A flatbed truck is a transportation vehicle consisting of a flat body and no sides or roof around the bed, a trailer van is a truck fully enclosed.

Flatbed trucks offer many benefits that trailers vans do not. The fact of being open without the constraints of walls and roof facilitates the loading and securing of the cargo from all sides o even from the top (using a crane, for example). In addition, it is the only way to ship over the road large goods of unusual shape and size that are impossible to load in an enclosed truck.

For many industries, the main method of transportation for their goods is a flatbed truck due to the nature of their products. Some of these are:

• The construction industry: metal or PVC pipes, steel beams, pavers, bricks, etc

• The lumber industry, to take advantage of the easy loading and unloading of long items

• Scrap metal

• The aviation industry relies on the use of flatbed trucks to move large and long airplane parts

• Machinery, farming equipment, tractors, excavators, etc

Typically, these types of loads won’t be negatively affected by bad weather, pilferage, or rough roads. More susceptible cargo can be protected from the weather elements by using an adequate type of tarp.