Yeah its a nasty topic, but if anyone has had experience with driving a rendering truck, i would appreciate some info on it. I'm mostly curious at what kind of income these guys make(daycab pulling a trailer) and what the day to day routine is for them. And yes, im aware that they smell, im looking for actual detail about this job.
rendering
Discussion in 'Waste Removal and Garbage Truck Driver Forum' started by RubberDown, Jan 11, 2013.
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Late response, but I drive for a rendering company. I can't give much detail on the fat and bone pickup, as I do grease, but I think the fat and bone guys make around $15-16 an hr, and do about 20 stops per day. Mainly trash cans full of scraps at grocery stores and processing plants. Mainly speculation, though.
On the grease side, we service about 30 restuarants per day, and routes average 9-14 hours. The pay is almost 16/hr plus overtime. It can be frustrating. some trucks are bobtail vac trucks and some are tractor trailers that can suck grease or dump the bin if the grease is congealed due to cold weather.
You can usually be in and out of a stop in less than 10 min, unless the grease is cold and solid and your in the suck truck, then you have to manually chop it or heat it with a big torch if equipped. can take 2 hrs at one stop in this case, making for a long day. Not too bad of a gig, though, especially in the south.
You get used to the smell, and yes, I still eat hotdogs.RubberDown Thanks this. -
Thanks for the info, not sure how much the job might differ because of location as im in upstate ny but i cant imagine it would be much different. How many days a week do you run? 4 or 5?
One_tooth_wonder Thanks this. -
I run 4 days usually, 5 if they are behind. Do you know what kind of route you would have? We have dedicated guys that do the same thing every day( grease, meat scrap, trap, and transfer driver are all dedicated, they don't switch around and do other routes)
It's really not that bad of a job, nothing really hard about it once you get the routine down(though I'm sure NYC might suck)
Our yard management is pretty easygoing and flexible with start times, too. I try to start around midnight, but can't get up sometimes, and show at 5 or 6. They don't mind as long as the stops get done.RubberDown Thanks this. -
I believe its dedicated grease pickup, i know you said 9-14 hour days, what does it end up averaging per week as far as hours usually?
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I did Rendering in the 80's when i got out of Prison.They were the only one's that would hire me at the time..Are you ready for this.?.This was the best best best best job i ever had for 3 years..I wish i was still there..I did all the slaughter houses,blood and guts.I was right in the pit where the ''real men'' work......I can see if i can answer some of your questions..I do remember i made 1,000 a week to do this job back then.I left monday and stayed in a hotel monday night.I was back home on tuesday evening and wednesday off.I went back out thursday and stayed in hotel thursday night and back home friday at 4.Then my wekends off...
I wish i would of stayed.OTR and being away from home sucks.OTR is SLAVE WAGES ANYMORE...RubberDown Thanks this. -
RubberDown Thanks this.
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Added to say, the reason I say not bad in the south, is because the temp. makes a huge difference to how easy the grease pumps. Some places have oil that stays liquid to well below freezing, and others have lard, that congeals at about 70 degrees and gets more solid as the temp falls.
It makes a huge difference as to the amout of manual labor you have to do.
That said, I'm sure up north they have different ways to pick up the solids. Probably a heater in the bottom of the tanks that have thick lard, or strictly the trucks that pick up the tank and dump it.
How that works is you pick the little dumpster up with a hydraulic boom on the back of the truck, and dip it in on compartment on the truck that has hot water heated by propane. It sits for a minute or so, just enough for the grease chunk to be able to slide free from the dumpster. Then you go to the dump compartment and lower it in to dump. Both compartments have hydralic lids that close while driving. Ours have a winch in the back to pull the dumpsters out (they have wheels) and some of our newer trucks have wireless remote controls to do all this from a distance.
It sounds like a pain, but it really isn't. Easy to get the hang of and you can dump one in just a couple of minutes if all goes well.
Maybe a driver from the north can chime in on the specifics, as we usually just use the suck trucks.
If anyone is interested, I can do a detailed write up of a typical day, grease-wise. Fat and bone, feathers, and trap- I wouldn't really know.RubberDown Thanks this. -
OMG I remember being out at a farm in MN.My bro in law an his brothers have a liquid animal waste pumping business,since the 70's when the ol man started it,and we were done pumping one day and a rendering truck came into pick up the dead. It was hogs,all bloated from the spring heat and starting to decay an smell,like dead, and there was the driver standing by the farmer, foot propped up on a pig eating a sandwich and BS'ING away, the smelly truck right by him.ok manure pumping is no stroll on the beach holding hands either.But it was a sight to see
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