Change my mind

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by God prefers Diesels, Jul 2, 2020.

  1. Rideandrepair

    Rideandrepair Road Train Member

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    Good Luck to you. I knew a Guy, who did real well, with a Box Truck, working local, around Detroit, picking up LTL, for Local companies. Occasionally he would do longer expedite stuff. Usually just a few pallets at a time. That’s been 25 yrs ago. Might just still be a market for something like that. I worked for another Outfit, that did the same thing. We stayed very busy, working for a bunch of different Companies, the Box Trucks were always busy delivering LTL, for a %.
     
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  3. Siinman

    Siinman Road Train Member

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    I ran a production shop for 16 years and worked out in the oilfield as well doing Torque and Test. Putting all Wireline and Coil Tubing up on Frac Sites. I went and got my CDL from a school and passed with flying colors. I hired onto a small oversize company and after a month they had to let me go because one of the other employee had wrecked. So without 2 years experience they could not afford the insurance to keep me on.

    My plan was to go on my own anyways so it just pushed it forward a little faster. I got a truck and rented a a trailer. 2 years later I am still doing ok in just a dry van. I have had to rebuild my engine 9 months ago at cost of 29K and spent 30K in repairs before that. I have 17K in repairs so far this year and finally at a place that the truck is running right.

    To me it was easier to get loads from a couple brokers instead of running the load boards all the time when I first started out. Wanted to get a couple people I could deal with and build a some kind of trust with. Now I use whatever I need to make things work as I am better and faster at everything.

    If you can deal with booking loads with some common knowledge and your equipment doesn't fail right away you would be ok. Dont think the first year will be easy and it will take some time to really understand the markets. Good Luck
     
  4. Brettj3876

    Brettj3876 Road Train Member

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    @God prefers Diesels

    Always wondered about wire line and coil tubing. I heard a lot of ppl say wire line is the tits lol. I did cement for Schlumberger for a few years. Didn't work direct for big blue we were 3rd party driving SLB trucks pre loading silos for the pump crew. Mostly in the Marcellus/Utica formations
     
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  5. God prefers Diesels

    God prefers Diesels Road Train Member

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    @Brettj3876 Yes, wireline was awesome. Long hours, of course, but that's the oilfield for ya. I made $230k in 2018. Problem is, the oilfield booms and busts, but every time it comes back, it doesn't "come back" like it was before the bust. So it's a downward trend. And after all the lawsuits about salary, most places are paying hourly now, and only paying bonus on profit, instead of the entire job ticket. At that point, you could make more money by the hour as a Wal-Mart greeter.
     
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  6. Gdog66223

    Gdog66223 Road Train Member

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    I was a Frac Hand at Halliburton about 3 1/2 years ago. They told me in orientation I would be driving a truck to and from Frac sites but instead they stuck me on sand and I literally stood there for 16 hours per day and ran a sand belt. Every now and then we had to change holes so that involved Green hats, which was me, to go over there and make an embarrassment of myself trying to swing a huge hammer beating wedges off pipes. I got used to it after a while and I was due to get my red hat but, instead I became an O/O
     
  7. Brettj3876

    Brettj3876 Road Train Member

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    Haha yeah we know all about the boom bust. My dad started 2009 with Nabors cement in the Marcellus up to 2015. Went back to being o/o and we did sand for a bit last yr but it wasnt even worth it. We put both trucks back to pulling vans
     
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  8. God prefers Diesels

    God prefers Diesels Road Train Member

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    @Gdog66223 I started in wireline at Halliburton, but my brother started just like you in frac. They had him on sand as well in the beginning. He eventually left frac, and became a mechanic there. He made it about ten years before this last bust before he finally got laid off. No way I could do frac. I wouldn't be able to handle riding the "short bus" to work every day with thirty other hands, and get to a location where you're expected to work in live iron. Things have changed over the years, but when I first started they would hand downjoints so close to the other wellheads that we couldn't even get the valve handle on. Many times I've leaned against live iron vibrating at nearly 10k, as I opened the next well with a freaking crescent wrench. Once you see a few people helivacced with life flight, you realize how stupid that is. One time a guy in wireline got speared by a tool and killed, because the guy at the winch wasn't paying attention and the tool crowned out on the crane and pulled out of rope socket. Killed him. We were right back there the next day logging the well, and his blood was still on the ground. The patch is a machine, and it's gears don't stop just because a person fell in and got ground up.
     
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  9. God prefers Diesels

    God prefers Diesels Road Train Member

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    Now take all that with a grain of salt. As "dangerous" as the oilfield is, it's also very safe due to safety regulations. But when something goes wrong....man, does it go wrong in a big way.
     
  10. Gdog66223

    Gdog66223 Road Train Member

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    I didn't mind Frac, its the belitting of others that make it a bad work place. Its like look at him hes got a green hat he doesn't know nothing. Theres too many chiefs and not enough indians. It's not for the faint of heart for sure.
     
  11. johnnyboyloco2500

    johnnyboyloco2500 Light Load Member

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