kr79:
If he is still going is he using the same MO now?
Back in the 70s and 80s I can see the logic when there was a lot more general flat traffic about.
Maybe there are some differences now compared to then.But in that example it was definitely a case of the opposite of the situation in that the flat work was in the minority compared to the side/rear loaded jobs of the type which you described which would now be done by curtainsider most of the time.
The main difference between then and now being that industrial stillages type jobs were mixed with pallet loads and crates in many cases all still being done on flats even well into the 1980’s just as they’d have been done in the 1950’s/60’s.Trust me at that time there were plenty of times when I was loading and tipping in yards with a tilt,with those types of load,where other drivers were still using flats not curtainsiders.No surprise that it was me who got all the stick about being a lucky zb when I just needed to put the drop sides up,throw some ropes over the load,cover back down,cord through and job done and reverse of that to tip.
As far as I know he’s probably long gone now although his family might have carried the business on after he’d retired although by then I didn’t care because I didn’t stay long because of that argument about hours and got back onto trunking.But no surprise his old yard in Byfleet is now a housing estate.
kr79:
Using Harry for an example I don’t know if Gregory’s do any flat work but say they do a job comes in they are not going to ring Harry say swap trailers and do this load they will give it to one of there flat hauliers or sub it out ad hoc.
I’ve never seen a flat trailer in a Gregory yard or behind one of their tractor units, so if they do get any flat work then I imagine they sub it out although they are a distribution company and not a general haulier and don’t take on spot-hire work as far as I can tell.
I would buy a flat trailer if I was offered flat trailer work in sufficient amounts to make it worth running one, but that’s unlikely to happen.
Flats do demand a premium now, I was talking to day to a MD of a company who runs mainly tauts - but still has a large fleet of flats and extenders to cover one contract, and spot hire customers, he says and I quote " the rates for flat work has grown far beyond the rate increases for tauts", To the point where their focus at the moment is to look for new flat work rather than distribution work which is their bread and butter.
I also disagree with carryfast, the tilt belongs in a bygone era- most general loads today are packaged to fit into a container or taut, a tilt only adds a weight and time disadvantage over a sliding roof taut. if its out of gauge than its a flat load, - you will lose more time and weight on the vast majority of runs just in case at some point in the future you have to strip down the tilt to a flat- doesnt make economic sense to run one
I’ve never seen a Gregory truck with a flat trailer, much less one with a Moffett Mounty on the back. Perhaps they operate from Minworth, which is more-or-less a separate entity.
kr79:
Using Harry for an example I don’t know if Gregory’s do any flat work but say they do a job comes in they are not going to ring Harry say swap trailers and do this load they will give it to one of there flat hauliers or sub it out ad hoc.
I’ve never seen a flat trailer in a Gregory yard or behind one of their tractor units, so if they do get any flat work then I imagine they sub it out although they are a distribution company and not a general haulier and don’t take on spot-hire work as far as I can tell.
I would buy a flat trailer if I was offered flat trailer work in sufficient amounts to make it worth running one, but that’s unlikely to happen.
i thought hayton coulthard was part of gregorys, they run flat trailers
markwill:
haha you not kidding, a simple question turned into a full on debate,
Well you started it
It’s a good thing though I reckon, hope you stick around and join in the fun on a regular basis, we could do with some more proper hauliers on here, rather than them curtsinsider wimps who are trying to take over
Although I’m not to be found under the front of a flat trailer anymore, I still think they’re an excellent business model, all the RDC freight can fit in a curtainsider and the big boys will continue to drive rates down to ridiculous levels, whereas the now rare flat bed haulier can actually tell customers what the rate is going to be, almost safe in the knowledge that there will be no competitor breathing down their neck trying to nick the work by offering a lower rate. Yes, you may have to work a little harder and smarter to keep working all the time, unless you want to do the flatbed equivalent of curtainsider work (bricks/blocks/aggregates etc) but that’s the point surely, a good businessman works hard and smart for his money and as a result gets a little bit more than those that just follow the crowd
Thats it then if Harry says they dont i must be seeing things and Riker Reeves from Darley Dale didnt drive one then.I Dont know how people on here can say flat work is no good or out dated and that most owner drivers work for one firm,my family is very large there are 10 Punchards in Haulage with out counting the women,the vehicles from the very smallest to the largest are mainly all heavy duty well made flats capable of carrying anything ,we work for many many customers in lots of different sectors.
markwill:
haha you not kidding, a simple question turned into a full on debate,
Well you started it
It’s a good thing though I reckon, hope you stick around and join in the fun on a regular basis, we could do with some more proper hauliers on here, rather than them curtsinsider wimps who are trying to take over
Although I’m not to be found under the front of a flat trailer anymore, I still think they’re an excellent business model, all the RDC freight can fit in a curtainsider and the big boys will continue to drive rates down to ridiculous levels, whereas the now rare flat bed haulier can actually tell customers what the rate is going to be, almost safe in the knowledge that there will be no competitor breathing down their neck trying to nick the work by offering a lower rate. Yes, you may have to work a little harder and smarter to keep working all the time, unless you want to do the flatbed equivalent of curtainsider work (bricks/blocks/aggregates etc) but that’s the point surely, a good businessman works hard and smart for his money and as a result gets a little bit more than those that just follow the crowd
+1
Too many curtain operators fighting to drive down the rate turn over for vanity profit for sanity
Dan Punchard:
Thats it then if Harry says they dont i must be seeing things and Riker Reeves from Darley Dale didnt drive one then.
I didn’t say they don’t, I said I’ve never seen one in any of the depots I’ve ever been to. They quite possibly do operate them out of Minworth or some other site.
On a more positive note atleast while the opinion of the likes of Harry is that flats are what ever was previously mentioned on here the flatbed hauliers jobs are safe .
Well, I don’t actually have an opinion about which is “better” because it’s like debating whether a petrol tanker is “better” than a livestock carrier, it really depends on whether you want to move petrol or livestock. I work in distribution, distribution companies use curtainsided trailers so that’s what I pull.
Harry Monk:
Well, I don’t actually have an opinion about which is “better” because it’s like debating whether a petrol tanker is “better” than a livestock carrier, it really depends on whether you want to move petrol or livestock. I work in distribution, distribution companies use curtainsided trailers so that’s what I pull.
I’d be a bit zb’d off if I wanted to work for them and I’d have listened to all the advice here instead of having bought a cheap tilt that no one wanted.
kr79:
Speaking from experience here you are welcome to there work as its a quick route to earning a pittance.
Probably just like the industry is increasingly becoming in general considering the type of road transport unfriendly government policy that everyone is working under regardless of what type of work or truck/trailer they are using.
But the point that I was making was even with all the different types of work/loads described there none of the customers were looking for flats.But assuming I had a tilt I could do both the work described there or flat work.
Just because they don’t do flat work don’t mean there’s no lots that do. I’d go for it if I was you everyone would remember you as the bloke with the first tilt they had seen in years.
