Too small to tarp a flatbed?

Can you lift your own weight? Lumber tarps (8' drops with a front flap) weight 120-140. Now, most places will lift them up with the forklift, however, you will still need to be able to lift them about 6' up to the deck of your trailer then into your headache rack if its an enclosed one once you get it rolled up. Ive seen small guys lift tarps, its about lifting correctly. Or, go to a truck stop and ask a flatbedder to lift his tarp. Blackw900 said it the best, flatbedding really aint for sissys. Go read redd's thread 'so you wanna skayeboard', it is a great description of the job. Its hard work but very rewarding. If its not for you, just bump docks.

Sidenote- i dont if i got blackw900's quote or redd's thread name word for word. I just came off a 13 hour day, cut me some slack.

 

I have trained smaller guys on flatbeds. Most of the time there is someone with a forklift to move your tarps around, either up onto a load, or onto the trailer when you make a delivery. Some companies do keep the tarps in a compartment on the headache rack, some just on the trailer, some in boxes under the trailer, and some in boxes under the truck. The companies with boxes are usually the easiest, because the most you will have to do is lift one end at a time. You might want to pick a company that has van and flatbed fleets, that way if the flatbed thing didn't work out you could switch to van. Good luck with whatever you do!!!

 

Where there's a will, there's a way. I've known women smaller than you who pull flatbeds. Sometimes, they just have to get a little creative, is all. I've watched drivers set up a couple 2x4, and use them as a ramp to roll their lumber tarps onto the trailer, for example.

 

the hardest part of runnin a skateboard is dealing with the weather... tarps are just an bump in the road. Ive seen guys that look like a puff of wind would blow them down state toss skirts like nothing. its all technique. most places will load your tarps for ya if you ask but dont count on it every time. if your in good shape dont worry about it, in 6 months youll be whipped into great shape and be thinking hmmm and to think i thought this would be hard.

 

OK, first thing you gotta do is tell your "buddies" to F Off. I grew up listening to that crap and it's bs all the way.

Everybody laughed when I started trucking; "You can't do that. You're too puny, too weak." Well guess what? 38 years later I'm still here. I've done just about everything there is to do, including lots of years flatbedding. If I lacked the physical strength to do something I used my head and thought of a different way. Think of simple machines; levers, fulcrums, winches. That's what those things were invented for.... to multiply strength.

Right now I'll be 64 in a few days, weigh in at around 160-170 and I can still do anything I set my mind to. I've outworked a good many of the "weightlifter" strong boys and put more than a few on their ### when their mouth got too much for their brain.

What I want you to do right now is go look in a mirror and say "HELL YES!! If Kitty can do it I can do it"..... because you sure as hell can.

 

Good post work smarter not harder

 

I was at a jobsite the other day and there was a skateboarder there I was talking to ,about 5' 8" maybe 175lbs. The guy was 73 years old! He told me ya just have to work smarter the older ya get. I got a lotta respect for guys like that.

 

It isn't about the size of the dog in the fight its about the size of the fight in the dog.

The only person who can figure out if you can do it or not is you. Give em hell!