How Hard Is driving Doubles?? (Tankers)

Dev, are you going to be hauling with doubles or with a truck and trailer?. Two different animals entirely.

You can back a truck and trailer just about anywhere. Doubles...not hardly at all.

 

Okay. Do you understand the difference between truck and trailer and a semi? Lots of people don't. Most of the tankers in our area are truck and trailer. They back entirely different than a semi too.

 

A lot of people think that, no problem.

A semi is a tractor with a fifth-wheel that pulls a trailer that attaches to the fifth wheel.

A truck and trailer is a full truck, usually with a much longer wheelbase than a tractor, that has a tank or other cargo carrying device permanently mounted to the truck chassis. It pulls a trailer with at least two axles that is attached to the truck with a draw-bar and pintle hitch arrangement.

 

I know of one petroleum company in this area that has one set of doubles. I’ve seen it in the Bay Area with a 1203 placard on it and I’ve seen it in Southern California with no placards on it. Only one in the fleet so it’s doing something specialized.

I hauled gas in a truck and trailer. Much easier to get into a station that a semi but much harder to learn to back because it has two pivot points. I’ve also been a transfer dump truck driver which is the same thing. Takes lots of practice but once you learn it, you’ll love it much more than a semi. Being that your in Washington, you’ll see the 8 axle gas trucks.

Pulling double tanks is another animal. When you’ve got two tanks of hot asphalt oil, it’ll wear you out trying to keep that second trailer from wiggling. Bulk cement pneumatic tanks and belly dump doubles, not so much. Never heard of water being hauled in a truck and trailer but what do I know. Seems like a waste of time to me.

 

It is not difficult to learn how to drive the twin pups or the tankers. The problems start when drivers start forgetting these vehicles are terribly unforgiving of inattention and ignorance!