Hesitant to make the jump. Frac Sand via flatbed for AmeriField

Hey all, first off thanks for taking the time to read. I've had my CDL for going on 14 months, most of which has been flatbed work. I recently left my last company for reasons I won't mention, and over the past 2 weeks I've had a hell of a time finding local work that pays worth a #### (I've been local since CDL School). Fast forward to yesterday, I get an offer to run out in West Tx hauling Frac Sand via flatbed for AmeriField. I've never hauled frac before, but the schedule is 21 days on, 7 days off and you live in the truck the entire duration of your 21 days. According to the recruiter (we all know how that goes) there's "a lot less waiting compared to if you were pulling a pneumatic trailer." They're offering me 26% of the load, and said I'd make "great money". Now when I heard "great money" as a company driver, and from I've heard about the oil field, I'm thinking 2 grand a week at least.

But I've been reading a lot and I'm seeing a lot of drivers pulling in 200-350 a day. I don't know how that translates as most of the posts I read were pertaining to the pneumatic trailers, but I do know, if I'm going to leave my wife, and 1 year old son for 21 days, I better be making more than 200 bucks a day. They're claiming around 100-110 bucks per load to be paid to me if I remember correctly. Supposedly we have orientation in Haslet on the 2nd, then me and 7 other drivers will be running up to Tulsa in a passenger van to pick up new 2017 Kenworth T680's, then we bobtail back to Haslet, hook up to our trailers, and head out to the Midland/Odessa area.

I mention the possibility of bringing in "only 200 a day" becasue I was offered a job last night to run from Temple Tx, to Ft Worth Sunday through Thursday for a flat rate of 800 bucks to start per week but it's 1099. So it's not REALLY 800 per week in my pocket. Total trip time including unloading is around 8-9 hours. Easy work and short days, with Friday and Saturday off. But the allure of making this "great money" has me really wanting to jump in and give it a try. But I'm just not sure. Any opinions from those that are currently out in Odessa/Midland area, as that's supposed to be where I'd be heading?

Thanks,
Dave

 

From my understanding my truck would be assigned to me, and me only. When my 21 days are done and my off time is coming up, you drive your tractor & trailer back to the main hub which is in haslet, about 3 hours from my home, park the truck, and then they maintenance the truck etc while you're gone and that's it. I do need to ask about pay regarding any weight times for instance if for whatever reason you're stuck sitting waiting to unload, do you get a certain hourly amount after a certain amount of time, etc. I'm trying to think of little things like that to ask before I head off to orientation, IF that's what I decide to do.

Dave

 

Well not BRAND new, but less than 100,000 miles which is #### near brand new compared to some of the POS equipment I've driven. Fishy? No I wouldn't necessarily say fishy becasue we were initially supposed to be in 2006 379's but the owner opted to go a different route. I don't make that call so I can't say to the validity of the claim, just merely repeating what I was told.

They're just now starting the flatbed division on the frac sand side as they primarily pull pneumatic trailers, so my assumption is the owner got ride of some older trucks and got newER tractors for this division. I don't know, I'm just throwing some ideas out. I would however say I'm skeptical of the over emphasis of "great money" by the gentleman I've been in contact with. I know good money can be made, but I also know that depends on a lot of other factors within this industry which I'm not 100% familiar with, and wouldn't pretend to be, hence my making this post.

I need good luck huh? Well, I'd gladly take it, everyone could use a little good luck from time to time, especially me these days but that's a whole different story. Do you have anything of value you could offer me in terms of experiences you've had yourself, or from anyone you know pertaining to my initial post?

Thanks,
Dave

 

That's pretty much in line with what the fella told me that I've been in contact with at the main hub. The ending of your post is something that does in fact leave me a bit apprehensive as I've heard things of that nature in regards to the oilfield before I even looked into going out there. That's something I'll try and discover tomorrow when I call with some follow up questions. Not that I'll get the 100% truth but I'll ask anyway. I can be just as deceptive as the person on the other end of the line. I do however think they have at least a decent amount of work or they wouldn't have gone and gotten 10 new trucks, but that's just common sense to me, which means nothing in the trucking world. I've also heard of the sand box guys as well.

On the flip side, the home nightly 1099 position which is a cake job by the way, is all contract work. 99% of the company is based out of Conway Missouri, I'm the only driver from the company that would be operating in this area, and from my understanding they were on the verge of losing the contract in this area due to the last driver dropping the ball, which is why the head manager is down here looking for a replacement this week. From some of the things he's told me, it seems just as "up in the air" as the oil field situation as far being stable, then suddenly becoming non-existent, but what do I know. I just take the information I'm given and try to come to a conclusion that makes reasonable sense.

By the way, I was under the assumption I posted this in the oil field section. At least that's the section of the forum it populates when I look on my screen.

Dave