Gasoline Tanker: Tips on how to make fast drops at stations

totally agree. that is the way i worked. my trainer told me "you can't UN-pull the handle" or "UN-push a button when loading" . that is why you have to double check everything.

 

If I were you I'd use that company as a stepping stone to get to a better company. It sounds like the company does not have safety first and that could be a problem. Get the time and experience to move on. Do it quietly.

 

(copied this from tanker wages thread)

my last tanker job was as follows: small for hire fuel hauler (we transported for exxonmobil, shell, bp, marathon, etc.) located in ft.lauderdale, fl. non-union, same as almost every fuel hauler in this area currently. the cheapest paying trip was $30 (1.5-2.5) hours of work. majority of trips paid $40-$45 (2.5-3.5) hours of work. no pay for pre-trip, no pay for post-trip, no pay for fueling. any delay time we had to give a minimum of one hour (delay at rack) etc. basically, your paycheck consisted of only what the trips paid. any other lost time due to traffic delay, waiting on your truck at beginning of shift, or breakdown. you either didnt get paid for it or only partially. obviously didnt matter if you worked 80 hours a week, no overtime pay or no night time or weekend pay. so a 13-14 hour shift, you might do four $45 loads. gives $180 for the day. making about $13 per hour. i forgot they also deducted a small amount per week for uniform allowance.

we started hauling BP when they got rid of their own trucks. their drivers were teamsters, making around $22-$24 per hour. time and a half after 40. plus bonuses, benefits, pension, etc.

$$$ is the only thing that matters

 

Is that dropping 3 at a time?

 

Sometimes but not all the time. The newer stations have 4 10,000 gallon tanks and you can fly on those. Since regular is the most on the truck you get that product going first then drop the Mid, and Super. But I can not say this enough, get your routine down before you go for speed. Do all your drops the same way so it's automatic for you. Safety first always with our business.

 

It takes about 20 minutes to just get your pylons out dip and check.

 

Where I live, most companies have 5 compartment trailers, the stations have mostly deleted midgrade tanks (mid blended at the pump from N/L and prem) so you end up with 4 compartments of reg and only 1 prem. (maybe one ulsd) so your dropping 4 in one hole most of the time.
Basically they keep adding time to your dropping and wages have stayed the same (not to mention water pasting tanks thanks to ethanol) oh..and electronic crap to enter bol info into thats slower than hell. Also, having to log local because it's hazmat now. They (companies, gov't) just keep making it harder for the driver to make any money hauling fuel but, they sure get theirs, just raised taxes on gas here again.

 

If that's true, you'd never get 6 loads in 12 hours. What is taking so long? I place the cones out then stick the tank. I write the readings on my paperwork and check my tank gauge to see if the load will fit. That takes about three or four minutes. I start the regular first then go to super or mid. We have 4" light hoses that take no time at all to hook. The fittings are on a rack mounted to the drawbar. You just unchain them and pull the one you need. It's all gravity fed and it comes off fast.

 

Get the cones out, find the fills under the snow, smash them with a hammer cause they are frozen tight, pull out your vapour hose and then realize you can't find where the vapour lids are, throw that hose down in disgust, grab a 20 footer out of the tray that is so stiff you need all your weight behind it to get it to bend......6 in 12 hrs ...not here.