WA Resident / 7 months EXP / All Endorsements

Indian river wouldnt be a bad first tanker gig. The most important thing you can do right now is get 2 solid years of tanker work under one company and keep your record clean. After those 2 years, MANY more doors will be available for you to choose from. Due to insurance, alot of doors are closed to you due to your inexperience. Yes, you may not make alot of money right off the bat, or even for those 2 years, but this is building your experience for a better future. In another thread you mentioned southern pine and Idaho milk transport. We had 2 members in the other thread have absolutely horrible experiences with SPT, so I don't recommend them at all. Idaho milk transport.......I've heard good and bad. I have hauled milk for 5 years in 2 different states and if there is one thing that they both had in common besides picking up milk, is that I have never seen a lower class of driver than I have in milk hauling. I have made decent money and enjoyed the job, for the most part, But I pointedly dont deal with most of the drivers. But my milk hauling experience actually opened doors for me due to having to navigate farms during all sorts of conditions and the strict procedures of hauling and handling and sampling milk . Just be warned that there can be long waits at a creamery to unload, and understand your pay structure. If you're paid by the load, there may be alot of "free" time. I was paid by the load in Phoenix and sometimes waited 7-12 hours a day to unload and wash my tanks. My current company, I'm paid by the hour, but We are one of 2 carriers that unload here, so the longest I have waited is maybe an hour.

Just remember, the most important thing right now is to get those 2 years of tanker experience, even if its seems like a step down now. It WILL become a step up later.

Good luck.

PS> Every company that you ever think about applying at, take a look at their SAFER score. SAFER Web - Company Snapshot Enter the DOT# of the company you are interested in(Use DOT# 2872228. This is a company that I am researching and will give you an idea of what I am talking about) and This first gives you the company profile. Where they are registered at, how many trucks and drivers, what they are classified as, what they haul,, and where they can operate. then beneath that, it gives a quick glimpse at the number of inspections, how they faired, and what their average was compared to the national average. Then it lists the number of accidents they have had and whether it involved fatalities. But the real treat is up in the upper right hand corner. There is a tab that says ,"SMS results" This is where you can deep dive into the company. There are 7 metrics that companies are scored on and too high of a score will mean increased inspections. They are

• UNSAFE DRIVING
• Not PublicCRASH INDICATOR
• HOURS-OF-SERVICE COMPLIANCE
• VEHICLE MAINTENANCE
• CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES AND ALCOHOL
• Not Public HAZARDOUS MATERIALS COMPLIANCE

Directly below the metrics is a link with a link, "Select a BASIC icon above to get details, or view your Complete SMS Profile." You want to click the view your complete SMS Profile and this lists every inspection and accident , and violation that the company has received in the past 2 or 3 years. You can really get an glimpse at how a company operates by looking at its violation history. I actually got shown the door at an interview with a fuel hauler in Utah, because He was bragging about having a no violations in any of his trucks for years and I pulled out a printed copy of the SMS profile that showed 7 violations with 2 Out of Service violation in one year alone, and he only had 5 trucks.


And I've bombarded you with way too much information Sorry, Buddy.