Intermodal company drivers?

OK so I'm kinda intrigued by this Intermodal thing. It Looks like it could be a very nice gig under the right circumstances.

There are a couple of things I'm wondering about:

Are there company drivers out there in the ports and rail yards, or are all of you guys O/O or L/O? I would think it might be a good idea to drive someone else's equipment before I decide to invest in a truck, but what the hell do I know? I haven't the first idea about how O/O run their show, and I'm not sure learning on the fly is a good idea.

How is the tanker end of the biz, if there actually is a tanker segment? My experience, while limited, is in HazMat tankers.

I kinda like this short run/out-and-back stuff you guys talk about on here. Probably beats hell out of OTR for three weeks at a time.

I currently haul fuel locally, and like the idea of being home most, if not every night. Fuel is cool, but I'm always looking for something better, so any info would be mucho appreciated.

 

Tube tires? I didn't think those things existed anymore, except in like, bicycles. Oh well, can't be much worse than a some of the squirrely fuel tankers we have where I work now.

How does the pay scale work? Is it mostly miles or hours? I'm looking at the company driver side of it right now. Does the pay vary from region to region? I'm in South TX right now, but possibly looking to go elswhere, maybe Florida, where I used to live, or maybe out west in AZ. I AM NOT interested in moving back up north, or driving all over the continent. I've seen the country already, and certain parts of it look very strange.

I really like the idea of 2-3 day trips mixed in with local stuff. Kinda breaks things up without being stuck in a sleeper for three weeks. Just drop the load off and high-tail it back to the home base, and start all over again. And, you don't smell like unleaded at the end of the day.

I make decent money hauling fuel, and I may just stick with that if I can't find something good in FL or AZ, but I want to try something new. I can always go back if I don't like it.

 

OK, so far I've learned that...

RR yards are better than ports. Apparently ports are a mess (for reasons I have yet to find out), which is too bad since I plan on working in a port city. Maybe they have a rail head there too.

Apparently there are a lot of company drivers out there, although the majority of trucks are o/o. This is good because I can do the company thing and maybe learn some things from o/o I meet.

Hourly is better than miles, which makes perfect sense to me.

A lot of stuff is local, which I like, but apparently there is a lot of 1-3 day out-back runs, which is cool, because I do like to see different places, but I think that's just about how long I can handle staying in a sleeper. I live in a motorhome already. I DO NOT need something even smaller to live in.

Weekends off! I actually have Saturday and Sunday off now, but still, WEEKENDS OFF, WOO HOO!!1! My golf game and beach tan thank you.

It seems to pay well in both South Texas and South Florida, which is where I'm looking. I live in South TX, but used to live in South Florida, and wouldn't mind going back for the right deal. I'm actually surprised that FL pays decent, since all I hear is that its a black hole for driver wages. I know it was for everything else, so when I lived there I actually worked in another state(s). Different line of work back then, but highly lucrative everywhere except FL.

I've seen those "tank in a cage" things rolling out of Houston, and I figure it's probably HazMat tanker work, which is all I really know how to do, so if I can find a company that hauls those things I might be right where I want to be. As a bonus, it looks like there is no loading/unloading of product involved with whatever those things are either. I can work with that. Do they do HazMat in cans?

The O/O thing may or may not be something I'm interested in. I ran the family business several years ago, and quite frankly I hated it, even though the money was great. It would depend just how much time and effort I would have to put into the behind the scenes type stuff to make it worthwhile. For right now though, if I drive and take care of your truck and you pay me well and don't take advantage of me, we'll both be riding unicorns and pooping rainbows. It's less stressful that way. For me, at least. YMMV.

Day work: I work days now, but my day starts at 2-3am. I'm an early riser, but that's ridiculous. And, I'm sick of coming home smelling like unleaded. Even my car's upholstery is starting to smell like a Citgo station. However, it is now 1.30pm and I have been off and home for over an hour, so there's that. I look forward to starting say, at 5-6a and putting in a nice lively 8-10hr day, notwithstanding the odd RR and port delay and GTF out of Dodge. I have a life and I intend to live the #### thing.