You're doing the right thing... but get outta' there as soon as you can (6 mos. to 1 year is the norm) and get into a company that pays better and looks after its drivers' interests (yes, there are a few out there!) because ultimately, it serves them well to do so. Oakley, LTC, and Dana are 3 decent companies to start with if you want to stay in the tanker world. If a van carrier paid decent, had decent benefits, had decent miles (not running your *ss off like an animal) and promises no-touch freight I would consider them... but only if they have decent shippers/receivers. The food-related stuff I used to haul early on was un-Godly hell being forced to go to food warehouses to unload.

Sean

Always check them before you go to load. Most of the time all the loader does is open the dome and not touch the clean out caps. Its usually the tank wash that leaves them loose or cross threaded. Even if I am only spotting an empty I check them for the next guy. If its a preloaded tank and the customer won't let you on top I usually pull it off the property and then check the top of the tank at the first place safe to stop. That way you will see any leaks before they get bad.

You're a helluva' guy... in all my years of pulling tanks with all the things I've seen done to others as well as myself, I would NEVER, EVER dare to check the washout caps on a trailer I was spotting from the wash-rack. First, as an O/O I would refuse to spot a trailer for free. Second, I wouldn't want to get into climbing on top of a trailer I had no business being on top of and looking for things that may or may not be wrong while wasting time and taking more chances than necessary of slipping off. There's enough to do/take chances on, on my own trailer! I've hooked to my own freshly washed out trailers and found NO caps, no/bad gaskets, dome lids that had bad/missing hinges, missing wing nuts, no hoses, broken ladders, bent crash boxes, out of date inspections, non-functioning/leaking internal valves, non-functioning/leaking external valves, no caps on the externals, broken ears on the external caps, loose flange bolts on sulfuric acid trailers, bald/flat tires, busted airbags/springs, no vehicle registration in the tubes, no functioning lights whatsoever, missing glad hands, missing fenders, remnants of the previous product still in the space between the two valves, etc., etc., etc. Why stop with only looking for cross threaded caps? Might as well throw the keys away for the day and call dispatch and tell 'em you're foregoing a day's pay to do the Good Sam thing and pre-trip EVERY single trailer in the entire yard just because you care!

That's why I won't even go NEAR anyone else's trailer!!! It's a can of worms best left to the guy who's taking it to do a proper 50-point pre-trip.

Sean

Before pulling off the property I'd hit the brakes hard a couple of times to check for leaks . If they won't let you on the trailer it's their responsibility to check for leaks . Find a leak off the property and if someone sees the leak and reports it it's on you .

Could you please explain to me the cross threaded caps please.

Also, the company Wsyrob works for takes newbies but he can give more information on that; however, Oakley requires 2yrs, Dana the same or 3yrs local, Keenan requires 2yrs. I was told by an o/o at Keenan that he gets treated pretty well. I am not a recruiter for them; however, I talk to the drivers and they like working for them. My friend who is an o/o makes good money.

Hunter

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Wanted: OTR truck driving job. Willing to stay out for long periods of time, have hazmat endorsement, a desire to learn the trade of truck driving, and will travel out of state.

seanoleary1979, I see your kind all the time at the tank washes; and they all work for the INFERIOR carriers like "Superior", Quality, Dana, Hassel, Krajack, Slay, etc. If you're picking up a freshly washed trailer and moving it then it is your responsibility to do a thorough pre-trip and ensure it has been properly washed and is in a good, safe, and legal condition. That way the next guy picking up that trailer doesn't get screwed. I don't know about your cracker jack company, but the Schneider I work for pays me extra to move an empty trailer. Now that's really crapping on the drivers, huh? And by the way, you spoke of several "top notch" facilities that you've never seen Schneider at. I guess you're blind because if you spend five minutes at either IMTT in Bayonne or Ashland in Neville Island you can't help seeing a sea of orange trucks coming in the gate. Oh, that's right, SNBC is the prime mover for BASF! And as far as moving cheap freight, etc, etc, Ondeo Nalco which is one of our biggest customers pays probably the highest rates on the market for their loads. But that's because they are willing to pay a little extra to get a quality, safe, legal, and on-time carrier for their precious cargo. BTW, SNBC hauls everything BUT food grade. We never have. You could be thinking about our Kosher tank wash in Reserve, LA but that has to do with some of the products we ship. Even some non-food items have to moved in a Kosher trailer

He he he.. "My kind" has been in the business for over 16 years performing this job. "My kind" knows what to look for... Although "my kind" has almost never seen 'SNBC' at the IMTT terminal in Bayonne, Carteret, Joliet, Lemont, Chesapeake, Richmond, Gretna, Quebec City, or any of the other IMTT terminals - and I was there at least 4 times a week for 6 years (oops, all the SNBC drivers must have flooded in on the 5th day I was loading at Ashland). I asked several others of "my kind" this morning and they say they have NEVER seen 'SNBC' there EVER! I don't know about that... but, I have seen 'SNBC' at Kinder Morgan just off of exit 11 in Carteret on a regular basis because they share a terminal/drop yard/wash facility with Quality Carriers there. But, I have NEVER seen them load within the facility in 16 years! Never at Sunoco, General Chemical, or ANY of the other loading facilities within there. I guess "my kind" must be blind. I have heard others remark in the past about how the hell 'SNBC' drivers get paid. The usual response is inevitably, "Well, look at what they drive!" But, in your defense, where I used to park my tractor every Friday afternoon in our Rahway yard before I went home, (Quality Carriers # 1045 W. Hazelwood Ave.) I saw "your kind, " i.e. 'SNBC' at the QualaWash ALL the time. They were the ones getting into fights with the Enterprise drivers because they are always taking their parking spaces despite the LARGE signs stating they should not do so. The 'SNBC' drivers are also the ones who seem to take 15 minutes to slip a tank trailer into a parking spot, drive around with dented trailers, block traffic in the yard, and walk around seemingly in a daze most of the time. They are also the ones asking "Hey driver, how is Quality/Superior/Enterprise/Slay/Krajack/LTC/etc. treating 'ya?" Look, I we all know 'SNBC' is a just a newbie big-box 'break-in' company, but give ME a break! Your experience amounts to a thimble-full and is in no way representative of the industry's as a whole, hence your uninformed, naive and altruistic responses which appear to be in no way grounded in reality. For the record, I will never pre-trip another driver's trailer. It's for him/her to do and it's wholly his/her responsibility. But, if it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and I assume 'SNBC' brainwashed you into believing it's your duty to do so - AND - since you enjoy doing extra work for a few extra pennies, meet me at the Rahway yard next Friday morning/early afternoon. I'll go get a cup of coffee while you pretrip my Sulfuric Acid trailer after it's washed out and prepped for Aluminum Sulfate loading on the following Monday. I'll even get some of my fellow Quality Carriers O/Os to throw you a few extra pennies just because it looks like you enjoy working for peanuts and doing tricks for tips! Wait, even better - if you paint your face Schneider Orange and pre-trip the trailer I'll take up a collection and guarantee you at least $250 (even if I have to make up the difference)! Whadaya' say?

i delivered an imtt load last week. you'll be seeing more of us

re: the washout caps - there's two 3" holes on top of the tankers in addition to the dome lid. they allow access for cleaning instruments.

good point about that being the tank wash or pretrip... i didn't think of that...

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as free men we are born, and free we shall die.

take your due process and shove it! - michael weiner.

Can't reply . ROFLMAO

Well Mr Seanoleary you have no clue what you are talking about regarding schneider bulk. You even stated in one of your posts that one shouldn't believe what they hear in the drivers room yet, you are posting stuff like it is fact. Lets clear up a few things shall we.

First, Schneider does NOT haul fodd grade. Only chemicals, acids, oils, polymers etc. Getting home is not a problem unless you live out in the sticks, but most of the drivers in bulk live near the termal they run out of. (except the o/o's which all run out of Chicago) Thus not hard to get home, and they only tend to hire drivers for bulk who live near a bulk terminal or a major interstate route. (St. Louis, Memphis, Charlotte areas are examples where we have local, regional bulk drivers.)

Next, you stated that you were with QC and provided quite a list of places that you have never seen a schneider truck at. Impressive list, so lets make sure we are on the same page, because YOU never saw a orange truck there then that means that they never go there right? WRONG, I go to IMTT in Bayonne on a regular basis, I have also had the pleasure to p/u at the one in Joliet at well (much faster and easier to get in and out of then Jersey). Benjamin Moore, well, I have delivered loads to them as well as Behr in the last six months.

As far as the facility in New Jersey, you info in months out of date. They (snbc) moved out of Carteret back in early 2008. And have not been in Rahway in a few years. As far a pre triping a trailer, it is called common sense. Make sure everythig is buttoned up, tight and ready to go before one departs. I perosnaly don't trust any shipper, reciever, or other driver to make sure stuff is closed and tight. If stuff spills it MY responsibilty not the last knucklehead driver or operator/loader who loaded it and said all was fine. (early on I had more then a few times where the loader said all was tight and while driving down the road looked in mirror and saw stuff on the side of trl that was not there when I started. I should have checked myself. I have since learned)

Well I am on a roll so lets keep going shall we? You told gomer "Your experience amounts to a thimble-full and is in no way representative of the industry's as a whole, hence your uninformed, naive and altruistic responses which appear to be in no way grounded in reality" And this is different then you opinion HOW? You stated that you had 16 years in the industry, fine. I don't reacall seeing where gomer said how much he/she had, and yet you jumped on them like they just got out of driving school. (I stand corrected, I see on the side where is says drv exp). You have 16 years and seem to know it all, I have 13 (12 as an O/O ) years out here, and the last 10 have been with schneider pulling tankers. So where does my level rank in you little world? You also seem to have some personal bias against schneider. What is the source of this hatred of snbc.

In closing, to the original poster in this tread, don't listen to this person, he doesn't work for snbc and has no clue what he is talking about in regards to snbc.