatbed vs reefer.....we are looking to see where we can get flatbed experience so we can pull one ourselves.....we also are going to add tractors after 4 more straight trucks and see what we can do with the whole flatbed model.

-charlotte

p.s. Hello strangers

long time no talk.

greg334 · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

Well I saw one the other day, a flat bed on a FL70 chassis with a sleeper.

Kind of odd but when you think about it, I do have a 10K payload capacity and it would be nothing for me to pull the box off and get a flat bed put on the thing.

I think with the dwindling reefer loads I have seen and the super teams taking all the runs, maybe I will ask what is going on with the FedEx CC flat bed group.

x06col · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

I'd like to watch some of you "experienced" expediters load, tarp, strap, chain for a while. Be bout as entertaining as reading here.
In many cases, wouldn't last long, me tinkin. A little bit different than watching someone place 3 - 4 skids on your truck, and closing the doors. But, please, make the transition, i'd like to read about your adventures. We do a lot of flatbed, but, you need to understand the meaning of that four letter word.

arkjarhead · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

what four letter word sir? tarp? it can be a female dog from time to time. But I enjoyed actually working. And once you get the hang of it it's not that bad unless it's -25 and your tarps are frozen, or the wind is gusing, or it raining cats and dogs.

x06col · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

or?? what else? Yes work is a four letter word too. One that not too many recognize these days.

arkjarhead · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

sorry i was thinking more along the lines of flatbed.

highway star · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

Why tarp? Just get one of those automatic canopy dealies.

x06col · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

Yep, here come the "experienced" expediters already trying to do it easy.

davekc · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

>
>
> I'd like to watch some of you "experienced" expediters
>load, tarp, strap, chain for a while. Be bout as
>entertaining as reading here.
>In many cases, wouldn't last long, me tinkin. A little bit
>different than watching someone place 3 - 4 skids on your
>truck, and closing the doors. But, please, make the
>transition, i'd like to read about your adventures. We do a
>lot of flatbed, but, you need to understand the meaning of
>that four letter word.
=========================================================
That likely is the hardest part. Finding drivers. We ran many flatbeds hauling oil rigging parts until the oil industry went south.
I agree that many current expediters wouldn't be able to handle the particular challenges that running flatbeds have. It is a much different animal than what the typical expediter would see.
On our end it was alot of chaining and ratcheting, but not much tarping.

Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

RichM · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

I have been doing some flatbedding loads lately and you know I kinda enjoy it. The securement makes you work mentally and physically. When I first started I was nervous but now feel seasoned and a pro,probaly lose something tommorrow.LOL

arkjarhead · Oct 15, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

There is nothing to it once you get the hang of it. Plus those automatic canopy thingys as someone called them can be more of a hassle than they are worth. They are bad about hanging up, and if yu pull it the wrong way once it's hung it can rip easy. It not a cheap fix either. Straping and chaining isn't that hard. If I ever drive trucks again I'll be pulling flatbed.

pelicn · Oct 16, 2007

RE: Any Elite drivers getting passed by for lower

:::::WAVING:::::
I admit it, I'm a wimp. This girl just doesn't have the muscles to tarp. Work, on the other hand, I can do. :+