The Fuel Hauler Thread

Thank you sir. You've been an inspiration on this board. I was fortunate enough to unknowingly ( I wanted a gas hauling gig) to be hired on with a dedicated carrier. In other locations we hauled some Shell and unbranded stuff but in my region it was all Chevron. I did a little ConocoPhillips 76 stuff down in LA too. But it's fellas like yourself that give us that drive and advice to keep going and pushing for the young ones. Like my father figure taught me... You've got to be professional and carry yourself that way for your generation and the next bc we are a dying breed

 

Guys, you are all right ON. I trained, & worked with some the best @ Shell & Chevron in San Jose & So. City & both "community " racks back in the mid/late 90's. Easiest and best job driving job I've had. There is pride you all know, as well as the finesse of pulling on, knowing how you're gonna load & Unload...both taking way less than 30 minutes.
It's a good life, keep up the good work "tanker yankers" !!!

 

It's a shame. I'm doing nights and cruising by Williams, FDS, Renn, and KAG and they are all looking for drivers. I've talked to these guys and they for the most part great fellas and hard workers. A good buddy of mine from Renn busts his hump for a wife and 2 kids and struggles. I get it... We live in an expensive state but come on!!! I'm all about having the minimum wage higher but when you can make $15 an hour flipping at In n Out and $17 hauling gas here ( I won't say where) it's heartbreaking

 

Thank you Gentleman. I'm second generation ARCO and have worked with the best. I wish it would have stayed that way because I know it makes your job harder. But keep on keeping on.

 

I hear you. I'm wondering why I'm driving around LA with 9000 gallons of gasoline, exposing myself to cancerous chemicals, and getting in and out of tiny gas stations where you could barely fit a long bed F350... for less money than the UPS guys get for hauling a load of toilet paper.

I too got into this industry with fuel hauling as my goal. I wanted to drive the shiny tankers and haul dangerous cargo and be rewarded accordingly. But the emperor has no clothes.

I'm just worried that I will never find greener gas in this industry. All things considered I am happy with my company, have great partners, and you could throw a rock from my house to where we park the truck. If I give that up to chase a few dollars per hour I will just be disappointed. If I do anything it will be hanging up the keys for good and moving on.

 

Yeah, with the petroleum experience we've gained, we might be better off becoming rack operators or something else later on down the line. I had the Richmond Chevron refinery offer me 22/hr to sort hazardous waste. I declined it because it was never a temp-to-hire position, and was held by a staffing agency. So I said no thanks.

The networking opportunity is amazing in our field, if we want to go into general petroleum. I had the idea of trying to get hired with Chevron directly, transfer to Texas or something, and have them reimburse me for petroleum engineering school. If any of you guys have the brains and patience to do 4 years of petroleum engineering school, it's well worth it. Especially since we have the proven work ethic to put up with 10, 12 and 14 hour days. All the more better if you can graduate with a 130k/year degree and only have 20k in loan debt. You'd be set for life.

 

No, my path is much different. I thought I'd be a sponge boy in a cat house and keep those babes cooled down.