Is local gas hauling good $$ for owner operators?

im with kennan out of florida and would like to chime in if your new to gas start as a company driver as you could easly make a big $$$$$ mistake as putting diesel in gas o/o eat those cost and yes phisically gas is easy but there is several ways to make a mistake from cross drop to contamination to spill ect to name a few and its not for everyone dont buy a truck then realize it aint what you thought its tough right now in fl as the rates on kennan 2 main accounts have been cut (hess) & 7-11 we just lost 7 o/o last week one guy said from the time he started here till now he's lost 20,000 a yr within 3 yr from what ive seen its possible being that kennan has all the main accounts here but are constintly under bid bye other carriers hess just gave penn tank bout 50 stores and forced kennan to be more competitive on price so they pass to o/o hope this helps good luck and sorry for the grammer guys

 

Im not sure how the rates are now but when I was leased onto a company hear in the northeast back in the 90s they were marginal. You could do ok but fuel was a lot cheaper. I did much better in the summer hauling liquid asphalt. There is far fewer O/Os hauling gas trailers here today than there was back then so that might say something. There has also been a number of new fleet owners that have spawned as well with the major gas compaines eliminating there drivers and they are all cutting each others throats. I would get your feet wet as an hourly paid company driver and go from there. Its still in my opinion the best work out there for a driver.

 

I'm speaking on behalf of my experience and knowledge in Florida this might not pertain to it every location across the United States but the owner operators here at my terminal the net after fuel expenses about 1800 dollars a week the rates have been cut down over the past few years like I said from competitiveness from other companies under bIdding Keenan and Keenan just passes those cut down to the owner operator so some guys use the net around 2500 dollars a week and now they're netting 1800 so like I said decent money if your truck paid for but still a lot lower than what the guys use to make at some point so a lot of leaving hope this helps you guys and don't take one person's experience it might be different in your part of the world don't bank on someone else's experience and let that be a determining factor things might be different in your area

 

I've been hauling fuel for a California based company in Nevada and there's a lot to fuel. If you're just getting into it, "3 days with a guy" isn't gonna cut it. The company I was with had you training for at least 2-3 months before you were released on nights by yourself. It is very easy, but it only takes the push of a button, pulling wrong valve, loading wrong compartment, inputting wrong amount of gallons, delivering into wrong tank, forgetting to open internals when unloading... just some of the things that can go wrong. The biggest thing is getting a routine down and doing it EVERY single time you unload and load. I was with a common carrier so we would haul to mom and pop stations as well as branded stations, ie (chevron, shell). We had dozens, dozens and dozens of different accounts we pulled off of. I could have 87, 91 and diesel on and each product loaded off a different account. Load 87 here, go to another rack and load diesel, then drop 87 here and take diesel to another store. That's just SOME stuff that a common carrier fuel hauler has to deal with lol! We also had about 15-20 owner ops and they do VERY well. I've chatted with them a couple of times. They make a killing when hauling oil instead of gas. They made 75% of what the load paid and the company took 25% for the trailer lease, insurance etc. Hope I helped a bit lol!

 

Up here in Maine is a company called Dead River. Starting pay is around $20 an hour for a 48 hour week. 3 nights with 1 day then 3 days off (rinse and repeat). They start you off on heavy crude oil (bunker type D), it doesnt slosh yet gets you familiar with the use of a daycab International with a triaxle trailer. As time progresses they move you to lighter grades. Till after about 5 years when you are hauling aviation fuel.

 

I must be a big dummie. I hauled gas / diesel / ethanol. Two to three months training? I think I trained for two or three days. Where we loaded out of, the only way to overload your trailer was to come back with fuel in the tank, the computer knew your trailer number, and would not dispense any more fuel then one compartment could hold. I was on high volume accounts, so we rarely sticked tanks, just checked Veeder Root tapes to make sure load would fit in tank. Not dropping diesel in a gas tank or vice versa is just a matter of paying attention to what you are doing. it was probably the easiest, most simple job I have ever had. Maybe I'm just to simple minded to find it in any way difficult or confusing, I sure can't figure why it would take two or three months of training.

Adam

 

I also wondered the same thing when I was in training. It was a long time, but my company was HUGE on safety and making sure you were completely okay with what you were dealing with. We had basic routine we they made us follow when we were in training just so you could get comfortable as well. We always had reps from (Arco, Shell, and Chevron) coming by during drivers meetings letting us know the new rules and regulations. We also had a list of stores that had a certain way they wanted their fuel delivered (Arco, Shell, Chevron, Valero, 76, Costco etc). We had Drivecams inside our rigs and never knew when a rep from a store was watching us deliver, so we had to follow their rules as they required. Lots and lots to remember for each store, branded or not. So if they wanted the tank stuck, it got stuck, as well as getting a before and after veeder root. I was a Arco dedicated driver for a year and half and that is very high volume account. Sometimes the store I started with in the beginning of my shift was also my last load of my shift. That happened about 4-5 time a month. I usually had 5-7 stores to hit a night. 2-3 of those stores were 2-3 hour turns and locals were about a hour and fifteen minutes to a hour and a half. I know what it's like to be on that high volume account and with following your routine and rules I never had to cut corners to save time. That's going in for a veeder root, sticking tank, before and after. From the time pulling into the store to pulling out was 25-30 minutes.

 

You're not a dummy, either. Lol

 

2-3 months!?!. The ONLY time Ive ever seen ANY company do that is if the trainee is utterly incompetent & clueless. If it takes that long to grasp it, you should not be hauling gas.

 

You know, I should be more clear. You were with a trainer for about a month to a month and half. Then released on day shift for a month or more to see how you do. Getting assistance when needed. Even drivers that came from other companies were glad that the company could show them so much more that they didn't even realize. It's not someone being incompetent or clueless. It's just that my company gave a lot of information to their driver and that takes time. Guys that wanted to go fast and get out on their own within' a week were quickly brought back to realty when you have 14,000 gallons of gas to load and everyone is rushing you, and you're not sure what lane to be on, when the rack shutdowns are, when the gas arms shut down on each lane. It's a lot too take in for a new guy. A lot of guys aren't used to the way gas handles when pulling triples either. That rear trailer will walk all over the place lol! We're legal for 129k or 12,500 diesel, 14,000 gas. Not sure why people are reacting this way? I'll take any advice I can get to make me a better driver, no matter how long it takes. In the end, my company just cared about safety and really making sure you're comfortable with every aspect of the job. I'm sorry if anyone see's it different. To the driver who started this thread. Gas can be a very easy job if you get with the right company. Just remember, no one walks on water and mistakes happen. Just do your research on a company before making the dive. LOL! Good luck