Is chemical tanker right for me?

What are you hauling. Are you hauling cryogenics?

 

You can make that easily running tanker with Fort Transfer, but you have to have at least a year of tanker with almost any chemical hauler. Try a food liquid hauler or Schneider.

 

Operations move slower in the chemical tanker world, requires a sensitive driving style and safety is always critiquing driver's cam alerts. Dependent on primary terminal location, the common products can be determined by the chemical plants in the region. The biggest deterrent to hazmat liquid jobs are products requiring full hazmat PPE. Donning a rubber suit in the height of summer for 1-2hrs is massively dreadful and easily the worst part of the job. My local products always required full PPE, but after I returned home and took a cold shower, I could complain little knowing I was averaging $90/hr. OTR products are less common to require more than basic PPE safety glasses, helmet/shield and chemical boots/gloves. Large carriers usually drop a dirty tanker at a tank wash and pickup a clean, so it's 10 minutes and your on your way. Dedicated trailers rarely go to the tank wash, usually only when they are due for annual inspection but are mainly used for local. Companies that assign a driver a trailer are most likely the ones blowing a 10hr reset sitting at a tank wash in frustration. Some companies pay a flat rate to drop a trailer at tank washes to ease the complaints. The extent of driver unload physical labor is the 10-15 minutes at the beginning and end coupling/uncoupling hoses, fittings, clamps, coiling air lines and opening/closing dome lid on top of tanker. If the above issues aren't concerning to you and you think $100k-110k/year is adequate to your goals, it's more than achievable for a home weekly regional positions. I like the balance at the $100k mark with the current economy and being home every week keeps me sane. I think that was the most gravy job of my life. I relocated about a month ago within the company and now sit at $140k base as a regional driver home every other day and off most weekends at my route planning discretion. I rotate every two weeks onto an OTR lane and earn an additional 60% my regional base. I don't care for the OTR part, my base is already more than adequate but it was a requirement for the position and makes frivolous spending less of a life issue. At my current income potential I can't see being able to beat it as an O/O under a chemical carrier with the same lifestyle.

 

Please don't drive hazmat tanker. Just stay home. Stay inside. Use your hand sanitizer. Save Grandma. Let the real professionals from the 3rd world come and fill the job. That's what your government wants. God Bless America

 

Tank washes are always a part unless you are hauling something dedicated to the trailer that can be top-loaded and any residue does not affect the product.

That doesn't mean you will be stuck at the tank wash after every load.

Depending on the carrier's structure and the location, etc. there could be a pool trailer clean and you drop your dirty to be cleaned for the next guy.

There could be a terminal located at a customer's plant where you may drop a clean wagon and pull out with another that was pre-loaded.

Often you can get cleaned while you are on a ten hour break; every trip could be different.

Regarding the risk of hauling chemicals; training and your PPE are there to get your butt out of a jam.

I spent a lot of time around acids and only ONE burn was NOT due to complacent disregard of using the provided PPE as directed.

That guy was on the ground donning his PP a good distance away when the loader took a cover/cup off the acid spiller and a drop was carried by the wind to his neck.

Some guys get complacent when the receiver is not wearing the full level of PPE and Matlack often had safety pictures [new one each month] showing burned customer people [not pretty] often mentioning that the full PPE driver was not burned...

Chemical safety starts with respecting the products by following your training and using the appropriate PPE.

Spills are prevented by checking your equipment before use.

The right gaskets, clean hoses that are correct for the product, etc. and ANY time there is equipment that was jury rigged; MAKE SURE you understand how and IF it works before using.

You make the difference.

 

We've had guys go over to chemical side and are happy.
Most because of the schedules and not the work or PPE requirements.
But we've had way more come over from fuel and chemical than leave for it.