I'm a stone cold rookie, gonna work the texas oil fields

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by paulcouto, Sep 7, 2011.

  1. Gisquid

    Gisquid Light Load Member

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    :biggrin_2559:paulying:biggrin_2559: peacanart, check out your ed center and use TA. It will cover the total cost for your CDL school. Just make sure you to check with the schools around you to see if they do accept TA before you commit to anything. TA is not the same as GI Bill incase you are wondering. You do have to come out of pocket for endorsements. There is also the Work Force Development that is part of the VA that has programs in place to pay for your CDL as well and they do pay for the endorsements. Hope this helps ya, fly boy!!
     
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  3. WHO KNOWS

    WHO KNOWS Light Load Member

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    Gisquid Kernville my dad lives in bodfish i love it up there!
     
  4. Gisquid

    Gisquid Light Load Member

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    I know Bodfish. Right on!! The fishing derby for Big Fin kicks off this weekend!! Tell your dad to get his gear together and get near the spillway where the lake meets the river!! Tell him also to where a Lake Isabella shirt!! If he catches the big guy and he's wearin the shirt the prize doubles!! Somethin new they started a couple of years ago!! I have pulled 8 tags from there!! Never the big guy and never during the derby!! My brother did a few years back!!
     
  5. Agenda21

    Agenda21 Bobtail Member

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    Hey Paul..
    I still have a few things to take care of before heading down to Texas. Thought I might as well blast you with a few questions; I'm sure others have similar questions...Not being noisy, just trying to get an idea how you pulled everything off down there..

    1. When you left Cali, did you leave behind a house or did you cut all ties to Cali? I am trying to decide if i should keep the house (and pay for two places) or cut my losses and dump it..

    2. So Nabors wouldn't work with you on hours? You couldn't save 1K a week like you were hoping? That is now my goal for the patch.. 1K in the bank per week...

    3. You have a travel trailer now... I too have a 6X12 cargo trailer converted to a camper but wonder where the heck i can park the darn thing? Where are you storing yours... on the street? Garage?

    4. You still recommend water haulin? If a guy wanted to try and stay 3-5 years and he was your age would you recommend he look into coiled tube or cement or rig moving? Any thoughts on that? Just trying to get an idea what might last for 3-5 years even if things get slow.. Seems like they might ##### can the CDL's before the cement crews or whatever...?

    5. What state you lookin at to disappear into the woods? I read a book called Strategic Relocation and it recommends the inter-mountain region which i think is western Oregon, Parts of Idaho, Utah... that general area... Just curious what you were thinking.

    6. So... how's the new gig coming along? Any ###-kickin to report?
     
  6. JahB

    JahB Road Train Member

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    Dec 31, 2008
    WASHINGTON/OREGON border
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    Good news finally. Things are finally going to get moving.

    I can repeat CDL School at AIT for $320. nice. it's only been 10 years or so....
    Enrolled for AIT Phoenix starts 4/9: check.
    OTR Prehire (required to go to school) May Trucking: check.
    Key Energy still answers my calls: check.
    Sunoco Logisitics application: check.
    Rent secure storage and load crap out of house and garage for the next few weeks: check.

    I'm real interested in opportunities to haul crude or sand, transport, or anything that's more driving than sitting, but I'll do anything, whether it's water hauler, coil, vacuum, that comes up, in particular in South Texas (San Antonio, Victoria, San Marcos, Bay City, Austin, Houston, Corpus areas) as long as they'll let me work for them.

    I don't expect to get hired before I show up, but there's no harm in starting some applications for the larger companies while I'm getting school handled. Any thoughts about where to look would be welcome.

    Thanks guys for all your input, reality checks, warnings, and all.

    paulcuoto, thanks for the thread, you've been really helpful in getting this thing moving forward for us.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2012
  7. paulcouto

    paulcouto Medium Load Member

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    oweriuaghrngoeirhjqgimovoia;ijm
     
  8. Bikerdave

    Bikerdave Light Load Member

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    Middle of nowhere TEXAS
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    LMFAO He should just wait for your book to be published
     
  9. paulcouto

    paulcouto Medium Load Member

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    you arent gonna haul oil with no experience or havent driven in years, if you got your heart set on it, you might find something but i seriously doubt it. Be careful of what you "hear", only go with what you know for a fact, most of what you hear is always ########.

    you can get hired before you show up easy, my new job, the dude hired me right over the phone after i told him my record was clean and drug free, i mean, a few sentences and i was hired. I had other companies where i could have started driving the same day, but thats also because i got a little experience.

    I bet if you call 20 places, a few are gonna hire you over the phone.

    any thoughts on where to work? yes, where there is oil, if there is oil, then you can work. If you want more driving than idling around or physical work, hmmmmm, there isnt too much of that unless you have experience and can haul oil or gas. Typically, when you drive in the oil field, its either sitting on location for hours or getting in and out and driving to the next location. I know what you want, you want the cushy type driving job, well thats oil hauling but not all oil hauling, some oil hauling is like water hauling, find locations on f'd up lease roads and take them to the next destination. But alot of crude hauling inviolves doing a couple loads a day from one place to the refinery and it pays well too.

    but you need experience.
     
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  10. JahB

    JahB Road Train Member

    5,832
    3,138
    Dec 31, 2008
    WASHINGTON/OREGON border
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    Thanks, yeah, I figured as much, a guy can hope. I knew it would take some time to find that crude hauling job but for that one ad. Doesn't matter. Ain't skeert of work at all, nor of sitting out on a rig for hours, all night and half the next, if that's what it takes. Key has vacuum and water trucks is pretty much all, and the only reason I thought about hauling crude was because one particular large company IS hiring recent grads for it, at least that's what their ad says. I hear they have rocking horse ch*t there too. I haven't heard it from the horse's mouth yet though. Just the ad. Relocation money and tuition reimbursement too. :)
     
  11. Rockdoctor

    Rockdoctor Medium Load Member

    If you go to a PTDI certified CDL school and get your hazmat, tanker, and TWIC card done BEFORE you go looking for oil hauling in Texas there is someone out there who may take a chance on you. You will have to go through more training but the jobs are out there.
     
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