HAZMAT (propane) or not?????

Back when I was in petroleum sales & dist. we never hired anyone who didn't have 5 year safe driving as an CDL driver under their belt. Then I had to make sure they could back a Trk. & trl. gasoline rig out onto the street, from a service station drop, where you could not just pull through it.

Some guys were great drivers, but they couldn't get the hang of backing out of a place using only two pivot points, one at the pivot/hitch point and the other at the turntable on the trailer.

I never could understand why that was so hard for some of these guys, cause it's not like backing up a double set with three pivot points, at all.

 

A propane company here where I live has three drivers. They always have an ad in the paper every other week. I'm not sure of the cause, but I won't try the job just because of the high turnover.

AA1, I would consider a rolloff. You won't get rich, but the wages are steady, the hours are steady year round and the work is easy. It was one of my more enjoyable trucking jobs. Check out wm.com for possible jobs in your area. There are several others too. Working for the county or state is another idea. Gov't employees have the best insurance. What us old people need, lol. Good Luck!

 

BTW, a little aside about propane tanks.... a bud "up home" made a bundle out of cutting up scrapped commercial ones and making plows for ATV's and small 4wd trucks. Lightweight, strong and just the right curve to em.

Did you know propane is highly corrosive? Starts eating the tanks from inside out from day 1.

 

what do the guys that haul the bulk propane do during the summer months/off season? I've seen some of the prices for the trailers/bobtails, and if i owned one i sure ould not want it sitting around very much.

 

Most of them stay on but the companies usually have top let someone go cause there isn't enough work. A few guys I know of would go bottom dump, cement mixers or ag truck hauling until Aug-Sept, then go back to propane. Dont worry about the owners. What propane costs to buy compared to what they charge a customer for it in winter would never be allowed, if it was gasoline of diesel fuel, so the companies are still making money, but only 8 months out of the year.

Yeah its pretty seasonal work most places. Once spring comes, demand goes way down for propane. I rather haul propane then gasoline anyday, if only it was steady work.

 

Roll-offs are the big industrial sized dumpsters that garbage companies haul to work sites, let the customer fill them up, them pick up and haul off to the dump.

Sounds like you just need to do some homework...look in the Yellow Pages and newspapers, watch what trucks are on the roads and check into the companies, drive around and keep your eyes open. Use the Internet to search. Pound the pavement.

 

Keep your eyes open for yards that have fleets of trucks out in he farm country. Many of them will use a name related to ag, like "Valley Ag" or something. If they have grain dump trailers, fertilizer tankers and flatbed doubles and the like then that is a ag trucking company.

The work can be hard and dusty, and you will probably be doing night driving work in the harvest season (24/7 during harvest) but is good work.

Problem is when the fields are wet the farmers ain't got much work in the winter and they dont need any trucks. Most farmers spend the winter months working on their equipment until the ground dries out.

Biggest problem hauling ag is making sure you are not overloaded There ain't no scales in the middle of a field where you will be picking up and dropping off trailers. It all depends on what kind of product you are pulling.