Beer Trucking In Pictures

Hi guys here's a couple pictures I had taken from when I worked in the beer business. This is a little bit of a walk down memory lane for me.

Picture 1: The 38' trailer is a bulk truck route and that particular stop didn't really let us use the dock so we just used the pallet jack to get the load in that's why beverage company bulk trucks have lift gates.

Picture 2: Side Loader (14 bay) out at a grocery store on Friday around lunch time waiting to get unloaded.

Picture 3 &4: That Friday afternoon I was all done and we had a truck near where I live break down, bad starter motor, so I drove out there and took some stops off of him. I carry ramps in my pick up truck in case I have to go and back someone up and run some small stops. If you end up in this business it's certainly not required, but sometimes you do end up taking stuff in you're own car it does happen it's very very rare though. If you have a pick up truck or Ford Econoline van then you're in a really good position to help out for extra credit if need be. Trust me though it's a pretty rare occurrence that you'll have to help out to this extent.

Picture 5: A U-Boat I built on Thursday morning at a grocery store I used to do, with a side loader.

Picture 6: A pallet of water that shifted during transit.

 

More Friday fun out on the road beer trucking.

 

Before I even got hired at the beer company no joke. What happened was in the beginning GFS and the rest of them I thought were not really viable options for me. Turns out I was kind of wrong, kind of. Anyhow, I was making deliveries for the state liquor agencies to VFW Hauls, Bars and Restaurants and because of that I had "experience" you could kind of say in the alcohol business. So I said well heck let's try this, so I applied to work for one of the larger beer distributors in the state of Ohio. I never really wanted to be a beer truck driver, but had to start somewhere and it was a matter of biding my time.

If you're looking for something local though and are not really afraid to work beer truck driving is an okay start, I wouldn't make a 30 year career of it, but for 9-12 months it'll be alright, get you're feet wet. You'll make probably better money at the beer truck company then at retail. I figure you'll probably clear $1200 or so every two weeks that's kind of where I was when I did beer.

The food companies by in large pay better. GFS has better retirement and profit sharing where the beer company I worked for had a slightly better then average 401K, but no profit sharing and the pay was like I said $40-$50K a year. Most of the guys were in the $40K range. The route I had at the beer company the man that I took it from, he also ran a business fixing automobiles where he actually had a couple people who worked for him, so the beer truck company to him was pretty much just a check that was coming in for him to pay his mortgage. Pretty much he told he only 5 years left or what ever and my house is paid for and I'll probably quit or do whatever.

Beer trucking can be good if you have another business outside of it. Say you have an auto detailing shop with you and you're friend or you and you're wife also run you're own business and it makes money, but a little extra to pay the mortgage and bills wouldn't hurt plus you get health insurance and stuff at the beer truck company and the beer truck company I worked for the health insurance was alright, so you know it's good on that end, but like say you guys have some kind of business that you run, well beer trucking will give you the money to pay you're normal bills and also give you some benefits while kind of allowing you to pursue other interests.

When you get into the grocery hauling game the money is better, but it's also more demanding on you mentally and physically beer truck driving is probably a piece of cake for a real experienced truck driver. I mean I'd like to think I could go back to beer trucking and immediately I would know just by looking at a C-Store or gas station where to park or what to do. It's just stuff you learn in time. Anyhow way long winded on that one.

 

Here's a couple more. Some stacks I brought in and some kegs stowed on the truck and then working in the beer truck business you develop quite an apatite

 

okay will do.

 

We sure make it sound fun don't we?