Switching over to tanker

Yeah tanker pay is not what it should be

 

Well, I know our chemical guys are making about 1500 a week, gas haulers 1800 a week.
There's 3 companies nearby me that pay over 100k for gas haulers.
Home daily, 60 hours a week, for that money... company driver.

 

A pay cut over dry van? THE MOST competitive market in trucking, not bloody likely. Who did you ask, your boss? Probably doesn't want to lose ( another) good driver, been there, pal. Good ( not great) idea getting into tankers, be aware, some NASTY stuff gets hauled in tankers, it's not the "20 pallets load and go" van type of trucking. Loading, maneuvering and unloading, all have nothing to do with van hauling, and may catch you off guard, like starting, stopping and turns. The only tanker job that never paid much, was milk hauling, but I think that has stabilized some. Most all tanker jobs are regional, and rarely a back haul, and the biggest plus? NO FREAKIN' PALLETS!!! Good luck, tanker isn't for "space cases", you really have to pay attention to what you are doing, no 2nd chances, like van freight. With a better location where you are, our resident expert on such matters, Chinatown, probably just hitting the hay about now( it's 11pm in China) and can help you find an outfit. Tanker yankers are in short supply, allegedly, and I almost guarantee, you find a tanker outfit, it will more than likely be your last trucking job.

 

Mostly out and back loads, Half the time your running empty but pays the same.
Most of the time the customer is waiting for you, They need that product.
What I have experienced is a lot customers do the unloading, I'll air off 30% of the time or pump off rarely
I started with QC about 10 yrs ago, They trained and treated me well.
Coming from dry van I was floored when I seen the kinda pay check I was earning.
Not everyone wants to pull a tanker, Some people call me crazy for doing it, Acids to flammables to a once in a while food grade loads.
Can't think of any cons

 

I went from vans and reefers to tanks. I haul haz waste in smooth bore tanks. Talk about a learning curve. It was like learning to drive a truck all over again. You’re right though, the pay is really good compared to vans and reefers.

 

Easy to switch to tankers. Where is your location; let us know and you'll probably get some good job leads from drivers on this forum.
How many months experience do you have?

 

I was actually one of those guys. I felt tanks were too dangerous in general. But 3 years ago when I returned to OTR I knew I didn't want to do van, and I'm getting too old for tarping in flatbed so I opted to give it a shot... and to do something new. I haven't looked back since. Started in Chemical, then moved to food grade. Food grade does pay a little less depending on the company you choose but, overall, i'm pretty happy with my checks and I enjoy offloading my trailer at customers (in comparison to chemical where the customer offloads about 80% to 90%, I offload 80% to 90%)