Wanna be OTR Hazmat/ Tanker driver...

No reason to be afraid to ask ANY question here. Most HazMat tanker companies want you to have 1 year CDL experience before they hire a newbie. Almost all tanker companies will hire with no tanker experience. The thing to know about Prime tanker division is that the tanker division is TINY compared to the rest of the company. Prime does a lot of dedicated tanker so many of the drivers only run out and back trips in one area near a big customer or region. Because the tanker division is so small there is a high likelihood that you will get your PSP training/CDL and then have no tanker drivers to train you for TNT (2-3 month supervised teaming/training period). That leaves you sitting in a hotel until a tanker trainer is available or EVENTUALLY you volunteer to do your TNT with a reefer or flatbed trainer and attempt later to move to tanker division. Most of Prime's tanker division is food-grade, not HazMat, if that's important. People will really play up the difficulty and danger of pulling liquid tankers. I almost avoided switching from dry van to tanker after 20 years experience. Liquid surge CAN be dangerous, but you can keep it safe with just a few simple and basic habits that EVERY driver should already be using, but they don't. Tankers are so much easier to maneuver for parking and so much easier to see behind when parking.

Tanker is the best part of the industry, if only because the customers treat you like a human being, unlike dry van and reefer customers. NO tanker customer gets 300 tankers per day and looks at each tanker truck as ANOTHER "diseased rat" that got onto the property. That is the attitude MOST dry van and ALL reefer customers treat truck drivers.

If you have any interest at all in tanker and especially Prime tanker, you simply owe it to yourself to watch all of the videos of John Ogren on YouTube. He is a Prime tanker driver and explains the company, the job, and all details you should know. Please be willing to watch old videos on his channels. I notice most people want YouTube truckers to make a brand new video for every question the newbie has. The newbies think the YouTube trucker can make a brand new video, while working, rather than the newbies watching an old video that answers every question they have. The answer to almost every question you now have or will have is in a past video. All you have to do is watch them. He does a good job of explaining the hiring process, the tanker division, driving with a loaded tanker, getting trailer washouts, working for a dedicated customer vs OTR, everything.

 

Prime is food grade tanker; not hazmat.
~
Several companies will hire you, but some want a 200 hr. cdl school.
Check with each company about how many hours are required.
~
CDL Truck Driver Jobs - Eagle Transport Corporation

• CDL school school reimbursement program
  
  
• Graduates from approved 200 hr. cdl schools

 

I didn't know prime did hazmat, I see a lot of their tankers but they're all food grade. Schneider used to have a good tanker training program. They do a ton of work for Nalco Water hauling all types of chemicals, mainly corrosives. As stated by @tscottme, you can get into a lot of tanker companies with no experience. Unloading tankers is very easy but never forget a lot can go wrong. I don't remember who said it on here but it is the perfect phrase..."we don't have accidents with tankers, we have disasters".

It would probably be better to get in somewhere hauling non haz loads like oil or wax to get your foot in the door, then move on to hazmat. That way you can get to know your way around driving and loading/unloading tanks and if anything did happen to go wrong at least you wouldn't go blind or end up with chemical burns.

 

Where is your location? State and nearest town/city.
Sometimes there's tanker outfits that are under the radar, but consider new cdl school grads.

 

Schneider Jobs - CDL Truck driving, Diesel Technician, …

• Truck Driving Jobs

Schneider Bulk hires new cdl school grads.

 

Don't rule out Prime tankers. It's a place to start.
`
Prime Inc. Tanker Division | Bulk Liquid Transport Carriers
Tanker Division Prime Inc. is a tanker transport company, who’s Liquid Bulk fleet consists of over 300 trucks and over 500 tank trailers.

 

Gemini Careers: Transportation - Jobs at Love's
Hires new cdl school grads. Call to ask which schools are approved. Sleeper truck and day cab positions.
.

 

HOME | tidewater-transit
Professional driving school graduates considered.
`

 

Heniff Transportation Systems, LLC. | Heniff Transportation

• For Entry Level drivers- Must attend a class A CDL Truck Driving Training course with at least 200 hours of instruction and provide transcripts. Must present Diploma for Entry Level Driver Training in Accordance with 49 CFR 380.503

.