Tankers the Schneider way

Discussion in 'Tanker, Bulk and Dump Trucking Forum' started by Tardis, Dec 8, 2011.

  1. thirdreef

    thirdreef Medium Load Member

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    i went into a truck stop to get something to drink right before I hit the sack. Noticed this guy playing the machines.. Came back in the morning .. Same guy still playing the machines.. And then they snivel they can't make any money.
     
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  3. thirdreef

    thirdreef Medium Load Member

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    Let me ask you a question. When your kid turns 16 or turned .. Did you let them drive the Kia or the Porsche ? One gets to the point where they will get way over their head.. And I like your description of a swift driver.. Very accurate. Most tanker companies want at least a year driving before they will even talk to them. Schneider is the only one that takes newbies.. Why?
     
  4. wsyrob

    wsyrob Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    I used a Swift reference because that is the company you chose to mention. There are many fine drivers who got their start with Swift.

    You are wrong about Schneider being the only company who will take a newbie and train them on tanks.

    I started 6 years ago on tanks with Superior Carriers. I know many drivers who have driven nothing but tanks and started with companies that advertise 1-3 years experience to start. Superior lists 1.5 years experience required on its web site. They have relationships set up with specific truck driving schools and will hire the top drivers from them. Its not hard to attract the best candidates when you start them at .40 empty .47 loaded when compared to what the starter box companies pay(low .30s at best). Its only a few at a time and they are picky.

    Good companies with low turnover rates are facing a shortage of drivers in the next 10 years as the baby boomer generation retires. Some would rather do the training themselves rather than rely on high turnover starter box companies who run team training scenarios. Other companies do this as well. I often run into guys at customers who started on tankers from many companies. You will see more companies start doing this as aging drivers retire or medically wash out of the industry.

    Schneider is the only tank outfit that I see advertizing heavily for newbie recruits but it seems even they are vetting tanker prospects to a higher standard than box companies. You can read on TTR about prospects who don't cut it for tankers who are offered OTR box positions.

    As far as your analogy of the 16 year old driving the Porsche that would depend on the maturity level of the individual. I coached teenagers for 30 years. They are all different. Some could handle it at 16, some never grow up. Its about hiring the right person whether they have been driving 1 month or 50 years.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2013
  5. Rockford

    Rockford Light Load Member

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    Trimac also takes graduates from driving schools. They have a list of schools they hire from on their website.
     
  6. thirdreef

    thirdreef Medium Load Member

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    See my problem is that I have to drive down the road with these people. And hopefully things get better. First any body can open a school. And most just teach you how to fill out log books, and get you to be able to pass the test to get your CDL. And then there are these company trainers. I talked to a guy one time that drove for May trucking. He had his CDL and was cleared to drive for them for 3 weeks. And they wanted to make him a trainer. This is what I see. I see students with trainers who don't even have 1 year under their belt. A trainer needs to have 5 years plus. It takes that long to see most of the problems. I see people that tailgate me, suck my chrome off my front bumper because they come over to soon, I see a parking lot in the winter in the middle of the freeway. I see people who don't use their rear view mirrors and see all of those flags,and BIG yellow sign that says oversize then try to hug the dotted line. It's funny when I have on something with steel tracks.. They hug the line,until they look down and realize that those tracks will rip the hell out of their truck.. They almost hit the grass. Or when I'm wide, these fine truck drivers will tailgate you, so you don't even know they are behind you, and you need to get over, they will just pop out and try to pass. This is what I see. And it never used to be that way. It started sometime in the last 10 years. Then there were the drivers that weren't trained on big hills.. I've had to talk a couple of them off these hills. As they were trained east of the Rockies , or the driver that doesn't have a clue how to chain up in a snow area. Or how to do minor repairs like priming a fuel system, or replacing a fuel filter.. Just minor things, but should have some clue on how to do it. And what ever happened to others pulling over to help another trucker? Now they won't even get over into the other lane, but try to suck your door off. This is what I see. Or like just training in one type of truck, or one transmission , or one type of trailer. Because its really not fair to that person. The more things that guy knows..the more viable he is when he needs a job. And normally that odd piece of equipment will come out with the lowest day of your life when you are so broke and starving. He will go into some trucking firm and ask ,, gotta job? Yeap, need one ? Yeap. So you know how to drive a set of sticks? We got this old truck in back, if you know, then you gotta job.. I know, but give me a day to remember.. Has that happened ? You bet it has. Just like a person who only knows tanks. Do they know anything about pneumatics? Or flats? Or how to deal with the markets? Or how to load a trailer by hand? It's great that people an be trained on tanks.. But they also need to have a little on other things. Or transmissions.. How many transmissions do they learn on? I guess I was lucky because before I got my commercial license. I had 5x4, 10 with a 3, 13 speed and an old automatic. But I knew them and what could be done with them. And later I learned on a5x3, 9 speed , 6 speed , 5 with 2 speed rears, 15 speed, and that was all within a couple of years. And later on a 18.So I could drive just about any type of tranny out at the time. But now these students have what 9, 10,13? Maybe an automatic? Most COEs are gone , but that job just might have them . A hour driving one would sure help. Or a cab forward, same thing.. Every thing that that driver has in his arsenal of being done, is a feather in his cap. That's what I'm trying to say. I'm sure that Schneider would like that driver to retire from them , but it doesn't always work that way, layoff, fired quit etc.. And nothqvingthe other experiences also , if something did happen, and the guy couldn't find another tank job.. Or even get a job driving gas or diesel trucks.. Then what? All of that one knowledge , but not rounded out. That's what I see and am worried about. And that's why I get so defensive sometimes.. It's a we. Not a me, and we need to watch out for each other.. That's the way I see it.
    And you would let that kid hop into a 400 hp Porsche? See that's another thing..nobody pays their dues any more.. Most don't know what it's like to drive a truck with a 250 or a 300.. They want that 600.. So they don't appreciate the good stuff. Try driving a truck with a 250, no A/C no power steering, no air ride at all , tube tires that do blow out, a clutch that you needed clutch boots to help you push the clutch, a coffin sleeper, that you crawled through the back window, a radio, not sterio but a radio that you couldn't hear because of the noise, a transmission shift lever that rested against your left leg that would try to burn out in the desert and had turbo heating.. No heater.. Just the heat off the turbo. Funny thing when I got into a truck with just a/c I thought I had died and gone to heaven . And students think they have it so hard today . An have no respect for any body or anything.. That's what I see.. Because when I got into trucking we all respected each other, But WE ALL HAD FUN doing it. And that needs to be the whole point. Life is to short.
     
  7. DonM

    DonM Light Load Member

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    If he wasnt wearing a respirator he would have been dead in just a few minutes. So the chemical suit would have only protected the dead body.
     
    White_Knuckle_Newbie Thanks this.
  8. ulenie

    ulenie Medium Load Member

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    Can anyone recommend a better hazmat glove than the one schneider gives? I find it too oversized and sticky as hell
     
  9. GasHauler

    GasHauler Master FMCSA Interpreter

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    How do we know what type of gloves Schneider has?
     
  10. ulenie

    ulenie Medium Load Member

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    Because this is a SNBC thread
     
  11. Cat sdp

    Cat sdp . .

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    ulenie Thanks this.
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