Liquid Propane Haulers: Tips? Advice?

minnisnowman · Oct 28, 2024

prostartom said: ↑

Probably the easiest driving job I have ever had. I usually did 2 loads a day 6 days a week during the winter. The only thing I didn't like was standing outside the truck for the 60 minutes or so it took to unload, and my company was always sending me down around Washington DC so traffic was a problem. But I was paid by the hour so not too bad.

Usually, my first load came out of York, PA and that place was great, the workers loaded your truck for you all I had to do was punch in the load numbers into the computer in the loading shack. I believe that terminal was bought out though and I heard they switched to driver load. Sucked because all those guys were really nice, and I enjoyed talking to them while we waited for the truck to load.

My second load usually came out of Baltimore and that sucked because they were using a portable loading setup that pumped the product directly from a railroad car to your trailer. If you were unlucky enough to catch a split load where the railroad car empties before you are loaded, you had to wait for the crew to disconnect all the lines from the railroad car then move the cars and reconnect to the next one. Usually added about a half an hour to the load time.

Some terminals weigh you in and out, some terminals just have meters to count gallons. You have to know how many gallons you can load so there is some math involved and the weight of LP gas changes depending on the temperature. My trainer showed me how to keep a log on each load that I weighed so I could maximize how much to put on the trailer. I kept track of the terminal, how many gross gallons and net gallons, the temperature and pressure, and even how much fuel was in my truck when I loaded. I was almost always above 79,000 lbs and pretty regularly between 79,500 and 80k lbs. Its like The Price is Right, get as close as you can to 80,000 lbs without going over!

I really enjoyed the job and briefly thought about trying to do it year-round, but the company I worked for was terrible and I actually made less money doing propane than I did at my normal job even though the propane required hazmat and a TWIC card.
Click to expand...

Hows the wind in those trucks and do you use the Jake brake when it’s went/slick potentially going down grade?

prostartom · Oct 28, 2024

minnisnowman said: ↑

Hows the wind in those trucks and do you use the Jake brake when it’s went/slick potentially going down grade?
Click to expand...

Wind was never really a problem due to the trailers being round cylinder shape, plus if I remember correctly the rig weighed almost 40,000 lbs empty.

Never use your jake or engine brake when the road conditions are slick. Slow and safe are the only way to drive in those conditions and normal service brakes are more than adequate at those speeds.

Log in or Sign up

Forums

Find Trucking Jobs

Liquid Propane Haulers: Tips? Advice?

minnisnowman Bobtail Member

Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

Wait, employers can't reach you!

prostartom Light Load Member

Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

Wait, employers can't reach you!

Log in or Sign up

Useful Searches

Find Trucking Jobs

Liquid Propane Haulers: Tips? Advice?

minnisnowman Bobtail Member

Wait, employers can't reach you!

prostartom Light Load Member

Wait, employers can't reach you!