Tanker or Van

I think out of the companies you've listed, Roehl is the best name.

Never hear much of Prime's tanker division.

 

answering the other things you've listed:

Ice/Snow/etc.: I lived in IL for 17 Years in the town of Mt. Carroll. average 3 feet of snow/year. If it's bad enough that you have to chain up, or it's bad enough for the Plows to stop going, PULL IT ON IN! No reason for you or anyone else for that matter to burn 250,000 in Freight, Truck, and trailer to get there in a snowstorm. Especially with a lack of experience on your part (trust me, driving a rig in a blizzard sucks.)

Van/Tanker safety: Tankers take a little getting used to. When you have 2000+ gallons of something behind you and you are moving, it will slosh. you will feel the motion of the ocean...

Tanker customers nicer: Couldn't say for sure. I don't know.

Pay: Challenge them and ask them how many miles per week they are getting. Or better yet, I know Illinois has a good number of truck stops: Go to a nearby truck stop and ask their drivers. I know Schneider and Roehl can usually be seen at TA. Dunno about prime though.

 

Not really. A lot of times the company has more tanks than trailers, so they can afford to have some parked at the tank wash already cleaned and ready to go. You pull in, drop the dirty tank, do the papaerwork, and drive out with a clean one.

It's common to live wash the tank behind you, but a lot of times you have to switch anyhow because of what was in the tank. Some loads can't be carried in a tank if a different load was carried within the last 5 loads. You always need to be aware of what the previous load was when you operate with tanks, and how it can affect the current tank. Even with washing, there is potential residue to consider.

 

As a newbie myself, I am going to stick to dry box until I get comfortable with it. I dont want to have to worry about any more than I have to. Later on, I may decide to drive a tanker or doubles or whatever else, but for now I think van is the best starting out.
Good luck!

 

I'm not sure where your located but I just finished schooling (C.D.L. Training Services is the name of the school) in SHorewood, IL and would highly reccomend them.

We had a few recruiters come in and explain their companies & Roehl seemed like a good outfit to work for and was my 2nd choice. Roehl will pay you back $100 - $150 per month until your school is paid off and you don't have to sign a contract and they don't decrease your pay for tuition reimbursement.

I would highly advise to NOT signing a contract to keep your options open.

Also, Fill out your applications and get a few "pre-hire letters" from potential employers BEFORE starting school so you know you'll have a job once your licensed. Only myself and 1 other fella had jobs lined up upon completion of the course. Everyone else said "I'm worrying about the CDL now and I'll worry about a job once I get licensed." Which, to me, is really a bass ackwards way of doing things...

GL to ya.

 

Tankers were best for my goal. I wanted to make alot of money and still be there for my family. Since my Father worked in the petroleum besiness I knew how to do it. To me the only truck driving I would do is driving for a major oil company like BP, Chevron, Shell, and so on. I retired from Arco which is now owned by BP. I grossed over 75k a year and was home every night and had two to three days off every week. It's consider the top job to have so the waiting list is about 5 years. I got paid by the hour ($23.50) so everything over 10 hours was time and a half. We worked 4 10 hour days and could always work an extra day for over time. The only drawback I went through was the business is a 24 hour 7 days a week operation and when I started I ended up with the shift nobody wanted. Working nights Thurs-Mon. I did get an extra dollar an hour for shift differential and I like working with no bosses around. But after awhile I got the better shifts. You can only get this type of job if you have tanker experience and a clean record so you might want to set your goals and go for whatever you like. I've done both and would NEVER go back to vans OTR.

 

There's a fair amount of waiting time to load/unload with a tanker. Some companies have their stuff together while others, like food grade outfits, still use your tank to run the production line or as storage. It's all ok as long as you're getting paid well enough for the sitting.

Food grade tanker yanking is the only thing I'll ever do again. Maybe some D&H but that's about it. I'm spoiled or ruined, depending on your prospective.

Food grade tankers, aka shot gun or smoothbore, are not necessarily as bad as some would have you believe...but they can be.

There's no taking corners too fast, you only get to do that once. No fast exits from the hiway. When you exit, look for that lil itty bitty orange sign that shows the suggested truck ramp speed...& then drop 10mph below that. And that's in good weather.

The surge from the load moving around is not bad once you get used to the various products & how they react to your driving skills.

At the very least, you will become exceptionally graceful in your shifting, braking & cornering. You need to because if you do it wrong, it'll feel like you just got kicked in the back by a mule & sound like you just blew the front or back of the trailer out.

Going down the road is no problem. It all settles down. Scales can be a pain because you have about 10 mins of sitting there to make it stop sloshing all the way. There's a couple tricks to stopping it but it still takes time to come to a full rest.

Climbing hills can be a bit tricky on shifting. You have to do it right or you end up working against the load & getting kicked in the back.

Stopping on slippery roads can be interesting sometimes. If you're not paying attention, a sloshy load can push you thru a stop before you know it. It's, at the very least, embarassing.

There's more involved but that's all for now.
Others can clue you in further.

Just rememeber that it's not all that hard if your carefull.