Bell Fuels - Cicero, IL

Howdy Y'all !!

Was teaming with my wife for a few years at US Xpress then for medical reasons she had to come off the road. I ended up going local. When I was looking, it seemed the tractor trailer jobs weren't paying much more than the Class B Jobs so I focused on finding a B that paid pretty good. My biggest hurdle was most health insurance local companies offered weren't that great. I stumbled upon something that I never thought about which was Class B tanker. Didn't really understand what they did but the pay and most importantly the health insurance was exactly what I was looking for.

The company I went with is Bell Fuels and they're out of Cicero, Illinois but the company's corporate office is in Morris, Illinois for tax purposes. It's been around for 100 years. Started out delivering water on a horse carriage to stores downtown and evolved to fuel delivery.

The job pays $28.40 an hour and a weekly bonus of $120 which roughly equals out to $31 an hour. We're union so we're part of the Teamsters 705. The union due is $79 a month and with being union we get free health Insurance and dental for me and my family. The health insurance is really good. The deductible is $405. On top of that, we get a pension in which they put around $2,100 a month. For details on the health insurance go to the Teamsters 705 website.

The best part about the pay is that we're guaranteed a 40 hour week. That means if I work 30 hours because I get done early then they still pay me for 40 hours. Winter is our slow season and so I was doing around 34-36 hours a week. It was nice knowing my pay wouldn't be affected. Another thing that's awesome is how the overtime works. So for example let's say I work four of the days of the week less than 8 hours but one day 9 hours. Then I get paid one hour of overtime. Saturdays are time and a half and if you work Sunday then it's double.

The schedule is Monday - Friday. We have a first shift and a second shift and it's based on seniority. New drivers start second shift which can vary. Second shift has a start time of 2pm to 7pm but most of us start at 4pm. You can work Saturday and Sunday but that's based on seniority.

The trucks are in good condition. We have three older Macks, and the others are newer Kenworths. Recently the company bought two Macks and those have been sent off to have the tank attached. We also do Class A tanker but it's in the first shift. We're mostly a Class B company.

What's nice about this company after working at a major carrier is this is a small company. We have less than 15 drivers. No cameras in the truck, no e-log and we're allowed to talk on the phone (with a headset) when we're working. I've been on the phone with my wife while important milestones in my kids life has happened when I was working. Not missing out on those things makes this job highly attractive.

I have anywhere from three to eight stops a day. We mostly haul diesel. Most of the stops are small with usually one or two big stops. The small stops can be filling a small generator, 4-5 trucks or an above ground tank. The big stops consist of fueling trucking companies that have anywhere from 30-70 trucks. Most customers are closed.

We have two different hoses in the trucks. A big one that can go about 300 feet and a small hose that's similar to the one you find at the gas station. I use the big one because it can do about 60+ gallons a minute which is helpful when you gotta do 30-70 trucks.

The company provides uniforms if you want otherwise you can wear your own clothes.

The worst part about the job is fueling construction equipment. Imagine taking a Class B tanker truck off-road to fill a Caterpillar. You hope you don't get stuck in the mud.

The turnover is low at this company. The past few years, the company had a couple drivers retire and pass away so lucky for me they were hiring when I was looking.

Bell Fuels is growing because years ago they only had two drivers working second shift now they have five and are adding two more. If you guys live in the Chicagoland area and are looking for a place to work then I'd definitely recommend this place. It's old school so they do paper applications but you can give them a call and maybe they can email you one???? Hope this helps!

 

Just wanted to update in case someone is looking for a job. Bell Fuels is hiring. We're union which means free health insurance for you and your family & a pension. $32 an hour and in November the pay will be $34. Pay goes up $2 every year.

 

1. Hiring area: listed on the website
2. Tanker & hazmat is a must. Twic not needed
3. Minimum 1 year trucking experience
4. No previous tanker/hazmat experience needed
5. Don't know