Entering the world of tankers

Is this a company that only owns the trucks and hauls for a customer or is it a company that owns the whole thing and has a division of trucks to haul their own product?

 

I was going to say that the better companies are the ones hauling their own product. And in most cases that's true since there's no cutthroat to get loads. But if you've found a job with a dedicated carrier and it's going to stay there then it's just about the same and I would make plans to stay there. But no one knows better than you for what type of job you want. I've seen drivers give up the job where I worked just to go OTR. They were back within the week begging but the company's policy is if you leave then you're gone. Make the money and make your future.

 

Well done driver..... keep the gig, sounds like a good one.

 

Fantastic to hear such enthusiasm and excitement about your new gig. Sure is great listening to a brother with a positive attitude when the chattering monkeys out there are spewing negativity with unfettered ubiquity.

 

Our terminal has had the same dedicated accounts for over 15 years . The customers are more concerned about the quality of service than low rates .

 

When you say customers I assume you're talking about the station owners. You'll see that attitude just about anywhere you go. It also depends on how the dedicated has the truck makings set up. If the trailer is clearly marked as the major there's less problems with advertisement.So the people buying the product believe they are buying what they came in for as they should.

Some majors have had bad experiences with dedicated carriers after the first term of the contract expires. They know the major can not move back in without large expense and they jack the price sometimes over 200%. Other times it pays to have a good company in smaller areas to haul their loads. I don't believe that a dedicated carrier could handle say a terminal like the ones in Los Angeles for a company like ARCO until a few years went bay and they got established. A lot of times when a major goes over to a dedicated the drivers from the major goes along with the shift and that helps. ( for the company and not the driver) That happened in Las Vegas. I would guess it all depends on who is writing the contract and what type of company is available in the area.

 

Been reading many of the threads in here and have thought about jumping onto this type of hauling in an effort to stay interested in my driving career.
I've currently got my doubles/triples, tankers and HAZMAT.
Figure while I'm taking some time away from the wheel that I'd look into this and perhaps some bulk-carriers that exist where I live and neighboring states.
Figure if I could cut the third party clowns out of the equation and have less interference in doing my job, then I'll be stressed less about it.

 

Well said......when Shell was eliminating their fleet in Houston their dedicated carrier had already been pulling the product. Shell just eliminated itself slowly by adding a couple of dedicted and dumping a few company trucks till it was done. In this example the drivers either retired or bid the plant / pipeline to stay with Shell. I don't remember what happened to the Texaco or Chevron guys. Exxon still has theirs....for now.