is geting a hazmat worth it?

I haul hazmat all the time on the stepdeck. I've ran chemical totes to Sioux City quite a few times this spring from PA. There's a lot of it out here. So far just this year alone I've hauled : Corrosive, Flammable, 1.4 Explosive, Radioactive and some Poision (DDT) as well. There's GOOD money in hauling hazmat as a leased driver. I know getting hazmat insurance as an independent is usually not worth it tho.

 

When I was with Melton had a load sitting at the terminal in Tulsa that was taking me home and it was Hazmat, rolled roofing plus buckets of flammable adhesive. They didn't check and see if I had my endorsement and didn't tell me about the load until I got to the yard and got the bills. Had to sit and wait for a different load to get me home.

 

I use to haul HM all the time through your neck of the woods. Usually Firestone roofing materials that are flammable. Sometimes other flammable and corrosive stuff, all on a flat. TMC does a good bit of HazMat. I see it on open deck carriers all the time.

 

You said you are a company driver for System Trasport outta Spokane and you want to know if it's worth adding a X endorsement?

NO! Because, if even if those cheap bastrdz reimbursed you the time and fees to get the endorsement, I bet they wouldn't pay one extra cent to haul hazmat.

I haul hazmat roofing material loads and oilfield chemical loads maybe 1 load every other month and it pays about .20 to .30 per mile more than the same non-hazmat stuff. Is System Transport willing to pay you 25 to 30% of the load?

I'm really sorry if that is your only choice for a job. Perhaps you could call some small fleet owners at percentage paying carriers that will pay percentage on the load. Also, remember that starting Jan. 1 next year workers no longer must endure low pay at big companies just to get health insurance. So if this is keeping you from looking at small fleets which usually treat drivers a lot better than the likes of System; think again. Healthcare freedom is a game changer for many otherwise stuck employees.

 

guess it would be good to have just in case... thats how i look at it.