What are the advantages/disadvantages of driving a tanker over a dry trailer? I understand the pay is slightly hgher with tanker. Anything else?

From reading it seems that Schneider is the only company that will train or accept new CDFL holders to drive tanks. Strongly considering giving them a try.

Any info about tankers and Schneider tank jobs in particular will be appreciated. Thanks.

Disadvantages:

Van: Looooooooooooooooooooooong!
Tanker: Liquid surge.

I'll stick to vans. Don't need an endorsement. Much safer too.

Tankers-no handling of loads , some receivers even hook up the hoses . Lots of tanker loads are dedicated . The rate is for round trip . No deadhead or waiting for a reload . I don't agree vans are safer . Tankers are very rugged and most rollovers don't result in a spill if the hatches were properly secured when loading .

i pull tankers for sni, been on my own for 5 months now, shoot me an email with any questions.

from what i've seen , within sni i'd def. take tanker over van. more home time, get home on time, less waiting for load/unload, smaller tight knit group.

good luck

__________________
"Living BELOW your means financially is the BIGGEST stress reliever available." -jlkklj777

I have never pulled dry van but was able to get hired at Superior Carriers right out of big truck driving school. I am on track to make 50K my first year. Advantages that I heard in my research included:

1. Customers treat you better loading and unloading. (I have found this to be true. Everyone with occasional exceptions has been professional and they treat you with respect)

2. Tank companies pay you for your time. (This is true. I get paid $13.30/hour for any wait period over 2 hours at a live load or unload. I also get paid $20 for the first 2 hours. I get $10 per night sleeper berth pay. Layover is paid anytime you sit more than 15 hours at 13.30/ hour. I get paid for 34 hour resets at company hotels.)

3. You will run legal (If I run 2000 miles a week my check will be $1000 gross. That has been my experience. I run loose leaf logs and they don't check too close but there is no reason to cheat logs. Last week I ran 3600 miles reset in a hotel, came home and took 4 days off.

Here is my thread documenting my training experience;

[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

I pulled dryvan for two months out of school, then got a break and got into tanker work.

1) tankers are shorter, and easy to maneuver (IMHO)
2) tankers are generally carrying stuff to industrial areas, so you never have to worry about putting a long nose Pete and 53' of van into some rinky- downtown strip mall to unload four boxes into a loading dock built for a 1940's straight truck.
3) almost all of my time is paid (in one form or another... we give up two hours on long haul deliveries, but get paid a bonus if we have to pump. Paid for pump and tanker washes, DOT inspections, border crossings, FAST cards, pre and post trip inspections. We get bonuses for multi-compartment loads, tridem and quad axle loads pay extra as well. Customs is also much slicker, I've yet to go into the broker since I went to tank work.)
4) never worry about overweight, moving fifth wheels or sliders again!
5) backhauls vary (for our outfit) with product... sometimes we backhaul or topload, sometimes we don't... makes for a very fast trip when the barrel is empty!

I love tanker work... dry van stuff almost made me go back to the factory job. It is more challenging, I think, for the driver.

Cdawg

I would take a tanker job over a drybox job any day. Mostly for the reasons mentioned above. I've done both and the only time it drove me nuts was when I was hauling crude in LA from the leases to the refineries 12 hr days of 7 miles each way. Even then, I wouldn't have traded for dragging a drybox. Just my honest opinion. YMMV.

Very helpful info, guys. Thanks and keep it coming. I have around a month to decide what I am going to do and appreciate the input..

I had a tank overloaded by 1800 lbs. a couple of weeks ago when weighing out . They unloaded 250 gallons into a plastic tote and I was good to go but I couldn't fuel until after delivery .

Is there a high demand for tanker drivers like for van drivers?