So you want to haul crude oil in the badlands of ND?

QualityMike · Dec 27, 2012

tong81 said: ↑

would it be better if i get my hazmat in los angeles first then come up or should i get it when i am up in north dakota? if i already have my hazmat do i have to get a new hazmat all over again?
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Yes. Hazmat endorsement is State specific. You will have to take the ND Hazmat test if you plan on getting a ND CDL. If the Federal background check is within 12 months, ND does not require you to retake it. Get your Hazmat in LA before you come up. It makes you look more serious.

Seattle206 · Dec 28, 2012

tong81 said: ↑

would it be better if i get my hazmat in los angeles first then come up or should i get it when i am up in north dakota? if i already have my hazmat do i have to get a new hazmat all over again?
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It's different from state to state; but I got mines in Washington State; and had to pay again in Texas. Though Halliburton reimbursed me; its something to be aware of.

Nogy · Dec 30, 2012

ND won't transfer ur hazmat from out of state. Beware.

Rocket1949 · Jan 2, 2013

Can you get a permit to carry a pistol and if so have you known anyone that has ? Thanks

Rocket1949 · Jan 2, 2013

ben528 said: ↑

I am writing this simply because I wish someone had informed me of what I am writing that follows:

In this recession, jobs are hard to find but there is one exception: working in the oilfields of North Dakota. For any trucker who wants a job that pays good (I'm talking $70k+ starting), this is the place to be. There are 100 jobs for every man who applies. Send out 20 applications, and you seem to get 21+ replies. Your voicemail is filled with "Please return our call as soon as possible!" $70k+/yr starting seems to be the norm. There are positions for flatbed hauling of drilling rigs and equipment, water hauling, frac tank hauling, belly dump hauling gravel and scoria, and my favorite, crude oil hauling. A good place to look for work is http://www.jobsnd.com/

For the last two months, I've been hauling crude oil in and around the badlands of North Dakota, and it is the best (and scariest) job I've ever had. $70k+ starting, work two weeks, and one week off. This has been the best job I've ever had, but wish I had known some things before heading over.

Things to take into consideration before applying for a job hauling crude oil in the badlands:

First and foremost, if you are afraid to die, this is not the job for you. You will experience loooong periods of boredom marked by many brief periods of sheer terror. Not a day goes buy where you are in a situation where you wonder if its your last. I was caught in a freak electrical storm filling up with crude oil at a well that was the highest point around for many miles, watching lightning strike a mere hundred of yards away. Crude oil fumes everywhere leading to 4,000 barrels of oil ready to ignite. Nowhere to run or hide. Then you have to worry about the drunk drivers. Lots of them. Or the fog so thick you can't even see the nose of your truck, much less the road. Or the crazy people who like to beat up truckers. I was a victim of a failed attack a little more than a week ago where two guys in two pickup trucks tried to jack me. I ended up ripping a door off of one and busting the rear bumper off the other after they tried to block my truck and slow me down. Cops said I had every right to kill them. Or the tornadoes that spawn right over you after you hook up to a lact. No place to run or hide. I rolled up on a well once where the backfire preventer blew out of the ground leaving a small crater. And it was still on fire. If it continued, it would have blown up the treater, then onto the tanks. That would have been a huge crater. Anyway, in the two months I've been working, I've already seen a handful of guys quit after the first day because they are scared ######## even on the ride along.

All roads are pretty much 7% grades on mostly obliterated asphalt roads, with sharp curves at the bottom that you can't see around. The best road I drive on is Highway 23, which is also the deadliest highway in North Dakota. That should give you an idea. Sometimes you can drive faster on the gravel roads than the paved roads. Some parts of asphalt roads are missing altogether, and even when you hit them at less than 20 mph (while you're still in a 65 zone), you are now riding a 50-ton double-bottom bucking bronco on a road where both sides drop straight down to the bottom of the badlands. All roads seem to be two-lanes, and no shoulders. Anywhere.

Most of the time you are driving from one side of the middle of nowhere to the other side of nowhere. This means you are on your own. Bring your own food and WATER (at least a gallon at all times). MRE's are ideal, especially if you want a hot meal. No open flames for cooking, that's why the flameless ration heaters are a good thing.

When you are going to the wells, you are on your own. There are no truck stops, or even little gas stations you can pull into to get some crappy nuclear burrito.

You will lose weight. I've lost 20 lbs since I started and often look like Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway at the end of my two week tours.

Cell phone service is a luxury. Most of the time (95%) you have no service, even with a Wilson SignalBoost. Learn smoke signals.

Bring a roll of toilet paper in a ziplock baggy. Most of the time the nearest toilet is 50+ miles away.

Bring a full change of clothes. Sooner or later every crude oil hauler gets a crude oil shower.

Protect yourself and watch your back at all times. There are people out there that *really* hate truckers. Always lock your doors, carry Mace, and have a hammer or crowbar on hand with you. Most of the time cops are 30 miles away. And you have no signal so you can't call them anyway.

Make sure to ask the company for living arrangements if you are from out of town. All hotels and apartments on the oil field are booked solid into eternity.

There's a lot more than this, but it's a good start.
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Can you get a permit to carry a pistol?

nitrogen · Jan 4, 2013

Very little to be afraid of in ND other than cool weather and dust

nd-newbie · Jan 5, 2013

Rocket1949 said: ↑

Can you get a permit to carry a pistol and if so have you known anyone that has ? Thanks
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Let's just say that it happens, and for good reason. I know one guy whose truck was stolen from him at a truck stop. The truck was later found, but the crude in the tanker was gone... long gone into someone pipeline after it was likely sold for cash... yeah, that happens here too and not just in Texas along the border. Trying to fight off motivated criminals in an FR suit and safety boots is not smart.

Nobody should be so personally irresponsible that they give up the right to protect themselves just because of their job. There are other jobs. You only have one life.

WideSkyND · Jan 7, 2013

nitrogen said: ↑

Very little to be afraid of in ND other than cool weather and dust
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the driver did go over board a bit, but the truth is in that posting albeit the all the negatives
for the money earned, you can't get enough given the dangers

bostonDriver · Jan 7, 2013

Hi Gang:
I've had my CDL since 2005 but have not engaged in oil field services. Recently I have been following the growth of oil field service jobs and it seems today that the future opportunity is hauling freshwater, flowback, produced water, drilling fluids etc! I made a quick survey on surveymonkey.com Here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GDB3JW7 It has 8 quick questions about the types of work you already do, where your doign it, how much you get paid etc? I'm hoping that you all could take this survey (it is blind - I'm not asking for peronsal details). I will then publish the results up here and we can all see data about what areas people are working in and where the growth is going to be in the future!

Take a look at the survey, zip off the answers - share the URL with friends and post to other threads. I'll share the results back with this thread in two weeks.

Regards,
Marcus

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GDB3JW7

nd-newbie · Jan 8, 2013

Looking at getting back in the seat and out of the pickup. Was offered a Field Supervisor job around Williston for 70k but had to say no thanks... not enough money for North Dakota. Waiting to hear from an O/O about his day slot. Sounds like a great fit.

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