Hauling Gasoline is no joke

You should see what 100 octane AvGas does when it burns.

 

I did it for the money and ended up loving it lol but if I screw up I'd never be seen again

Different type of gas but still

 

I did fuel in the Bay Area. I had a Full year of experience hauling a set of bottom dumps. Yup I was a local dirt hauler that didn't backup when I decided to do gas.

And was I fat. 14+ hours a day in a truck with bad eating habits will kill ya. That's what made me decide to do fuel. More physical.
I'll be the first to admit they shouldn't of hired me.
I started doing any and all stations and pump jobs on night shift. After a year it was dedicated Chevron with 6 loads a night then dedicated Shell with 6 loads that you had done in a 10 hour shift, Shell was sweet. Then on to Jet A and day shift till they put a pipe line into SJ Airport. Finally back to 6 loads to all stations up till a 4 wheeler didn't notice a big silver tank and side swiped me. Damaged nerves in my back so my slinging hoses days are over.
I just started back into trucking after a long time out and I'm now doing reffer. Let me tell ya, I miss the easy life of a gas hauler.
15 minutes to load 30 to off load.
No shippers/receivers to deal with. You Own the station when you pull in, safety first period. Good money and home every night.
Yes you hear of people dying. And I knew a few of them personally from the loading racks but trucking in general is a dangerous profession.
Not messing up is easier then it's made out to be. Stick the tanks, walk your hoses. It really is that simple. I've hooked up to the wrong tank a time or three but because I ALWAYS walked my hose I never contaminated a station. I even pulled into a wrong station but because I checked the address I just put my cones away and went to the right one down the street.
I guess what I'm trying to say is take safety hard core serious. Everything else lighten up and enjoy the job, it is just a job.

 

DON'T DO THIS.

Let the hose fill up and then close the valve at the truck. Undue one, just one cam. "Burp" the hose by opening the seal to let a little air in. This will empty the hose. Relock the cam, fill the hose and repeat. If you're just a little shy of fitting this will work. It's called stuffing the tank and if you stick the tank you shouldn't have to ever do this. Most places this is not allowed because if you crack the hose and drop it you are screwed. If you hit the over fill alarm you're screwed. It's only good for that last little bit of retain.
Again don't do this.

 

I pull a reefer, never hauled gas but I've always been curious, do you have to know how much is in the tank at a station before you load at the rack? Or is there some way of knowing the tank is full and shutting off the flow from the tanker? Enquiring minds want to know.

 

The fuel is ordered so no need to know what's in the tank when loading.

The fuel pipe in the ground (fill pot) has a flapper value that's supposed to keep it from overfilling. But unless there is an error by you or the equipment this is a non-issue. Before you hook up anything you get a Veeder root and stick the tanks. The Veeder root is a printout of the tank readings. Sticking the tanks is just that, a big measuring stick you put down the pipe and pull out to see where the wet mark is. Then you take that number to a strapping chart for that tank size and style and that will tell you what's in the tank. They are setup for 90% fill so tank size minus 10% minus what's in the tank gives you how much should fit. General rule is that if it won't fit you don't break (open) that compartment. Depending on were that compartment is, like over your dolly you may need to leave other comparisons full too.
If this happens you may need to wait for it to fit or load around it or a full load diversion. Loading around just means you load the empty compartments and deliver it all to the next station. A diversion is you take the load to another station.

You should check out gas. It sure is a lot easier than reefers. And you don't get 12+ hours of waiting to offload like I just got done doing.

 

The amount the station 'projects' it needs, when ordering, can be too much plus the amount will be tailored to fit the compartments available so the only accurate method is to stick the tank before dropping to insure it will fit.

 

That's how I thought it worked. So what happens if you screw up and what's in the compartment is too much to go in the ground? I imagine you just shut the valve to the compartment but that hose still holds a bunch of gas. Do you just have to wait until enough people pump enough gas to empty it out?

 

Most, if not all, of our stations are electronically monitored. Dispatch has an online system where they can "see" how much each station will hold and dispatch accordingly. Yet, we have a couple stations where the "flapper" is set too low and won't hold the amount they're supposed to hold. Then we get to divert. I hate that!

"That's how I thought it worked. So what happens if you screw up and what's in the compartment is too much to go in the ground? I imagine you just shut the valve to the compartment but that hose still holds a bunch of gas. Do you just have to wait until enough people pump enough gas to empty it out?"

That's called a "lock on". You shut both trailer valves (internal and external) and hopefully it will drain the hose, if not see the "do not do this" procedure, but it also works if you unlock the hydrant, rather than the hose cams, anything to break the suction.
My shift ends at midnight, most stores are closed, I'd have a looong wait for them to sell enough for me to finish.

 

^^^this^^^