Mansfield Energy- My First Venture into Tankers

Discussion in 'Tanker, Bulk and Dump Trucking Forum' started by JimTheHut, Jul 14, 2019.

  1. Ricco1689

    Ricco1689 Bobtail Member

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    Years ?? Yikes. Bunch of barns around me, done my time yanking gas wagons. Severely underpaid for what we do. All the linehaul outfits were paying decent starting and desperate for experienced drivers, OT available, bennies. Had I not gone in another direction, LTL would've been my play.
     
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  3. JimTheHut

    JimTheHut Road Train Member

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    Every area is different. I plan on working 5 more years and then I am going to retire. So this is a good gig for me. zI will be home daily and weekends so my wife is very happy. I was gone for 9.5 years home only on the weekends.
     
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  4. JimTheHut

    JimTheHut Road Train Member

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    The first week is in the past! I learned a lot! On the Friday we went down to Columbus to load. We did three loads. The first to a gas station in Logan ohio. The second was to a waste facility and the third was to a trucking company. We then headed back to covington and then I drove back home for the weekend.
    I have not witnessed any aggravation with this job yet. For the most part you have very little interaction with other people. Everything is automated when you load. When you get to the customer site, you basically just go unload and then get them to sign off on the load.
    As far as risk...yes I am pulling around fuel, but it really does not concern me. I dirve any truck as if I have a 48,000 lb steel coil on the back of it. I am not an aggressive driver and I do not get in a hurry. A very good friend of mine died this week changing a tire on his farm tractor. You can die anywhere! I am probably at more risk driving my car to and from work. When my time comes, it really will not matter what I will be doing! I will of course take all the necessary precautions required hauling fuel, but I am not worried about it.
    The real challenge in this job is figuring out if the fuel you have will fit into the customers container. You have to stick the tanks and look at your charts and make sure it will fit. Hope you all have a great weekend and I will continue back on Monday.
     
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  5. JimTheHut

    JimTheHut Road Train Member

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    Training is going well! I am now carded at two facilities here in Dayton. Got my uniforms so I look official. Today we had a 2 hour wait at a terminal because their vapor system had issues. In flat bedding a two hour load is excellent....so it was not bad.
     
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  6. JimTheHut

    JimTheHut Road Train Member

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    Was able to get carded at two more terminals today. These two were in Cloumbus. Everything is going well.
     
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  7. JimTheHut

    JimTheHut Road Train Member

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    I just completed my third week of training. The one thing that I realize more than anything else is that if you have an off moment and are not triple checking yourself, you can cause a very big and serious problem. It is very humbling to know that you can mess up so quick and cost so much money....
    So caution is the word. Have a plan for each load before you go to the rack and follow your plan. If something happens that causes you to change your plan, make sure to document it your notes so that you do not follow the old plan.
    Had one load this last week that was two different products, #2 Diesel Clear and #2 Diesel Dyed. The customer had 4 tanks and they were not all the same size. So we had to load our 4 compartments to be able to accommodate the customers tanks. It would have been very easy to not have caught that and loaded the truck in such a way that you would be guessing exactly how much fuel you were putting in their tanks.
    So the number one rule is to read all the notes when you get a load to be sure it can be offloaded at the other end.
    We also had a load that would not fit. So we had to keep some on the truck and we had it delivered to a different customer.
    So it has been anything but boring to say the least!
     
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  8. JimTheHut

    JimTheHut Road Train Member

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    Finished my fourth week and was told that I would have one week to go. I have the loading and unloading down very well. I could go out on my own at this point. We are doing another week so that I can get carded up in the Lima area. One one thing that I am having trouble with is getting lined up correctly to pull into some of these racks. Most of them are very tight and no room for error. These tankers are different than anything else that I have pulled, so I do not have them figured out yet.
    I plan on once I get turned lose to spend some time down in the yard in Columbus practicing. I am going to set up the cones and simulate the terminals that I have had issues with until I am comfortable that I can put that truck and trailer where I want it.
     
  9. speedyk

    speedyk Road Train Member

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    Find something on the trailer front for a reference point, then watch how it moves on the inside mirror as you turn. When you get it the way you want you now have an independent verification that it's going right.
     
  10. JimTheHut

    JimTheHut Road Train Member

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    Ran three days by myself last week and started my shift yesterday running 12 to 12. Next week I will probably start on my normal shift of 4 pm to 4 am.
    The biggest frustration is getting allocation at the terminals. When you check allocation, and there is none, you then have to get your phone out of your truck and then walk over to the building and make the call. You then either get another source or they tell you to go to a different terminal. This seems to be the same for all of the companies. Diesel has been hard to come by lately in the Columbus/ Dayton area. Even though I am on salary and am not loosing any money, It is still frustrating. The other thing is when you go to the customer and they have multiple tanks for gas, and you ask them which one is which, they have no idea...lol
    You have to do a lot of figuring things out on your own....it will become easier with time.
    I have the maneuvering of the truck down pretty good now...since I have had to hit so many terminals one right after another...I got lots of practice!
    The job is not hard...you just have to double and triple check everything...because you do not want to make that phone call that you screwed up!
     
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  11. JimTheHut

    JimTheHut Road Train Member

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    Thursday was my last day at Mansfield. Nothing that the company did. I did not like where I had to go everyday to pick up the truck. It was just west of the hilltop area in Columbus. It is a very high crime area. I used to have rentals down there. I was very aware of the potential of bad things happening and my wife was not able to sleep worrying about it. I was told that I could come back if I ever wanted to. I took a job for less money only two miles from my house. Just on drive time, I will save over 500 hrs a year and about $2,000 a year on gas. I will be pulling a tanker at times filled with liquefied food products being taken to be converted into Natural Gas. In the winter I will also be pulling a dump wagon hauling road salt. I will be driving a 13 speed Pete
    One thing that I always told the students when I was recruiting, is that if you have a clean cdl and a good criminal record....no major felonies...you can go just about anywhere that you want to. I am definitely proof of that. At 67, I have had no problems getting on with anyone that I wanted to.
    So best of luck to everyone....not sure if I am going to start a new post for the new place or not.
     
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