Reloads for flat trailer in truro

[newmercman]

Moose:
no need to explain about flats as i have owned and operated them since 1998 so i have some basic knowlage on the subject!
thanks for your helpful input though
moose

Oooooo, sarcasm

So you know that a flat trailer is now a specialised piece of equipment, in which case why would you not use that to your advantage

The customer needs a flat trailer to haul goods down into the back of beyond, so you charge accordingly or you line something up to come back with before you take on the job

If you just take on the job and leave it to chance to find a backload that you need because you haven’t charged the job out the right way in the first place then, well, you’re a [zb]ing idiot and although I’m sure you’ll moan that it isn’t your fault, it is your fault, your’s and all the other idiots who invest tens of thousands of pounds in equipment and then run around for two balloons and a goldfish to keep the customer happy

[wheel_nut]

I imagine markwill has tipped, reloaded and hopefully done another couple of decent paying jobs this week too

[goaty]

Tbh it’s been months since i did a proper flatbed load. My psk has been used as a local drop trailer on container transhipments. Still ■■■■■■■■■ of flats leaving Fxt on a daily basis though. ££■■ Mmmm

[markwill]

newmercman:

Moose:
no need to explain about flats as i have owned and operated them since 1998 so i have some basic knowlage on the subject!
thanks for your helpful input though
moose

Oooooo, sarcasm

So you know that a flat trailer is now a specialised piece of equipment, in which case why would you not use that to your advantage

The customer needs a flat trailer to haul goods down into the back of beyond, so you charge accordingly or you line something up to come back with before you take on the job

If you just take on the job and leave it to chance to find a backload that you need because you haven’t charged the job out the right way in the first place then, well, you’re a [zb]ing idiot and although I’m sure you’ll moan that it isn’t your fault, it is your fault, your’s and all the other idiots who invest tens of thousands of pounds in equipment and then run around for two balloons and a goldfish to keep the customer happy

i think you need too get yourself into the real world,

[harry_monk]

If there is so much money to be made by having a flat trailer, how come advertisers in Commercial Motor assemble them into tri-stacks and quote prices including shipping to Walvis Bay?

[own_account_driver]

The reasons there’s not many flats about isn’t because they’re some niche bit of kit, like a trombone or something. It’s mainly because most loads that went on them will go in a curtainsider.

[harry_monk]

Flat trailers are a bit like gas street lighting or black and white televisions, something which worked back in the day but is hopelessly outdated now. There’s a reason virtually no-one runs one any more.

[shuttlespanker]

Harry Monk:
If there is so much money to be made by having a flat trailer, how come advertisers in Commercial Motor assemble them into tri-stacks and quote prices including shipping to Walvis Bay?

because that is where the money is, exporting them

[harry_monk]

shuttlespanker:
because that is where the money is, exporting them

Exactly. People in Namibia are prepared to pay £2,000 for one. They buy them from exporters in England because they aren’t worth a light here. Where on earth anyone gets the idea from that operating a flat trailer in the UK in 2013 would be a sensible business plan is completely beyond me.

[carryfast]

Harry Monk:
Flat trailers are a bit like gas street lighting or black and white televisions, something which worked back in the day but is hopelessly outdated now. There’s a reason virtually no-one runs one any more.

Not many people ever got very rich from doing general haulage either using a curtainsider or a flat.Although I still think that a tilt has both the adavantages of a curtainsider for side or rear loading jobs and a flat for overhead loading.

[moose]

I dont think flat rigid or trailers are outdated at all, true there are less around than say 20/30 years ago but there will be need for flats well into the future
Flats are common in the building products,engineering,farming,logs and oil industry, infact common in industry where you need a driver with a bit of know how
another fact remains due to the shear numbers of curtainsiders on the roads today and the fact that most day to day items fit in one it wont matter if your cargo is worth 2 million or 50 quid the rate from a to b will not be much different when using a c/s couple that to the fact you can just about train a chimp to pull the curtains and aim the thing for a rdc!
for me i will stick to flats and keep well away from the know it all about nothing in the rdc waiting room!

[billybigrig]

Harry Monk:

shuttlespanker:
Where on earth anyone gets the idea from that operating a flat trailer in the UK in 2013 would be a sensible business plan is completely beyond me.

We make good coin with them in addition to the regular stuff

Flats are just a niche these days not main stream. It’s hard to crane through a tin roof and tough to load wide with curtains Those jobs often involve waiting time or as we refer to it… Sitting around getting paid to drink coffee without burning diesel

Beats floggin your nads around heavy all day

[wheel_nut]

Carryfast:

Harry Monk:
Flat trailers are a bit like gas street lighting or black and white televisions, something which worked back in the day but is hopelessly outdated now. There’s a reason virtually no-one runs one any more.

Not many people ever got very rich from doing general haulage either using a curtainsider or a flat.Although I still think that a tilt has both the adavantages of a curtainsider for side or rear loading jobs and a flat for overhead loading.

There you go again, living in 1970

[punchy_dan]

Your not quite right there moose,we carry concrete pipes same as a lot of others the pipes are worth very little and the rate the same,however we also work for customers who make high value goods and pay good money for good service and like to know which driver will be coming to load, that type of customer only have contact with ourselves and no other hauliers ,so a good haulage rate can be upheld.

[harry_monk]

Wheel Nut:
There you go again, living in 1970

Jim the Sausage Factory owner still has a few tilts, they haven’t moved for years, I asked him why he still has them and he said “Every so often, I sell one to a restorer”.

[moose]

i have done the concrete pipe and beams in the past, true the product is not worth a lot i have also done the higher value stuff which did pay more, the fact is i always made more proffit when pulling a flat!
today i dont care if i ever pull a curtain sider ever again, and if i dont have to deliver to an rdc it will be a bonus

[billybigrig]

Moose:
i have done the concrete pipe and beams in the past, true the product is not worth a lot i have also done the higher vale stuff which did pay more, the fact is i always made more proffit when pulling a flat!
today i dont care if i ever pull a curtain sider ever again, and if i dont have to deliver to an rdc it will be a bonus

Spot on Moose. Let the ragside monkeys compete for the peanuts and the flat men make the brass.

[own_account_driver]

It’s still more about awkward loads than flats being niche. Anyone that’s got curtainsiders can quickly have a flat after a quick blast with the angle grinder, if they urgently want one.

[punchy_dan]

The trouble with a flat is convincing a customer you can sheet the load and get it there in same condition if they had previous experience with drivers that cant sheet or got holes in ect, once they had a curtain sider in they somtimes dont want flats again,sad but true.

[wheel_nut]

Harry Monk:

Wheel Nut:
There you go again, living in 1970

Jim the Sausage Factory owner still has a few tilts, they haven’t moved for years, I asked him why he still has them and he said “Every so often, I sell one to a restorer”.

Or chop them down into flats