Why would anyone want to pull tanker trailers (as opposed to dry van)?

And I assume that is to filter out particles before the vacuum air reaches the blower?

 

Yes, it filters out contaminates either during the loading or unloading, before it enters the tank or the customers silo. We don’t use the filters for the plastic pellets we haul, but we do for the mistron vapor (talcum powder.)
The air leaving our blowers is unfiltered, and goes directly via a 4” hose into a pipe on the tank. The pipe work and fabrication on these is quite impressive.

 

The surge of the liquid can be handled by ANY CDL driver. I almost avoided switching from van to tanker because I got anxious about the surge. It fells like you were punted by an elephant when you first start to move, unless you start very very slowly. But at that 0-3 mph speed it is not dangerous, except it may knock over an unsecured coffee cup. As you gain speed the surge doesn't feel as dramatic, but it becomes more dangerous. You can mash the brakes hard while going straight ahead, but not any other time. You cannot speed on any curves or ramps. The surge will wreck you if you drive like a 4-wheeler drives, but will not cause a problem if you drive like a cop is in your passenger seat.

The best reason to pull tankers are the customers. They treat you like a himan, not some diseased rat that wandered onto the property. Detention pay is paid, not just promised. I'm a company driver but I know schedules are not set with less than 30 seconds of cushion, like van and reefer.

Most tanker drivers say they wish they had started sooner. 45-48 ft tanker trailers are so much easier to park and they don't catch crosswinds. There is no tailswing. You can't drive like some fleeing bankrobber. The tankwash yards are tighter than a duck's behind.

 

It depends on the company you work for. Tanker biz splits up the country by terminal. You can make different pay based on which terminal you belong to.

 

But you only work for 1 company. Even if the average tanker driver earns more than van driver the pay at the company you work for determinesvyour pay. Pick wisely

 

Thank you for the explanation. All the pneumatics I've ever pulled were spec'ed for cement or lime, so I never got the chance to learn about the vacuum side of pneumatic work.

 

Well, @Another Canadian driver -- it appears that everyone else here has pretty much done a FAN-TAS-TIC job completing the list, etc...without me.

On a somewhat more serious note--I would respectfully submit that this has turned into a really great thread!!!

--Lual

 

I learned dry bulk from Matlack's railyard operator and he had an old filter on wheels from the first trailers they reinforced for Vacuum loading as they moved away from 'bear trap' loading and purpose built vacuums were just starting to appear.

Eventually they re-built the DX with filters so the yard's portable filter was parked.

That yard had old "Cyclone-air" loading machines mounted on old single axle macks instead of trailers that we used for powders and vacuumed the pelitized plastic resins.

I hauled hose to help vacum-dry some of a railcar that had traveled thru flood water. We sucked it out and blew it back into another car and it was dry.

Dry bulk is intresting.