How hard is Bulk/Tanker?

Discussion in 'Motor Carrier Questions - The Inside Scoop' started by hlaird, Sep 19, 2008.

  1. hlaird

    hlaird Light Load Member

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    Nov 16, 2007
    Memphis, TN
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    I'm considering doing bulk for Schneider. I already pull a reefer for them on a dedicated route but am thinking of doing over the road. I think I would rather do bulk over van. I already have hazmat and tanker endorsement. I KNOW handling driving of a tank trailer is different, what I'm wondering is more about the loading and unloading process. I'm a girl but I have above average strength for a girl and I'm 21. Do tank drivers think that pulling those hoses around and messing with them is really hard? I've always wanted to do tank, I don't know why. I would get paid more, and think that the loading and unloading process would be simpler. After doing this dedicated account where I have to wait around while the customer takes their time unloading and knocking over pallets, I know I would rather just unload the #### thing myself and get paid for it! That would be nice.
     
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  3. MedicineMan

    MedicineMan Road Train Member

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    Woodville, TX
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    it's about the easiest trucking there is. Pull up, pull a hose off, hok it up and pull a lever. stand there and watch it untill it's done.
    the hoses are usually in like 20 foot length and weigh mabey... oh I'd say60 pounds or so but you don't pick up the whole thing. you pull it alongside the tank, put one end up an then walk down it pushing the rest up. if you have open hose racks anyways. I'd go for it.
    I'm pulling vacuume tanks in the ilfields hauling mud and water and we have had some ladies working there. none stayed but that has more to do with the 100+ hours a week we work in the oilfield not the job
     
  4. Johnny99

    Johnny99 Johnny be Good

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    Nov 24, 2007
    Big Sandy Tenn
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    Tanker work is pretty easy, but you have to be detail oriented. Most of the loading is done by the shipper. You either pull under a loading rack or back into a loading area. Occasionaly you might have to pump a load on using the pump on the truck. Unloading depends on the receiver. Some places prefer to use their equipment to cut down on the chance of product contamination. Other places you will have to use the pump on the truck or the compressor. Most of the hoses are 20 ' lengths with quick couplers. The 3'' hoses are heavier and harder to handle than the 2'' hoses. You have to be able to go on top of the trailer to secure the dome lid and make sure the clean out caps are tight. Even if the loader does it for you, you need to check it. Once you leave if there is a spill you'll be responsible not the loader. Dragging the hoses out and putting them away is the most physically demanding part of the job, but nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. Learning to control surge in the tank is something that comes with experience. They will teach you that when they train you. I'm retired now, but if i were to go back out on the road I would be looking for a tanker job.
     
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  5. ChixDiggit

    ChixDiggit Bobtail Member

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    Jan 11, 2007
    ALBERTA, CANADA
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    Tanker work is pretty easy. It all depends what kind of tanker you want to pull and the product that u wanna haul. If u run a Vac truck/Semi Vac, well be ready to drag hoses around in mud,oil and everything else u can think of. If you wanna haul oil well thats easy, pull a 5-10' hose off the truck open ur valves and pump away. Drive to ur location and then pump it off. Myself, I haul Pentane VERY FLAMMABLE, when I load the truck is shut off and I load through the belly on my trailers. I have scullys in my trailers, so i punch in my m3 or litres and start loading. The oil company system loads me. The scully prevents u from having a overfill. Its a lot like hauling fuel. The DRY BULK/PNEUMATIC Tankers, well i have had much to do with them, other than they seem VERY LOAD and DIRTY. Pulling tankers is a nice job, not strapping/chaining loads and etc. I'm 24 and have been pulling triaxle tankers and superbs since I was 18 and love every moment of it. I work up in Alberta, Canada in the oilpatch and there is a lot of women TANKER YANKERS its easy and good money.
     
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  6. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    Owensboro , KY
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    A problem with Schneider is I have heard their drivers complain about having to wear the chemical suit more than should be necessary . The suit can get hot real quick . Certain chemicals can require wearing rubber boots and gloves , the rubber suit , face shield and possibly a respirator . You have to be careful not to get overheated and suffer heat exhaustion in hot weather . We had a driver have someone take a picture of him taking a sample without proper PPE . They sent the picture to corporate safety and he lost his job . All the shippers/receivers I have with chemicals requiring full PPE handle all the loading/unloading themselves and I just stay out of the area .
     
  7. Johnny99

    Johnny99 Johnny be Good

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    Nov 24, 2007
    Big Sandy Tenn
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    Of all the chemicals I hauled the only time we had to go full suit was if we had to unload Acid or Phenol or Caustic Soda. And that was a no brainer. The really bad stuff usually had a dedicated driver on it that had been trained on that particular product. I saw a Schneider Bulk driver suit up to unload mineral oil one time. I asked him why and he said company policy. I could understand the face mask because the load had to be blown off and was under pressure, but full suit for mineral oil. If you drank the stuff you might get a belly ache.
     
  8. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    Thanks for confirming what I said about Schneider PPE policy .
     
  9. heyns57

    heyns57 Road Train Member

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    near Kalamazoo Speedway
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    I was employed to haul molten aluminum in crucibles, but pulled liquid tankers under Matlack authority whenever drivers and tractors were available. I did not think the liquid tankers were very easy. We frequently loaded and unloaded without assistance, for example, in rail yards. We hauled caustic phosphate (rubber suit routine), paint components, hot wax for printing plants, hot asphalt components, fuel to the paper mills, transmission fluid to the car assembly plants, and liquid fertilizer to farm co-ops. I remember a bad day at bowling equipment factory in Muskegon. After unloading, I had to rinse my pump and hoses with solvent provided by the consignee. They should have provided about six pails of solvent to be poured into the dome, and they should have provided empty drums to pump the used solvent. This procedure is necessary to prevent the pump on the tractor from "setting up". I can not describe how difficult the job gets when consignees do not hold up their end of the bargain. Another delivery I remember involved about 75' of 2" hose run into a factory window. Inside, they were filling drums on pallets and shutting off the hose between drums. That delivery took all day, and I was on percentage.
     
  10. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    We have 1 consignee that drums off into 55 gallon drums and they take a 20 minute break every 2 hours but we get detention time after 2 hours . I only use a pump once every 3 or 4 months . Most consignees use their pumps or we air it off . Almost all loads are dedicated so no washouts are required except maybe a rinse .
     
  11. MO family man

    MO family man Heavy Load Member

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    Nunya, MO
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    Only been doing it about six weeks now and I can't complain. Easiest gig I have ever had. The point about the suits getting hot was very valid. Suit up connect then retreat to the front of the truck and lose the jacket and gloves. Heck if I am using my own compressor or pump the I hop into the cab as well. No sense wasting all the AC. I wondered though why doesn't Schiender use hose racks on the trailer? I always see them with their hoses looped up on the back of the tractor.
     
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