Any idea for local job

Find the local cola and/or beer distributors in your area. They are ALWAYS hiring.

 

Suggestion: being intimidated by hazmat is pretty much like being afraid of your own shadow.

Most so-called "hazmat" loads are mundane, everyday items like......charcoal briquettes, hairspray, nail polish remover, paint, and so forth.

Most hazmat loads are NOT things like: nuclear waste, septic tank pumpoff, etc.

By leaving hazmat out of your endorsement inventory -- you will leave A LOT of money on the table over the course of your career. Also: most of the local, home-daily LTL carriers (where the better money usually is) require it.

With all due respect -- whoever convinced you to stay away from hazmat did you (and society) a real disservice.

-- L

 

Food service, beverage delivery, solid waste, dump truck is usually hiring everywhere and always.

 

Get the hazmat and go with Central. The nasty hazmat is hauled by specialized companies, not companies like Central.
Central hauls the same hazmat loads as reefer drivers, such as paint, fingernail polish, car batteries (new & used) that may have car battery acid in them.

 

Bud, get the hazmat.
It’s free money for the taking.
You do the same thing other drivers do, but make more money.
So you have a skid of paint, or acetone, or other crap you handle at home all the time, why not get paid for it?
Here’s reality….
Hazmat tankers are some of the highest paid drivers on the road.
Why?
Most folks don’t want to deal with it.
That limits the available talent pool significantly.
Fewer drivers available equals higher pay rates.
Personally, I’ll haul anything if the money is good enough.
Whale spoo? Load that stuff up and tell me where it’s going…. Show me the money while you’re at it.
Elephant poo? We ain’t proud, load it up and pay me.
Fukushima water off the reactors? Put that lead liner on that trailer and get it loaded. Move that decimal point on the check one digit to the right while you’re at it, this stuff is a little dangerous, and i expect fair pay for that.

 

One time I was in Ohio and there were 5 of us from the same reefer company, that just unloaded refrigerated foods.
Of the 5, I was the only reefer driver with hazmat endorsement. Got a gravy run to Los Angeles with a load of cans of spray paint which required a hazmat placard on the trailer.

 

You old gravy train runner you!

 

A second perspective on the HazMat endorsement.

I chatted with one place about why the required a hazmat endorsement and what they pull with it.

Recruiter said it was a way to filter applicants. They are a good way to filter out "undesirables".

Dispatcher at the same place said they try to not pull hazmat, but sometimes a load of windshield washer fluid is the best thing to get a driver out of a bad location.

 

Prime example of opportunity meeting preparedness.
For that exact reason, i have all my endorsements, and will keep them current.
You never know when an opportunity will present itself, so best be prepared best you can.
For the same reasons, i cross trained on gas, pump, chemical, and dry bulk.
I never want for work.
When others are sitting, I’m rolling.
When loads are thin, i have a full dispatch.
When the crazy loads come up, i get the call.
And because I’ll take the crazy loads, i get the gravy loads too.
I’m1 of 2 drivers at our terminal that can and will do it all.
Out of 22.
Guess who gets the call when big deal stuff comes down? Yup.
You can do the same.
Be that driver that never complains, runs everything they throw at you, and nail it every single time.
Be that driver that is known to be rock solid, dependable, and reliable.
Yeah, you’ll catch a lot of crap initially, but it’ll pay off.
Soon, they’ll recognize your talents, and you’ll get those loads they can’t trust to just any driver.
That’ll include those big money gravy loads that pay huge and take little to run.
It comes in time.
You gotta be all in as a driver to get there.
Be all in.
Get those endorsements.
Show them you want it.
Show them you can handle it every time.
That’s what sets the champs apart from chumps.