Hauling Milk...is it worth it?

and to think i was only 17 when i started washing trucks, brake jobs, tires, oil changes, grease truck & trailer, etc; fixing to be 40 & often wonder where do these stupid idiot drivers now days come from

 

They go to trucking school thinking they're gonna make a lot of money driving a truck because that's what all the non-driving idiots seem to think. They go to trucking school and they're BS'ed even more about how much money they're gonna make. It isn't until they get out on the road that they realize they're gonna make jack #### and they're gonna stay out for a month or longer at a time to get it.

Between that, and experienced drivers from other companies who say they want good miles but don't want to be out 3 weeks at a time, I'm not sure which irks me more. They want to make good money but don't wanna work for it.

 

I've hauled a few loads of milk, it's certainly not a load for the faint of heart who get nervous easily. If you want to keep the truck going, get good fuel mileage, and in general do it safely you best have a real light foot on the throttle, and I mean light. You best have a real smooth shift, too. Though I typically float my gears, I would typically use the clutch to break torque and get the truck in neutral when hauling milk and then float it into the next gear. Once it dropped into gear it was a slow, slow, SLOW and very smooth application of the throttle.

Hills, in a way, are not that bad when you're hauling milk, as, at that point, slosh is greatly reduced and much of your load is sitting on the trailer axles or the drivers. Makes shifting much, much easier. You still don't want to get on the throttle hard as you can get the milk moving again even on an inclince. Getting up to speed from a dead stop takes quite awhile.

Turns need to be taken very cautiously. If it suggests a speed of 45mph around a turn, I'll be doing 40mph with a load of milk.

And be very, very careful when starting on an inclince. AND, remember to KEEP YOUR FOOT ON THE BREAK PEDAL when you come to a stop, enough so that the truck doesn't start moving. A bit basic and obvious, but, good to be reminded of nonetheless.

Hauling milk takes a great deal of patience and judgement. I can assure you, you'll never drive the same around a milk rig (or most tankers) the same way after hauling a load of milk.

 

And to think, hauling milk is the cheapest paying trucking that a person can do. Doesn't make sense does it?

 

I hauled food grade for 8 months. Thinking about going back. It is not the lowest paying trucking job out there, but the pay is certainly not great. The work is easy, all you do is drive. I'm currently hauling reefer and I HATE IT. The equipment in food grade is top of the line IF you get with the right company. With a company like indian river, expect to be gone a minimum of 3 weeks. But that should be expected at any OTR company. If you're looking to get hired with any OTR company and 3 weeks is too much for you or more tthan you're looking for, the only thing you should be driving is a taxi or a forklift because driving a truck is not for you. Just my opinion.

 

it really doesn't....

I have no idea why but I'm looking to get back on a tank, reefers just suck and I hate it but the money is good..

 

I've hauled tanks for the better part of 8½ years with a little over 3 pulling food-grade (Indian River, Bynum, Jim Aartman) and the rest chemical (CTL, Miller Transporters, TWT, Superior Carriers, Heniff). There are a lot of good points being brought up here. I will only add my personal experiences and opinions. Lol

Milk hauling, while being steady work, can burn a driver out fast, especially if you don't know how to say "NO". If electronic logs ever truly make it into every single truck running out here, food-grade tanker companies and milk-haulers in particular are bound to take a serious hit. The good thing about milk is generally your receivers are on a FCFS basis but, there can still be a ton of sitting and sitting for free.

As for surge, there isn't any food-grade load that I've hauled be it milk, juice, eggs, yeast, oil, or eggs that can compare to the sloshing you get with chemicals, since generally food-grade will load that tank with as much product as possible. But if you've never pulled tank before, it still is going to be an eye-opener for you.

I strongly disagree with the notion that you must stay out for 3+ weeks at a time. I know it isn't everyone's preference but hauling chemicals pays better than "easy" food grade and affords the opportunity for much better, quality home time; namely on a 7-10 day out, 1-2 day in basis. Now personally, I choose to run out for 3-4 weeks on average and just take off more time at one shot (I've got my reasons).

As for equipment, just remember one thing: YOU CAN'T EAT CHROME! Driving the nicest equipment on the road is one thing, but personally I'd rather have a basic fleet truck with a kick-### pay, benefit, hometime, retirement package than the sharpest truck on the road. Been there, done that, and there is no comparison!

Anyway, enough of my rant...

 

i just bought a tanker(food grade) and I'm looking for any contract loads I can get to start. not afraid to haul

 

Try hauling waste water or bulk products. The lowest pay for a load up here is 96 bucks for 3 hrs of work with you unloading and loading. 2 loads every day brings in 200 minimum for only 8 to 10 hours of work. But then sone days you make 400. But you are always heavy at 99000 or a little over

 

Milk is controlled by co-ops such as DFA and Maryland/Va. You basically cannot go to a dairy farmer and talk him into letting you haul his milk. His milk is under a co-op, the co-op says who hauls the farmer milk and where it goes. So, if you are thinking about milk, you need to get in with a co-op and I really do not think it is that easy to do. One thing about the milk business, it is very rare that you see an owner-operator pulling milk, I think I have seen one in 8 years. Indian River is probably is the largest milk hauler in the country and I don't even believe that they have any leased trucks or drivers.