Walking Floor Drivers?

I ran live floor trailers when I first started driving about 10 years ago. Also pulled a lot with what we called pusher blades.

My stuff was local work hauling garbage, with a company I had already been employed with before I got my class A, so much of my experience isn't really relevant to what you want to know. But there are a few things I remember.

Great thing was what we hauled. Seems that traffic would always give a wide berth to a smelly truck dripping garbage water out the back, and in a very sadistic way it would sometimes be amusing to watch the reactions of those in convertables who pulled up next to us at a light after my load had been baking in the Florida sun. Also really nice to not have to worry about the product in the trailer, since nobody cared (if it was even possible) if the product got damaged.

Downside was the tarps, since they could often be a hassle if the trailer wasn't loaded up enough that you could walk on top of it, or if you were in a position where you needed to pull the tarp over the empty trailer. We also sometimes hauled recyclables, which meant me had to climb inside the rancid trailer to sweep it out and get what little bit of product didn't come out on it's own.

Many of the jobsites were rough. If the pay were right, I'd do it again driving someone else's truck, but it beat up the truck enough that I would never let the thought of doing it in a truck I owned cross my mind. However, the people you deal with are very different from your standard shipper/receiver you would come across pulling vans, and in my experience are much better to deal with, with very little waiting time.

I'll also add that I consider this a much better option than a dump trailer. I just remember that all of us drivers were jealous of a brand new Pete daycab that one of the other companies had just purchased, and we were all drooling over it. Then, after that truck had only been on the road for about two weeks, I pull up to the dump site to see it lying on it's side. Seems that the little off camber of the dumpsite was just enough to tip their combo over when they raised their dump bed. Destroyed the entire passenger side, and after they removed it, there was left a pile of broken glass and chunks of perfectly painted fiberglass.

 

I would go easy on loading pallet freight on most live floors. they are designed to be light so cross members and flooring are made of very light material that does not do well with repeated fork lift traffic. If you do load pallets place slip sheets under the first four if your going to walk them off. Also tell the loader if he bends your nose guard (angled metal at the front floor with rubber seal against floor) he will need a nose guard once that is bent up fine materials ( soy meal, salt, DAP, wheat mids, rice hulls........) will leak every time you hit the brakes.

 

I pull vans now, running a regional/dedicated sort of thing where I am home every weekend. I average between 2000-3000 miles a week.

When I pulled walking floors, it was local and I was home every night. Three loads a day, always from the same starting point, to any one of three destinations which were all located right next to each other. Paid hourly, and just to simplify a long story, lets just say that I was overpaid for what I did. However, that was also in Florida, so what makes great pay down there would be mediocre elsewhere in the country (but, if I did it somewhere else, it would have paid more).

No real comparison between what I did then and what I do now, because they were so different. What I do now is easier, but I miss being home every night.

 

When I worked for Volunteer Trucking, our county had the landfill shutdown. My company got a contract to haul the garbage to the next county. I come off the road and took the job. The county bought two brand new walking floor trailers. I would haul one and by the time I got back, the other trailer would be full. It was a fun job that paid $150 a day. Which isn't bad for TN. The county was able to reopen the landfill a couple months later and there went that job. Back on the road! Someone got two new walking floor trailers cheap.

 

A monkey can run one. Not many ropes. You have a hydraulic reservoir and you have to hook/unhook them lines if you are swapping trailers.
As you unload, you have to ease forward a couple times as the load comes out. If you are going in landfills, carry a big logging chain with you as you will get stuck at times. The dozer or compactor will give you a bump many times, but sometimes you'll need the chain.

 

Does anyone know of any Co in Florida that is looking for owner operator with walking floor trailer to hire. I have experience hauling Mulch, Chips, Bark, Demolition, and trash. Would much appreciate any information you can give me. Thank You.

 

50.00 a day,,,,,,,,,,,,,stay in bed