Veteran Drivers that made the change to tankers later in life: in here plz

I dint start driving till I was 51, pulled dry van for a year then went hazmat tanker.
Been doing tanker ever since. It aint hard, just pay attention like anything else -

 

We have three drivers, all in their late 60s, who went from logging truck to tankers about twenty years ago.
They did fine right from the start and they continue to do a great job for us. None of them are interested in driving anything else.
Don't worry too much about screwing up when you first start. Training for tankers, especially fuel or other hazmat, is usually very thorough and if the company has any doubts about you they won't send you out solo.
There's almost always people around that you can ask questions and you'll find that tanker people are good about helping newbies.
It might seem kind of overwhelming at first but take it step by step and pretty soon everything will make sense.
Good luck and keep us posted about your progress.

 

I do tankers dot will mess with you, I have a route that atleast once a month the same cop stops me for my level 2 inspection to the point we know each other by name.. but I did learned my lesson and keep all my stuff in order.

 

A little secret,,,,
DOT inspectors need a few tanker inspections a month for their quota. I get stopped every couple of months by the same inspector in Ga. he told me a couple months ago the reason he keeps hitting me is because he knows it will be a quick inspection and no write ups. A easy check mark for his quotas.

 

Same here. A few years ago a DOT inspected me on the way to the Penske shop in OKC. He told me that he'd been assigned heavy & hazmat for the week. Everything was in order & came out clean.

My DOT encounters have been pretty cordial so far.

 

I had an IL trooper tell me the exact same thing. As a rule tanker guys have everything in neat and in order and it’s an easy 10 min inspection.