The Cryo Hauler Thread

I average 50-55 hours a week. My previous terminal was 60+ but alot of that was due to the trucks were stored at one location and our Fillzone was several miles away, across a river, in another state and both sucked to get to in morning and even traffic. It really depending the terminal and how they run. My current barn doesnt do layovers and we dont work more than 5 days a week. My previous one, I usually worked 6 days and we did layovers every month. Sometimes customer plants go down and its balls to the wall.

 

I say we average 50-60 hours per week on a 5 day work week. About 1-2 layovers per month and the occasional 65-70hr work week.

 

At my barn you worked the run given to you. If you were a runner the other guys would let you know since the standards for any given trip was based on previous runs by different drivers.
You need to be able to work when the work is there.
And if you can't you won't last long.

 

I presume runs will vary a bit. I am a long term owner operator, mostly dry van, but have hauled hydrogen for one of our agents using a customer trailer, which was used to run forklifts in distribution centers. I recall a plant shutdown being a stressful event, but the big boys saved the day!

 

I have owned a truck for the entirety of my 30+ year career. Loved the flexibility it gave me, but I've recently got rid of my 2006 Freightliner Columbia and not looking to buy another truck due to costs and regulatory uncertainty. So I'm looking at company driving jobs that pay decent. I prefer being physically active rather than driving almost constantly. However I am a bit concerned about expectation differences between myself and what a company expects from their employees. Is there such a thing as ride alongs?

 

I retired 4 months ago after 51 accident free yrs trucking, w the last 16 at Linde. They are dispatched (planned) each day from N.Y. and while you may know your next days schedule, it can always change because of customer use rates and they try not to run customers out.

Now some runs are set in stone as are most layovers because they are far out or not close to others for a dump out..

Your day maybe driving 5 hours, unload 1 or 2 stops and the head home.
Next day maybe you do 4 trips but don't even turn 25 miles.
We always had guys that like in-town days vs the guys that like road runs.
I liked any that gave me a full days pay ($600+) till my last 2 years and then 60hrs, give or take was fine.
The planners you will get to know what you like as well as your plant/driver manager.
You are also given like 20 paid days your 1st year and always have 2 days in a row off.
Plus the benefits are good.

 

This job isnt physical at all. You attach a hose from the truck to a fitting and then spend an hour or 2 yelling at your gauges or yelling at the customer tanks because neither will behave. I hauled milk prior to working at both my barns. If you want decent pay, but want more exertion, see if there are milk hauler jobs near you. If you want great pay(that can be sporadic when it slows) but work that wont physically stress you, cryo will provide that. There is more mental game here than anything. There are alot of rules and strict procedures and you have to be diligent at every customer and every fill(if you load yourself) Cryo is a great career. I may end up going back to hauling milk, but thats only because I enjoy that more, not because of anything negative with cryo.

 

If you are thoroughly accustomed to the incredible amounts of autonomy that the owner-op world usually provides -- feel more than free to do a ride-along or two (as per relevant company policies); but be mentally prepared (dare I say it, even shocked?) at some of the incredibly anal procedures, policies...& "hoops"...that hazmat tankers are expected to perform/tolerate -- daily.

I was once chided by safety -- for driving....while holding & drinking a can of Coca-Cola (hazmat tanker cabs pretty much all have driver-facing cameras now...& more & more of them operate with AI-driven software).

To clarify: I specifically asked about this very topic -- during the job interview process....to make sure my supervisor was okay with it.

At some point: expect to be coached (or even scolded) by someone in the safety dept...who probably has never even been inside the cab of a truck.

Imagine a world where (for example) Jimmy Conners is being "coached" by someone else....who has never played tennis...but instead merely strings the rackets.

Yet....somehow...they receive the authority to always play the monday-morning quarterback....& (quite often) are judge, trial...& jury.

Just some food for thought....



-- L

 

Sad and funny all at once.
Lasy yr I was coached for a hand held incident. No not a phone but an ipod.
Camera caught me picking it from dash and clicking the wheel to skip a song.
A heinous violation of "safety protocol " according to my manager, who did drive for a couple weeks, and actually reinforced my retirement decision.

Now when we first got the camera's installed (9 yrs) one of our drivers caught on camera eating a "big salad " with a fork, of course, steering w a knee.. He was given a "try not to do that" from management...

I assume going forward they'll be called out for a nose pick..

 

So the other day I had a weird sort of cryo related dream.
First was in the shop going to help with installing something. Which I don't remember what it was. But a full trycock was involved for some reason.
Another I was randomly walking around 2-3ftish of snow and ice mess. Every truck was sliding down a hill. But a Linde truck drove up it like it was nothing.