Flatbed pays well because it asks more of you — securement, tarping, weather risk, and the occasional permit dance. We dispatch 48' and 53' flats and step-decks across the steel belt, lumber lanes, and building-materials freight that keeps construction moving. We pay attention to tarp counts in the rate, and we don't put you on a load that hasn't accounted for them.
Concrete numbers from our active flatbed dispatch desk.
If a broker isn't paying for tarps, you're not getting a flatbed rate — you're getting a "flatbed rate minus" and they're hoping you don't notice. The industry standard is per-tarp pay built into the line haul ($25–$50 per tarp depending on lane), or a flat tarp surcharge for full-tarp loads. Anything less is the broker shaving their margin out of your paycheck.
We negotiate tarp pay into every flatbed offer. If a broker won't include it, we don't book the load. Our drivers shouldn't be subsidizing a broker's low quote to the shipper — that's not how flatbed dispatch is supposed to work.
Securement is the other place new flatbed drivers lose money. DOT requires 4 chains under 10,000 lbs and 8 chains over — and getting loaded with the wrong chain count means rejecting the load (lost day) or worse, losing the freight in transit (lost truck). We confirm chain count with the broker BEFORE you arrive at the shipper. Every time.
"Dispatcher answers in 3 minutes any time of day. They've never put me on a broker that didn't pay. That alone is worth the percentage."
If we missed yours, call dispatch — we'll talk straight.
Apply now and a US-based dispatcher will call you within the hour to walk through onboarding. No contract. No setup fee. Just better loads.