Jobs in ND Oil Patch

I am curious, why is it that you think "Highway Drivers" dont make it up there? I have been hearing these claims about the money up there and wanting as much info as I can get. I am one of those Highway Drivers, but have been in trucking for 37 years.

 

Welp, I been up here in Stanley now for a month & I was OTR tanker yankin before. There is a lot to grasp -- the 105k gross weight, 18-speeds, off road driving & more importantly that freaggin pup we gotta pull. That thing has a mind of its own & if you cut it too much going backwards you'll bend the hitch -- costing the driver to lose $3k in bonus. All this is just the driving part... still gotta strap the tank.

 

I'm not sure this question was for me, but since I have voiced this opinion in more than one post, I probably owe an explantion regardless.

It was a broad general statement and I am sure that some do make it. If I were to commit, I would and I doubt you are different. I make my assumption based on what I have read and the fact that I don't believe most will understand the conditions and will arrive with unrealist expectations.

There is a forum member that owns trucks running up there. He has posted in this thread and he has posted for drivers in his own thread. He has shared this point of view in some of his posts. I have lived in Montana, in a valley (much less wind and warmer), so I have an idea of the conditions. I ran Idaho and Wyoming for three years and have witnessed what spring thaw does to the roads and such.

Lack of research and unrealist expectations are what I think makes the statement true. How many OTR drivers know that you may chain and un-chain multiple times in one day in sub-zero, high-wind conditions because of muddy secondary roads and clear primary roads? How many drivers know during spring thaw you may have to be winched into the oilfield by a Cat and wade knee deep mud to hook up? How many drivers know that the cost of housing is double and triple fair market value with one year waiting lists? How many drivers know what these temperature do to fuel and brakes? This is less than half the list that I compiled as the cons.

Humans can endure anything they expect and set their mind to. If you find yourself in this situation with no knowledge, frozen from chaining up, jello for fuel and no way to warm up until help arrives, what will you be thinking? By the way, they are short on mechanics too!

I think it comes down to expectations. If you know what the situation is and commit to it, you will do fine. This means you have weighed risk versus reward and are aware of the sacrfices necessary to reach your goals.

 

Good pic moneycat please post some more.

 

more pics money cat, thank you

 

I didn't realize that the trucks up there were straight tankers pulling another trailer. I suppose that pump is pulling the product from the ground and putting it into those tanks that are staged there.

 

the reason that most OTR drivers can't make it in ND is that most of the miles you put on is gravel roads.I was raised in the country and still get spooked once and a w hile.Just Tuesday I had to wait for a truck that slid off a gravel road (waited 2 hours then scared the hell out of the driver when i managed to get around him)Trust me hardly a day goes by without a close call with another truck(usually it is a #### gravel hauler.SEND NO MORE WE HAVE ENOUGH IDIOTS HERE ALREADY.

 

Thanks BigJohn for your incite. as far as for the enough idiots, my standard answer to that is welcome to the new age of Trucking, more idiots than those with common sense these days and seems to be getting worse day by day