Starting tanker OTR soon, sleep and shower question

I was going to say electric razor too. Or a bottle of water, razor, soap and a few wet wipes in a pinch.

When we teamed, it was 6100 miles in 5 days - 2 showers. Pack of wet wipes, bottled water and fresh clothes filled in the gaps.

 

You don't have to shave every day. Only load and unload days. I would dry shave when needed.

 

About the ONLY hazMat that has to be monitored 24/7 are explosives, and maybe radioactive. Meaning driver must be either in the truck or it is parked in a designated HazMat Safe Haven, meaning someone else, with a name not just whoever is walking past the window if it explodes, is WATCHING it when the driver isn't.. MOST HazMat can be parked anywhere that is legal for any truck to park, which is NOT on the shoulder, BTW. Real legal truck parking only. The fines for HazMat screw ups can bring $10k fines for the driver, so make good choices.

Some or most tank washes can or will have showers and maybe even washer/dryers. BEWARE every tank wash I ever visited made the most crowded Pilot look like it was empty by comparison. Trailers are parked within half a millimeter of the trailer beside it. You typically have to drag the trailer forward enough to even open the landing gear handle so you can crank it up. Also the kingpin on a tanker is about an inch from the front of the trailer. It's unlike a 53ft trailer where your feel or hear the 5th wheel pivot toward level and then file your taxes as you back and eventually hit the kingpin. In tanker, you get nothing of that and them you have backed beyond the kingpin or smashed the back of the sleeper. YOU NEED TO GOAL before making contact or you will need to recover from backing past the kingpin. Tanker is cool. Lots to learn then it's better.

More tanker customers DO allow you to park onsite, but not every customer. Some customers will not allow a co-driver to come on the property, just the driver that is driving. That's pretty rare but it happens. It's a liability issue. Every soul on the property if the Big One happens is a lawsuit so pets, passengers, and some co-drivers are not allowed on property. Co-drivers often can stay in the company break room during loading or unloading at the easy customers.

Tankers are easier to park at crowded truck stops, 48 ft versus 53, and no tail-swing. This allows you to push deep into the parking space whcih protects your hood from the new drivers that need 4 counties of straight real-estate to get into the parking spot next to you. There is plenty of blind-side backing in the tanker customers I went to, but maybe not every tanker driver. Tanker is a bit like the Gentlemen's club of trucking, not in a glitter and thong sort of way, but in a top hat and walking stick way. Customers do treat you like a human instead of a rabid skunk with AIDS in reefer and dry van.

 

Most HazMat requires nothing special for parking. Any truck stop parking space is OK. Never park on the shoulder of a highway.

 

My tanker company required everyone to be clean shaven during HazMat training. Once you were out in the system you were required to comply with customer requirements. In training was the only time I saw an Iraqi Arab without 11 o'clock shadow at 6am. On day 1 they said have a clean cheek tomorrow or don't come to class. I'm an electric razor user. Any sort of alcohol-based fluid, like aftershave or cologne will dry your face and then make it easy for electric razor. If you don't use electric often there are some things to know.

If your beard grows fast, electric can hurt when it pulls or yanks the hairs if you skip a day. Shave WITH THE GRAIN and then sideways to the grain, and then against the grain and you will be good to go. Also, the shavers with round blades are more durable but don't shave as close. The foil razors shave closer but they can cause razor burns and when the foil wears out you can cut your face pretty badly. My first employer said to never show up at a customer unless you were presentable. Shave, brush teeth, don't smell, etc. It's easy to do all of that in the truck, if you have too, and also to wash your hair and face and hands before you meet a customer.

 

In about 3 years of HazMat trucking I don't recall using a respirator (the reason to be clean-shaven). I might have used it once, but no more than once. I hauled the same few types of acid for one shipper so my experience wasn't well-rounded.

 

Lectric Shave pre shave works well....picks up the stubble and lubricates the skin on your face so the razor doesn't burn as much.

 

and it's pretty inexpensive. For me a bottle lasts forever. But you can just splash on some rubbing alcohol and use it the same way, just close your eyes until it evaporates.

 

Pretty much sums it up.

Yep.

GOAL is the best advice.

But one day you're going to "get in a hurry", and not GOAL, so let me give you a couple "pro tips"......

Open your windows, or at least your driver's window, when hooking up.

Unusual sound? STOP!

This has saved me from pin jumping more than once.

Look in your mirror. The trailer will rise on the fifth wheel as you back under.

If the trailer starts to rise AGAIN, then STOP! You're about to jump the pin.

Congrats on your tanker career. We're here to help!

 

Pilot and TA don't do tank washes. You may get the outside washed but tanks need to be washed whenever changing products and mostly need certified washes if not Kosher washes if food related.