Tankers what does On duty (not driving look like)?

I pulled a milk tanker in the upper Midwest and in tn. I had an 8 hour drive from Iowa to s.d., then unload, wash, and then I would drive till my 11 hours were up.

The unloading tasks include opening the top hatch, and taking a sample. Some terminals will do that as they analyze the sample before unloading. They have a platform bridge you lower onto the hatch area to open the hatch safely.

They will hook up the hose to pump off the load, which takes 30 to 45 minutes. Then they run the wash cycle which takes about 40 minutes, as I recall.

You might wash down the trailer and truck if they allow you to use their water hose....otherwise not much to do. I never got dirty.

The surge is not that bad, as long as you are easy on the throttle and brake. My trainer was a kid, shifted and drove like a bat out of hell, and he had surge so bad the trailer would bang the pin against the fifth wheel so hard, it sounded like a cannon firing....the first time he did that, I thought something had broken.

I liked the surge, as it was a challenge to learn how to shift with it or against it.

I liked pulling tankers. I could not do tarping a flat bed due to health issues. I was paid by the load.

 

Dig around in the forums. I think the Schneider tanker yankers [and others] have their own extensive sub-forums.

If flatbed was not all that appealing to you, I'm not sure liquid or dry bulk will be much better.

 

I've done liquid and dry bulk and they're both easy. Some liquid hazmat loads you have to suit up in a chemical suit to prevent injuries in case of a hose ruptures, which never happened to me or any other driver I know of. Those suits are hot in the summer, but you only have to wear it for the 45 minutes or so it takes to unload.
I never got dirty except normal sweat standing by the trailer while the load pumps off.
The only job I can think of that's easier than tanks is maybe line haul drop & hook with companies such as Estes Express or Old Dominion Freight Lines.
Some companies such as Indian River Transport just haul food grade loads and some like where I worked, haul food grade, hazmat, liquid, dry bulk. I might have an liquid acid load going to Seattle,WA and the next load might be dry bulk flour going to Bisquick in Kansas City. I was making avg. $65K but many drivers make much more and a few make a little less.

 

It all depends on who and what you're working with. I did the oilfield for 5 years. Loading/unloading, etc... it could get pretty dirty.
For the last 6 years I have been pulling chemicals. All drop and hook! I am spoiled...

 

I can vouch for the need for safety gear. Forgive me if I've shared this before, I can't remember.

Back in '94, I did a brief stint hauling chemicals. My usual run was from Tacoma, WA to Cosmopolis, WA to the Weyerhauser (WeyCo) paper plant, delivering bleach out to their bio-ponds. Pretty routine for me at this point.

Well, this day was far from routine. I was completely set up to unload, and I was up top getting ready to open the valve and let the bleach flow (air unload). As I reached for the valve, the 90 degree elbow burst, and I was suddenly standing next to a geyser. The pressure actually knocked my hard hat off, they found it 50' away from my truck later.

At this point, I was alone (the nearest help was about a quarter mile away, I was out on the edge of the facility's property), and I couldn't see with bleach burning in my eyes. I hadn't been given any training on what to do in an emergency. Let's just say their training left something to be desired. In a brief and probably foolish moment, I opted to jump the 10' off the top of the truck with my eyes closed, figuring I'd rather risk breaking a leg than trying to find the ladder and going down on my head. I'm still amazed I didn't hurt myself.

I guessed at the direction of the emergency shower, then grabbed the phone and called for help.

After investigating, it turned out that faulty repairs to the fitting was to blame. The valve had been replaced, but the elbow was only seated on the pipe by 1/4", when it was supposed to be seated by a full inch. It couldn't take the pressure.

 

I haul def. hop out run hose fire up pto and open the valves and dump er.

It's not hard at all.

Different plants have different procedures but none of them are hard.

I never get a wash out since it's all I haul.

I don't like bumping docks, I'm gonna go to fuel soon or asphalt. Got the tanker work down now I just need to get after the money.

As far as dirt goes I only get dirty from the hose touching the ground then me rubbing on it. Sometimes I gotta fill totes and have to hold the hose good because it bucks pretty hard at 200 psi. Not a big deal though. It's not like I'm getting def on me just dust.

 

This is exactly why I never pressurize a tanker before opening valves. The extra 5-10 minutes it takes to unload from a 0psi start can save your life. Worst chemical I haul is 94% sulphuric acid and it will literally melt your skin on contact.

 

I would probably prefer to haul bulk. If some idiot on their cell phone runs into me, I want it to kill them not me and all the fish in the sea, birds in the air and contaminate the drinking water supply for a bunch of kids in Appalachia.