Truck Driving Jobs

driver67373 · #1 02-19-2007, 10:58 PM

I know that I'm going flatbed OTR for now but I know once I get my two years OTR I'm going to want to go local. I'm realizing the OTR lifestyle is not for me. I love driving cross country but it is also very lonely and I miss having a normal life and coming home to my own place at night. 2 years OTR seems to be the magic number for every local job I inquire about. Since 14 months is not far away (even though now it seems like it will be an eternity), I'm already starting to look into my options for local. I've found lots of stuff on here about LTL and flatbed, but I can't seem to find much about hauling fuel local. I've heard these positions can pay very well, like 50-65K a year. I was wondering if that's true or not. How do you find these jobs? Are the benefits good? What about equipment and how employees are treated? Are you forced to drive in icy conditions? I would appreciate any info you guys can offer and would like to hear from you guys (and gals) who are doing this or have done it before. Thanks,

Ryan

teamster · #2 02-20-2007, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by driver67373

I know that I'm going flatbed OTR for now but I know once I get my two years OTR I'm going to want to go local. I'm realizing the OTR lifestyle is not for me. I love driving cross country but it is also very lonely and I miss having a normal life and coming home to my own place at night. 2 years OTR seems to be the magic number for every local job I inquire about. Since 14 months is not far away (even though now it seems like it will be an eternity), I'm already starting to look into my options for local. I've found lots of stuff on here about LTL and flatbed, but I can't seem to find much about hauling fuel local. I've heard these positions can pay very well, like 50-65K a year. I was wondering if that's true or not. How do you find these jobs? Are the benefits good? What about equipment and how employees are treated? Are you forced to drive in icy conditions? I would appreciate any info you guys can offer and would like to hear from you guys (and gals) who are doing this or have done it before. Thanks,

Ryan

I have been doing this for about two years and it is probably one of the easiest jobs I have had. Although it is easy, you must stay focused, because it only takes a second to make a major and costly mistake. As far as the income goes, I can tell you most everyone at my company made between 50-60k+ last year. Your income will depend heavily on the company you drive for and your area of the country. I would suggest only working for a company that pays by the hour. Alot of fuel haulers are paid by the load and what if the truck breaks down, what if weather is bad. You are SOL. As far as benefits and equipment go, it will again depend on the company. I have good benefits and I drive a brand new truck. From what I have seen most fuel hauling companies have pretty good equipment. In a single word about icy conditions-NO. No company can force you to drive in conditions which you feel are unsafe. The bad things about delivering fuel: 24/7 operation, working holidays, working nights, working weekends. These things will all get better as you get more seniority, but plan on nights and weekends to start unless you get real lucky. The best thing is you will sleep in your own bed everyday. Hope this helps. You can PM me if you have any questions.

btinc · #3 02-20-2007, 12:28 AM

Fuel trucks can be very lucrative, but it will have a lot to do with location, 70k is a real possibility with the companies in my area. I can not speak of all companies but the equipment in my area is top notch and that seems to be the norm around the country. Like all companies some will be treated well some will not. Driving in bad weather, each company will have there own policy and you will have to check each company for what they expect.

BUCKEYE_TAI · #4 02-20-2007, 01:06 AM

Where I'm from, local is the thing to do... But like you said, they want that experience cause they do pay so much...

Cluggy619 · #5 02-20-2007, 01:10 AM

I started this post so everyone can see what a local fuel driver makes around D/FW area.

http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...084&highlight=

BUCKEYE_TAI · #6 02-20-2007, 01:13 AM

wow :roll:

Cluggy619 · #7 02-20-2007, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BUCKEYE_TAI

wow :roll:

Nice comment. Maybe next time, you can try a few more words, unless this is all you have.

Since you are so quick to judge, tell us all how much fuel delivery you have done. I'm sure we all would like to know.

teamster · #8 02-20-2007, 02:30 AM

3 pump offs done just by you in a month and a half. Are you the only one that does pump offs. Do you guys have alot of cross drops or something?

driver67373 · #9 02-20-2007, 03:19 AM

Thanks for all the info. I DON'T mind working nights or weekends, I actually prefer night driving. As long as they give me at least one day off a week. I will be seeking something local in the Little Rock area so I would imagine with it being a bigger city that the jobs would pay well. What kinds of extra precautions do you have to take when hauling fuel? Are you always afraid of something bad happening and getting blown up? Do your companies put saftey first?

Quote:

Originally Posted by teamster

Quote:

Originally Posted by driver67373

I know that I'm going flatbed OTR for now but I know once I get my two years OTR I'm going to want to go local. I'm realizing the OTR lifestyle is not for me. I love driving cross country but it is also very lonely and I miss having a normal life and coming home to my own place at night. 2 years OTR seems to be the magic number for every local job I inquire about. Since 14 months is not far away (even though now it seems like it will be an eternity), I'm already starting to look into my options for local. I've found lots of stuff on here about LTL and flatbed, but I can't seem to find much about hauling fuel local. I've heard these positions can pay very well, like 50-65K a year. I was wondering if that's true or not. How do you find these jobs? Are the benefits good? What about equipment and how employees are treated? Are you forced to drive in icy conditions? I would appreciate any info you guys can offer and would like to hear from you guys (and gals) who are doing this or have done it before. Thanks,

Ryan

I have been doing this for about two years and it is probably one of the easiest jobs I have had. Although it is easy, you must stay focused, because it only takes a second to make a major and costly mistake. As far as the income goes, I can tell you most everyone at my company made between 50-60k+ last year. Your income will depend heavily on the company you drive for and your area of the country. I would suggest only working for a company that pays by the hour. Alot of fuel haulers are paid by the load and what if the truck breaks down, what if weather is bad. You are SOL. As far as benefits and equipment go, it will again depend on the company. I have good benefits and I drive a brand new truck. From what I have seen most fuel hauling companies have pretty good equipment. In a single word about icy conditions-NO. No company can force you to drive in conditions which you feel are unsafe. The bad things about delivering fuel: 24/7 operation, working holidays, working nights, working weekends. These things will all get better as you get more seniority, but plan on nights and weekends to start unless you get real lucky. The best thing is you will sleep in your own bed everyday. Hope this helps. You can PM me if you have any questions.

driver67373 · #10 02-20-2007, 03:21 AM

What is a pump off?

And what kind of shifts do you generally work? 8, 10, 12 hrs?