So you want to haul crude oil in the badlands of ND?

At the truck ATP in Alexander now off 85 south. Just heard noise on the radio about someone tumping over. I agree. Gotta keep it slow and steady

 

What is ATP , where is Alexander, and what is trumping over, and what type of truck and trailer was the trucker driving.

 

Why don't they do random testing for class c licnse holders, when applying for a new or renew a license, and every 5 years?

 

Anyhow, I just heard that Governor (in Bismarck) has signed a bill to spend thousands of dollars to promote migration to ND to fill the vacant 10,000 job openings remaining to be filled and bring the unemployment figure down to less than 1% !!! Hope he's got a housing plan, but my guess is he'll establish Government style "affordable housing" which means you gotta spend 75% of your bring home money on rent/mortgage and the rest on fuel ! Which means you gotta get a family of border bunnies to live with you for food and utilities. And don't believe that Mc'donalds employees are making $20 an hour, that's bullcrap! they're making$12 tops, and get hired part time to avoid taxes, healthcare,etc. So you gotta have 2 parttime jobs just to pay rent and fuel. Think about, plan it good, and when you make the move - remember you aint gonna have a life, but you will make more money than you did before. And if you got a college degree and professional experience : go to Tahiti or somewhere exotic or really high class, Abudabi, Japan, S. Korea, Europe, etc. work 7 years and then retire up in the mountains in a quaint little cabin, a few dogs, a couple of brand new cars and you're set.

 

Woohoo! I finally reached the end of this thread and it's still active. I feel like I've gotten to know a few of you over the last couple of years(day). Cheers to all of those contributing relevant feedback. It is appreciated. You know who you are. I hope all is well Gidyup. . . By the way, thx for the grins tong - race has nothing to do with who you are.

I am green and not inappropriately intimidated by what ND threatens. I get it, but have not lived it. . . I'm requesting insight between choosing an o/o outfit that allows sleeping in the truck, and better wages vs a larger co, where housing will be an expense. I like what larger co's offer regarding safety, training, bene's, etc., and am willing to accept less pays, while I cut my teeth in the world that is ND. I understand that some o/o's who lease on with larger co's can be impacted by fluctuating workloads and may be less stable at times, but they offer better $. I have not heard from anyone being laid off for lack of work, yet - mostly in house drama and gripes about mgmt./ pay structure. . .

I'm leaning toward a larger co, to learn the ropes and gain some leverage through experience. If my experience and performance are reasonably rewarded by a larger co, I will no doubt stay with 'em. How many of you up there bounce through employers trying to find the right fit? Is hauling water a reasonable way to work your way into hauling crude? Also, how many of you are shuffling a couple of states away to be with the fam. . . Is it easier/ cost effective to fly vs drive? I'm in IF, ID and expect driving to and from will be what I do.

Thanks in advance to any replies. Cheers to all and stay safe.

 

If you want to haul crude, try to get in right away. I've known a few water haulers that wanted to move to crude, but the water side would not let them go because they did such a good job. In the office it is crude vs water.

 

Usually, where I work, we start you off with water and work up to crude. If you have hazmat. I'm sure every company is different. Crude could cause a bigger problem if there were a spill, not that water would be a piece of cake.

Recently, a tanker was leaking a sugar syrup all over and was a mess for other drivers. Kudos to all of you.. I'm scared enough driving my little honda down the road.

 

Its the same way with us, it is need dependent. We have had plenty of our water guys go to the oil department. The feather in the cap with that is that if you go directly to the oil manager and tell him you want to switch, and they need drivers, they will pull you over. Oil has priority as they are the big money makers for us.

 

do you really wanna be up in the badlands? I might take a shot at it, just to see if I can really show $100k gross wages on my w-2. But until then i'll stick to Colorado hauling sand. Dozens of companies now hiring. Those fleets with 30 or more available trucks get the best jobs and stay busy, those that have less gotta play the waiting game. Hiring companies are: RMT Trucking, JUSTICE, G&Z, LINKS, DILLON, and dozens starting up weekly. Am just not sure which one to pick.

 

Is it worthwhile to buy a truck and a trailer to haul oil? Everyone seems to want to lease with a company, but I'm curious if it's possible to find your own loads. I've been in the oil field in ND for a few years with fracking and related services. I have a lot of time off, so I was thinking if I bought a truck and trailer maybe I could pick up loads here and there on my off days.