Physical demands of oilfield driving (age 38 too old)?

At age 38 I’m in fairly decent shape in that I can get in & out of my truck and walk up & down a flight of stairs without getting winded. I can climb on top of my dump trailer to shovel hardened asphalt out, and I also work out at home. That being said, I’m not in great shape like a 25 yr. old. My knees and lower back don’t really hurt or ache, but I can tell they’re a bit on the stiff side. And while climbing in my truck & trailer is not necessarily hard like it is for some older drivers, I can already tell it’s a little more difficult compared to only 2 years ago. Also, I don’t want to get into food service because I doubt my body would last long.

All this being said, would it be a bad idea for someone like me to pursue a driving career in the oilfield? I’d probably start out as a water truck driver or maybe a frac sand hauler. There are various different jobs in the oilfield, and some of them are extremely physically demanding. I don’t mind getting out to carry and couple/uncouple hoses, install tire chains, etc. But I already know I’m not a “roughneck”.

 

That doesn’t sound bad at all. To be fair, I don’t mind getting out of the truck on occasion to get the blood flowing. And I actually enjoy the 5-10 minutes using the shovel or pickaxe to remove dried asphalt, as it’s good for the biceps & shoulders. But I wouldn’t want to do it for hours on end. If I wanted to use the shovel all day long, I’d just get on the paving crew.

 

“Fairly decent” were the operative words there.

In any event, can a trucker make it in the oilfield without having to be a roughneck?