Tankers

I will be in Decatur tomorrow. What questions do you all have?

 

what areas do you consistantly run? Does tanker fleet require any expensive equipment to buy initially(like flatbed) do you have to wear long sleeve shirt at all times out of the truck(told that by schneider yesterday) Thank you for your help its hard to find out much info about the tanker fleet particularly for someone going in as a company driver.

 

OTR Prime tanker runs all over the country, but 95% of the freight is east of the Mississippi. The dedicated run out of Decatur, IN (and Bellevue, OH) runs Illinois to New York, Michigan to Kentucky. They currently load up to 50,000 lb but are trying to lower that commitment to 49,000 Because the LW trucks are getting heavier.

Yes, there's expensive equipment to buy. I don't know the full list, but there's the adapter fittings for the hoses which run $500. There are other items, but like I said, I don't have the list. Pretty sure most companies require similar.

No long sleeve requirements. Schneider hauls chemicals, Prime food grade. The stuff is primarily oil (think Palm oil or canola oil. We also haul cocoa butter, wine, chocolate, etc) but being edible, certainly not harmful to your skin.

 

Stainless steel fittings are expensive .....lol

 

moose97 I start orientation with Prime on the 27th and Im going throughout the PSD in the Tanker Division. I just want to know how has your experience been so far driving a tanker?

 

I have enjoyed it. Be aware that DOT regulations will not allow you to drive a loaded tanker while you have only a permit. You have to wait until you pass the CDL test. Also be aware that because of how tanker freight works at Prime, your friends in refer will complete TNT faster than you in tanker. I don't want to scare you - just want to make sure you know. I wish I had been told before I started.

Now, all that said, I really enjoy the extra work tanker requires, and the extra patience and skill required to drive. My biggest piece of advice would be to be your own best advocate. I had to switch TNT trainers, and fought to get a good one. Meanwhile, a refer driver friend of mine from orientation had a questionable trainer (PSD & TNT) and feared "rocking the boat" so never said anything to Prime. He's going to upgrade (and do it faster than me, because of the extra miles refer runs), but he didn't trifecta, and in fact failed the backing portion of his test 3 times, largely because his trainer didn't help him enough. Just remember, it's YOUR license and YOUR training.

Good luck, be safe and have fun!

 

I appreciate the response. Is it tricky driving a tanker? Don't they have a NE Regional gig too. I live in VA by the way thats why Im asking. Also what exactly did you not like about your first TNT trainer?

 

Yes, they do have a NE regional dedicated. I've spent a couple days this last week in Stuarts Draft, delivering to Hershey and Little Debbie.

As to my first TNT guy, there were a lot of reasons. Bottom line is he was lazy. He was poorly prepared. He was simply a bad driver and shouldn't have been training. I could tell some stories, and if you ever run into me out here, I might just do that, but will keep them off this forum...

 

Is a tanker tricky to drive? Eh, not really. You just need to be much more careful about speed and corners. There's a greater premium on smoothness in shifting. Surge in these unbaffled food grade tanks will occasionally kick your ###. Honestly, the first time you feel it you'll swear someone just rear-ended the truck.

 

I got you. Whats the trick to handling the surge when driving a tanker have you figured that out? How long do you usually sit when loading and unloading and how many miles can I expect in the tanker division because Im kinda stuck between tanker or flatbed.