Every day, scores of truck drivers drive the highways and byways of the United States. They drive tons of freight locally, intrastate, interstate and across the nation. While some drivers are at the wheel of refrigerated units, cube vans, semis and larger rigs, some are handling a flatbed. Freight brokers are responsible for making the arrangements and ensuring the right type of vehicle, including flatbeds, is there to handle the load.
What Are Flatbed Trucks?
Flatbed trucks are trucks without sides or a roof. They are, literally and figuratively flat from the cab on back. This level bed is for specific types of goods. It is designed to carry:
* Pipes
* Metal
* Lumber
* Heavy machinery
* Construction equipment
* Vehicles
* Loads that require more space than a confined and walled truck can provide
In fact, a flatbed can easily transport long, large and heavy items. It is not for anything that is fragile or susceptible to the weather. Flatbed freight brokers understand that and know exactly what is involved in the process of a trip.
What It Involves
Hauling a flatbed truck is not an easy way for a driver to make a living. It involves physicality. Unlike other trucks, a driver has to ensure the load is secure by making sure it is “tied” down. This the driver accomplishes by utilizing and then examining and rechecking the chains and straps that restrain the load. The driver may also place a tarp over the load.
At the end of the journey, when the driver delivers the load of freight, he or she must set about undoing what he has done. The chains may have become wet along the way. They may be icy and slippery. Nevertheless, the driver must ensure the freight is secured and then released – even if it means crawling all over the truck in the most foul of weather possible.
Watching over all this is the government. Rules govern the placement and employment of these devices. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has explicit regulations concerning flatbeds and loads. They even govern the technique. Failure to comply can result in fines.
Flatbed Freight Brokers
While drivers do the actual physical driving, they owe their freight and the management of their services to a broker. This saves drivers and their companies from scrambling in a competitive market for the best jobs and highest paying routes. They make sure such details as the logistics of the trip including whether the flatbed can connect and have a full load on return. Flatbed freight brokers are there to ensure the load they secure for the company and its drivers is suitable for the medium transporting it.
