So why doesn't everyone drive fuel tankers?

I am hauling gas, not my apple pie.
how did I get the job? no accidents in 17 years, immaculate background. not that I am bragging just trying to help. God Bless

 

That was so funny you made me laugh so loud that I scared my kids

 

Not all hazmat tanker jobs pay well either. Especially the ones that get you home everyday. They often have lots of waiting time without pay. That's way I quit a local/regional chemical/petroleum outfit. Too many hours waiting in line with no pay. I told them I wanted hourly pay for every hour, and they laughed. I said "Ok, I'm outta here, right now." I cleaned the truck out and turned in my uniforms, right then. The entire way the fleet manager is following me begging me not to leave. I keep saying, "$20/hr will keep me." He wouldn't do it.

Keep enough cash to be able to move on when people take you for granted. Too many drivers get too in debt to move on and find better. There are very good trucking jobs, but sometimes you gotta move to a good hub area or just buy your own rig.

 

you have spoke wisely, that is exactly what is going on in the fuel hauling field. Blessings

 

Yeah I mean some tankers do not do fuel.

I am interested in tanker but I would not do fuel just not my thing.

 

A&R Transport is a good one if you have 12 months experience. Make $65K - $72K per year and don't even need tanker or hazmat endorsements. About the best looking company trucks on the road and run 67 mph.

Check the website.

 

Most hoses don't weigh but maybe 50 or 60 lbs. and it takes about 1 hr. or less to unload. You're an 0/0 now aren't you? Look at A&R Transport.

 

It's all over the map with tanker/hazmat work. In general it pays above average, but really depends on the area/region/state you're located in.

Good example; I just quit a 3.5 year run with a propane/hydrocarbon gas carrier based in New Jersey that was the BEST job I ever had in 35 years, for the first 24 months. They were family owned, and it was a decent environment and the pay was phenomenal. Hourly (about $24.00/hr.) for all hours worked no matter what you were doing. Do the math on 70 hours...it was a good job. Then came the corporate buyout. The job remained decent aside from some things changing (for the better) in safety, compliance, etc. Then came the BIGGER corporate merger in 2014 that made the job unbearably miserable, and they lost the good work I was doing locally, so I left. Back to gasoline and fuel oil in my area, as an owner-operator...created a job for myself along with all the headaches again. That's the downside of living in a rural area with less than favorable opportunity.

My point is, some guys moved south to Florida from New England and transferred with the company to the south. Their pay scale dropped tremendously from the New England pay scale, and they ended up quitting. Not hourly down there, it was percentage/load & unload pay, waiting and extra travel was free. Tough thing mentally when you're used to getting paid hourly for every minute, then you start doing charity work for the SAME company 1500 miles away.

HAZMAT typically pays better, non-hazmat slightly better than average...it's all relative. Stuff that goes BOOM makes more money. Molasses or liquid corn syrup...average pay and not that dangerous.

It's also a personal preference as to what you're willing to take for risk. I've been at it so long and have not had any problems, but have seen my share of tanker fires where nothing but frame rails and rims were left. I've been hauling gasoline, propane, butane, methanol up and over the mountains in the freezing rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...it's thankless. But everybody's gotta do something to earn a living I guess. Nothing glorious about it, that's for sure. By springtime around here, you are just glad you made it through another winter of it all. Heating season is the busiest time, you're stressed out all the time having to keep customers supplied. Thankless...


Othe than that...it's all good. :smt023

 

Couldn't agree more, and wish EVERYBODY stuck together and did the same exact thing. My opinion is that any hazmat job should START at $20.00/hr. no matter where it is located. Look at the added expense just to have the endorsements, a TWIC card, and the extra costs associated with the whole mess now. Factor in the risk, compliance issues, etc. These companies try to have warm bodies with a pulse, not wanting to pay what a good driver is worth. I say let them suffer a little and have a walk-about for a while until they wake up.

Gasoline and fuel carriers are the WORST. You are expected to work Saturdays, all the holidays (just so Mr. motorist has gas to travel,) and still do it within the allocated hours we have now. Pretty pitiful when you look at the big picture. They dictate your schedule, you work for chicken scratch all the days everybody else is off doing other stuff. Oh, they might throw you a biscuit for working a holiday, but big deal. I've been asked to get a load before midnight many times after a 12-14 hour day, just to save the customer .04/gallon before the price jump at the terminal. What do I get? Less sleep.

Someday, there needs to be a unified revolt to all this. Just a week will change the perspective of the majority of employers when they run out of product and have to drive the trucks themselves...if they know how to that is. Most of them can't, some would get their neckties caught in the door before they took off.

 

I like your post, MrW900A...really do.

Had to bang heads with people at my company. Started out pulling flats with my current job as a company driver. Made money, but there were things that I hated about the company, namely with our roadservice dept, which may take 8 hours or more for a desk jockey to make a decision. Or when empty, the dispatcher would say, "Stand By", meaning dont go anywhere. And I had to take and tarp every crap load available. It sux.

Bought my own truck, my equipment, my tarps. That took all the decision making out of roadservice's hand. That eliminated "Stand By". I will still tarp any load out there, but my rate is $250 per tarp. Average $500 a tarp job. If I get to a shipper and find out the load has to be tarped, rate goes to $400/tarp. Last time it happened, it cost them $1600.

You dont need a big revolution to bring change. All you need is to own the truck. Lease on to a company, read the operating contract, mark out anything you dont agree with, and then sign it. If they dont agree with your amendments, you part ways. One of the things I would be curious about is whether or not the company has some customer protection clause in the contract. That lack of planning would cost them dearly. I would do it, but nowhere near the same rate as running my regular shift.

Absolutely. I had drivers tell me that I am greedy and shouldnt want so much to tarp. I've had dispatchers tell me that they know owner ops who will tarp for $75. I've had customer service reps get so mad that they almost blow a blood vessel. Sorry, nothing personal...just business.

If I were pulling a tanker with my truck, I would work my shift and go home. Need an emergency run in the middle of the night? I need an extra $500-1000 on top of the usual deal. I dont tell them "no", I tell them what I need to make it happen. They may huff and puff, but they'll get over it. Just be sure to carefully read your operating contract.