Sand Hauler/Oilfield

Hauling sand in Sand Boxes or pneumatics?

Ever drove in the oilfield?

Have you spoke to anyone about leasing a truck on anywhere and what it would require?

I know it’s in Texas, but in ND some of those places wanted you to have your own authority etc before they would let you haul. Some don’t.

If just hauling Sand Boxes I think any truck would work, seen all kinds out there.. Volvo’s to Cabovers.. . but we used Pete’s and KWs, 13 and 18 speed. Some also had wet kits for hauling water when it was slow.

We got paid per load...

Maybe someone with more experience will chime in.

 

I would think less about mileage, more about how it was cared for and maintained.

If I was buying a truck for the oilfield, I would be in the late 90’s early 2000’s Range. Why? Cause lease roads will beat a truck to death.

Western Star, Peterbilt, Kenworth. Saw a ton of those, rarely did they break down and they took whatever got thrown at them. Manual trucks are all we used in the Bakken.

Yes, there’s a difference. Sand Boxes go on their chassis, lock down, fill, take to site, get empty can, repeat.

Pneumatic, I think those require a blower and I’ve never used one.

I’m going to be honest. Not rude, just some humble advice.

If you don’t know what own authority or lease on to means I would wait or stay away from the venture.

Some places want you to have your own MC numbers, insurance, etc.

Some will let you run under their numbers etc and you get paid a Leser %.

I’m not an oilfield guru like some of the guys/gals here, I just drove there for a while and can speak to my experience. In my experience, Sand can bring in some serious cash when it’s popping, but if they don’t need it, you’re sitting. Which Is why we had wet kits, for the in between.

 

I just thought about this as well, oilfield specific things aside it’s like any other business.

You got the capital to cover a major repair and tow bill? Cover payroll if you’re on net 15/30 etc terms if not being paid weekly? Insurance payments etc. you gonna pay 1099 or W2? Use a payroll service like ADP? Cover fuel and other expenses like oil, coolant etc? LLC/S-Corp/C-Corp?

It’s a lot to chew. Again, not trying to be rude in any way, just bringing up things that may not have been thought of.

I don’t think Sand required them, but I know on the water side( oil too I believe) you gotta have a bunch of safety classes to get on site. Hess, stat oil, H2S, OSHA, on and on and on.

Good luck.

 

Sandboxes are like intramodal containers but for the oilfield. You haul it to the location while it's full of sand, they lift it off your trailer, put an empty one on your trailer, then you leave.

Pneumatics are tankers, you have to wait on location until they're ready, then you hook up hoses and use a PTO-driven blower to unload.

In addition to the trucks @SavageMuffin mentioned, also consider Mack. The oilfield is hard on equipment so you'll need something that can take a beating.