All About Flatbed Trucks
If you’ve ever witnessed how a local towing company in Naperville, IL operates, then you’ve probably seen that we often use some pretty huge trucks to transport smaller types of vehicles as well as some heavy pieces of equipment.
Flatbed trucks — that’s what they are. As their name suggests, they’re basically a “flatbed”, a flat horizontal surface, on wheels. Now, it’s expected that you find these trucks cool (we know) but did you know there’s so much more to these heavy machines than just carrying smaller cars around? And that it actually takes tons of effort to drive one of them?
Things to Know about Flatbed Trucks
The very first thing you should probably know about any flatbed is that not everyone who can drive cars can also drive this. After all, flatbed trucks are LONG and that means you have to know how to maneuver along sharp curves, whether the road’s dry or drenched.
But that’s just the start of it. Did you know that the flatbed truck’s driver is responsible for keeping its load secure as well as for checking any damages throughout the entire travel? See, unlike other types of trucks, flatbeds carry their loads in the open air; there’s no enclosure or whatsoever. So cargos are secured on the flatbed using sturdy cables and tarps. And just like what you’ve already probably figured by now, those cables and tarps aren’t exactly going to stay snug around the truck’s cargo throughout an entire hour, or two, or three, or even more hours of transportation all the time. Especially when you think about how the physics of high-speed movement and the effects of wind can affect an object exposed to them. So the driver has to get out of the truck every once in a while during the trip to make sure that no cable’s gone loose.
With that said, you’ll see how drivers of flatbed trucks need to be not only physically fit, but also even more so highly capable of dealing with that heavy cargo on their own. So normally, drivers are required to be able to lift 100lbs from the ground before they’re allowed to drive flatbeds.
Many flatbeds are “spread-axle”, which means that there are separate axles by the end of the truck to accommodate the heavy load uniformly across the long back of the truck.
Common Uses of Flatbed Trucks
• Towing Services – of course. You’ll see how many operations on towing in places like Naperville, Illinois would involve the service of flatbeds in order to transport the towed vehicle safely, without causing any further damage on it.
• Transporting Equipment – As you can see, the transport of vehicles is not limited to tow trucks. Flatbed trucks are also used to haul and deliver heavy equipment such as tractors, tanks, Humvees, as well as other large types of machinery like airplane parts to and from their destination.
• Construction – Flatbeds are often hired by construction companies to haul scrap metals and other materials from their job site in order to send them to a recycling facility and repurpose them. The open-air style of transport that flatbed trucks make possible is, therefore, a convenient feature that makes the truck a popular choice for this type of job. Similarly, contractors also use flatbeds to transport materials such as bags of cement, piles, and what not to and from their job site.
• Farming and Landscaping – Flatbed trucks are also used to transport huge objects such as trees, as well as sacks of feeds and grains. The fact that they can easily run through dirt and mud makes them the most convenient choice for hauling any object that would be difficult to transport otherwise.
As a towing company in Naperville, Illinois, we at Kit’s Towing have one of the biggest fleets of service trucks operating across the entire Chicagoland area, and a major portion of that fleet is made up of amazing flatbed trucks. With that said, we don’t just perform damage-free heavy-duty towing and regular towing with these trucks, no. We also transport heavy equipment and basically any other item that could fit on our trucks as well as offer reliable roadside assistance. So feel free to browse through our website for our services! And if you’re ever in need, don’t hesitate to call us at 630-369-3225 or email us at kitstowing@aol.com. Our fleet of flatbeds is available round-the-clock at your disposal!