I’m the other way round. Love flat work hate curtains
That’s what it is,
Big improvements in comfort, power, braking, stability of tractors and trailers making them much better and easier to operate today and I wouldn’t like to loose any of that.
I don’t know if all that tracking/monitoring technology brings anything worthwhile to the party though?
I did a stint of OTR in the States in the nineties and was a bit shocked to see how far behind the European trucks the US gear was from a drivers perspective.
They were very rudimentary boneshakers (Petes & KW’s) that looked pretty and that was on coast to coast work. I was very glad to go back to Euro work.
Has the American gear closed the gap much on our wagons now that they are mostly European owned do you think?
Yes definitely, although I now drive a Volvo, which has European comfort levels anyway. The newer cabs from the US manufacturers have become far more driver friendly and most have the same driveline as their European counterparts now, although their manual transmissions are still Eaton Fuller, so the European lorry still has the edge in that respect, no matter how smooth the change can be when done correctly, there’s no subtlety when you don’t get it right!
Flat trailers are ok for non sheet loads but used to dislike having to hump filthy sheets about in all kinds of weather with very little help clambering up and over loads in various states ( not happen now because of H+S ) used to ■■■■ me right off in euro steel yards were i was roping and sheeting and a euro guy rolls up pops the slide on his roof loads ratchets down and off and im still struggling
so nah ill give the flat renassance a miss thanks
Another negative I thought of about trailers and roping, sheeting etc. is when you pick one up that has the gear on it and the previous driver hasn’t folded the sheets correctly or wound up the rope right… used to really annoy me. I know it’s tough when it’s peeing down etc. and maybe do that till next day or something but I would make sure they were done right if I was handing the trailer over to another driver.
newmercman:
We started out at about the same time, so I know what you mean.The rate of progress has been mental over the last few years, when we started a 420 was as big as you could get, now a 450 high roof with comfort levels and convenience we couldn’t have dreamed of are used on supermarket deliveries.
The downsides are as you mentioned, given the choice I’d take the old boneshakers back and have the job the way it was, even if it did mean roping and sheeting, unfortunately you don’t need rose tinted glasses to see that it was a much better job back then.
Massive +1
Talk of roping and I’ve got to pick up some timber tomorrow on our puddle jumper…Hope they’ve got some old doors etc as I use stuff like this to hold down the load. I hope it’s waste wood because it’s meant to be rain/snow tomorrow and I’m ■■■■■■ if I’m ■■■■■■■ about with ropes and tarpaulins. My attitude is if they want it covered, use a curtainsider.
I’m lazy and yet my BMI is well within healthy levels. 
+++ NEWSFLASH +++
RATCHET STRAPS AVAILABLE FOR 2017
newmercman:
The rate of progress has been mental over the last few years, when we started a 420 was as big as you could get, now a 450 high roof with comfort levels and convenience we couldn’t have dreamed of are used on supermarket deliveries..
Youre not wrong there, when i started out as an O/D i had a 224hp F7 at 40t plus sometimes, yes it struggled but tbh i never thought anything of it. As you say some supermarket trucks (Aldi in particular) are using Volvo FM 440 Globetrotters, average power by todays standards but still a capable distance truck at 44T…
eagerbeaver:
+++ NEWSFLASH +++RATCHET STRAPS AVAILABLE FOR 2017
Found an old one in our container, all seized up. Doused it in wd40 and it was good as new.
No roping needed today, but I don’t know what Oxford commuters thought of the pink carpet being used as a fly sheet. 
Muckaway:
eagerbeaver:
+++ NEWSFLASH +++RATCHET STRAPS AVAILABLE FOR 2017
Found an old one in our container, all seized up. Doused it in wd40 and it was good as new.
No roping needed today, but I don’t know what Oxford commuters thought of the pink carpet being used as a fly sheet.
Probably gained yourself a whole new fanbase Nathan, best stock up with some of that vaseline you mentioned on another thread and brace theesen! 
Back on track, there still seems to be plenty of flatbeds around and I noticed that on a trip up to Scotch Corner last friday and back home on tuesday. Mostly Yorkshire companies, Thorpes etc, steel hauling I guess?
Pete.
Ere we go again ha ha When i was a young whippersnapper…i loved a flat trailer 40 foot of pure muscle…especially with twist locks on…was fantastic in bad weather with that box secured safely on the back…earlier though it was a maximum 27ft only…till it went up to 33 foot…more work for the same money…then the 40 footers came in…then tilts and tauts…then VOSA…who said strap every thing down that can move…no ropes…whereas ropes was used on tons of steel…and even on freightliners when twist locks were not invented…oh the good old days. 
very easy today, but with more eyes watching your every move…lots of comfort…night heaters ( cab heaters wow ) even wipers that dont need string to keep them from moving…or bits of cloth to stop them getting dirty…oh the youngsters have it so easy today
Did someone mention eaton twin splits…Range change with a seperate overdrive switch on the dash, sometimes 2 gear levers for those jobs…NO…thought not,.,.well i wont mention it then.
Didn’t have you down as a pink carpet kind of fella Muckster.
Not one of the Brokeback Mountain crew are you mate?
eagerbeaver:
Didn’t have you down as a pink carpet kind of fella Muckster.Not one of the Brokeback Mountain crew are you mate?
It came out of an upstairs window of the house being gutted…I thought it was a commuter off to the mosque and lost control.
Cant believe that the mention of flatbed trailers would cause such a reaction.
No, I don’t want to go back to the “good ole days” of getting covered in cac sheeting up ,then struggling to maintain 60 mph on the Preston by pass in my sub 600 hp prime mover. I did a couple of days driving over the Xmas break,as my current employer was on shutdown. point I was trying to make was, if I returned to doing general haulage, I would rather not spend whats left of my
time ,listening to horse manure being sprouted in rdc waiting rooms.
As far as ime aware they don’t accept deliveries on flatbeds anymore and life is too short.