schneider tanker division good or bad????

a friend of mine went thru tanker training with them somewhere in western Pa. Said was a great training period 3 weeks before you went out OTR lots of tests etc. He ended up moving on to new Jersey Transit driving buses to NYC but he talks of everything he learned about tankers there often

 

I drove in tanker division back on 2009 when i got out of cdl scholl....it was ok and a good place to start..training is great....i stayed about 7 months and moved on...but if yu can get tanker experince alot of doors should open...back when i was there ..they were hands off..didnt tell yu when yu had to fuel... or where.. etc or what route to take...ovderall decent people...

 

I have a friend that is currently in the Schneider tanker division and she hates it. She said that she doesn't like standing outside baby-sitting the hose 2-5 hours making sure the product is falling.

 

Experienced Tanker drivers: Is it true that it takes that long to transfer product? Do you get paid extra for the time?
I am looking at changing careers and hope to get on with Schneider, and this is the first I've heard about the time involved with Tankers.

 

I've never hauled for SNBC (Sni bulk) but I have hauled tanker. Some products do take hours to unload. Depends on how thick it is, what the temp of it is, how far it has to travel in the hose, and if it has to travel up to the top of a silo/tank or not. Also depends if they have filters and how strong they are. You can blow them if you pump too fast, and then the customer gets really mad.

 

I went through Bulk training in Green Bay in July, we had 6 of us in the class as i type this there are only 2 left that i know of, one driver got a local job, another driver thinking about getting out of trucking, myself im still with SNI but going to Van due to falling off top of tanker, but the biggest reason im hearing right now from those i trained with miles jut not there at this time 1,500 to 1,800 a week. But as for the training yes test, test,test 2 to 5 test a day and lots of videos spent 8 days in GB half the day would be class work and the other driving and pre/post trip, then after you completed that we went down to Gary In for more training and getting fitted for resperator and frog suits, then off with a trainer for about a week then back to Gary In for final test out, if all goes good then off you go with your own truck. By the way the hotels you stay in at GB and Gary are nice and SNI treated us good feed us lunch at the OC and shuttled us back and forth from hotel and OC. They do have a pre planned route for you to take and where to fuel, but i know a cpl may take a slightly different route, overall training is very good fast paced 6:30 till about 4pm everyday and we had to use paper logs everyday we worked even if not driving. To be honest if i wasnt afraid of falling again i go back to Bulk , but maybe at later date i may try again who kows Good Luck to you.

 

My Aunt has been with them a long long time and went tanker and and thats all she plans on doing. She loves it.

 

I just started a few months ago, and love it for the most part. I like the culture overall, the places I go, and don't mind unloading. Basic pay for unload/detention isn't good, but then again, you're just standing around for the most part. Most unloads take 2 hrs and you get paid $25. Anything over 2 hrs is $10/hr. mileage is around 40 cents with 6 mos, and the miles vary. Probably figure 2k miles per week, tho you probably get longer loads if you stay out 4 weeks. The load/unload pay can add up, if you do it quick and keep moving.

However, if you have 1-2 years exp, you may want to go elsewhere (and shouldn't have a problem finding a tanker gig). Most employers seem to be more concerned about tractor trailer exp than tanker exp. For someone new, its a good choice, imo.. likely better than average as far as pay.

I'd stay with SNBC if they'd compete with the $, but that's not gonna happen, so I'm doing my time and moving on after a year or two.