What Is Different About Pulling Tankers?

money is better but there are a lot more dangers involved not just driving unloading as well I've been pulling tankers about 15yrs and I love it

 

Basically if you have a tank with no baffles that is occupied with a liquid that is more dense than water there is a slap effecting all directions. Progressing forward it effects your shift timing as well as your stopping momentum. Simultaneously it effects your center of gravity and can produce a slow motion roll over.
With baffles not so much what you read above, but wise to take curves 10 below posted and training with teach you repetitive loading and unloading techniques, connecting and disconnecting as well as reading Gauges and grounding where applicable.

Feel free to add anything I left out. I'm a little on the tired side.

 

Properly load is a key for safety. Load tank to max allowed then you have less surging

 

I'm a gas hauler and I love it! As stated the pay is way better, I'm home every night, and when I show up at a gas station and there are other trucks there in my way ie (budlight, lays chips or coke) I have priority. They have to move out of the way. The only downside I see is waiting at the racks.

 

Would it be safe to say that most tanker loads are also hazmat loads?

 

Heavy's School of Tanker.

Buy tall large cup of mcdonalds coffee. Take lid off.

Place coffee on cab floor in front of your shifter. Lid off.

Start driving. DO NOT SPILL THAT COFFEE YOU *&^%$#!!!! LOL. /teasing....

Seriously don't spill it.

If you make it one hour without spilling it or splashing it, you are ready for tanker. In plenty of time to settle down with actual tanker loads before the coming of winter.

 

Yes most are

 

The hazmat endorsement takes some time to get, doesn't it? With the background check and all.

 

Not always.

Most basic of tanker loads are literally water. They show up next to the town water tower, gurgle down 8000 gallons or so, and drive off to where it's needed or bought and paid for. Deliver same. Might be someone's pool. Or someone's GAS/OIL RIG... Or even a Ready Mix dump pond, things like that.

Some are milk. Farm to farm like i did collecting it. Goes to Dairy, kids drink it in school tomorrow. Easy work. Just a little bit of routine mixed with a touch of excitement from time to time.

I considered myself very good with hazmat in my time. Never a problem. Until I deliberately turned in the Endorsement to the state when a dispatcher abused me badly over the phone over a 30 minute extra time bypassing Baltimore tunnels on the Key Bridge. Dispatcher raged. So I dropped the endorsement and that was that. Same dispatcher handed me a hazmat paperwork to go get next day, I said no. Im no longer holding a hazmat endorsement. His eyes got this big then he turned shades of purple that I did not think possible in a human.

That was fun.

 

I need to get into gas hauling. Right now I run 600 miles a day and it's boring as hell but I'm in my first year of driving and just getting experience.

How's the pay for asphalt vs gas? I'm gonna stay tanker so I might as well get in the highest paying area...

I want to run evenings or 4 12-14hour shifts. I like staying around 50 hours a week.

I haul def now but as soon as I get a better offer I'm gone. I hate day shift and like to run routes vs 300 miles to the plant sit in line 2 hours and 300 miles back.

Op, the tanker endorsement is super easy to get. Everyone pretty much covered the differences.