I drive a chemical tanker. It's very common (about 75% of the time) for me to pick up a preloaded trailer at the plant. All my preloads have their landing gear on a strip of concrete about 2' wide running all the way down the line of trailers. Good asphalt is ok for a quick swap but a loaded trailer shouldn't stand for any length of time, especially in very hot weather.

Live loads take about 2 hrs. barring any delays, which don't happen much in my experiences. I've never loaded my own trailer; trained plant workers do that. Drivers usually stand outside the truck (don't forget your hard hat) or go to a driver's break room. Many plants won't let the driver stay in the cab because of plant safety regs. Some require to have the driver present while loading. It varies.

Unloading procedures vary with each consignee. I have gone for 2 weeks or more without touching a hose, then have 3 or 4 driver unloads in a row. We don't have forced dispatch and I've worked at my company long enough to know most of the customers. So if I'm particularly lazy at a given time I'll choose a run which is customer unload.

Remember that what I've posted here is what I have personally experienced the past 9 years, so it's not to say every tanker job is like mine. There's quite a variety.

I've been in trucking since the mid 70's and have to say I really like tank yanking. As was mentioned earlier, tanker trucks are unstable, especially with smooth bore (single compartment trailers). Tanks also have a high center of gravity, hence a lot of accidents are rollovers.

I don't recall any companies that take newbies but I'm sure there are a few out there. Most require 1-2 yrs. OTR but will train a driver who hasn't pulled a tank before. 8)

Cyanide has excellent info on tankin'; tells you everything you want to know.

 

I will answer your questions the best I can (I've hauled tankers a little over five years total between food-grade and chemical).

Never, ever have I done 100% drop-and-hook with tankers. There are simply too many variables with different customers where you have no choice but to live load/unload (E.G. small facility with minimal to no extra storage space for trailers). There are positions where all you do is drive the truck and transport the product and the customer handles the unloading process (easy food-grade and certain dedicated chemical jobs like mine), but those jobs usually require at least two years all-weather O.T.R. experience or other prerequisites.

I must admit that I have heard that a tank trailer's landing gear is not designed for long-term support of being loaded. However, when at Indian River, Jim Aartman (now Ruan), and when as a company driver here with Superior Carriers there were many instances where I hooked to a pre-loaded tank and ran with it. And now with the dedicated account I am on, all of my runs are on preloaded, dropped tanks and waiting for me. But on another note, as for a newbie getting a gig like mine, don't count on it unless you are at the right place at the right time.

From my personal experience, you will never be able to avoid climbing up/down the ladder. Even with (easy) food-grade you are still responsible at a minimum for ensuring your dome lid is secured tightly. True, some customers have safety platforms you can use, yet some will not allow you to use these or they simply restrict you from climbing on top of the tank at their facility due to insurance and liability requirements.

As for the physical labor aspect of tankers, I personally think that they are easy, others have the opinion that it is much too labor-intensive. The majority of chemical and food-grade outfits do require you at times to unload the product, some much more than others. Aside from pulling hoses from either tubes on the tank or from a hose rack on the back of the truck, and connecting these hoses along with fittings from the tank and possibly the truck's pump into the customers intake valve, it could possibly be viewed as quite physically demanding by some. Then after unloading, you will then have to disconnect all the equipment you have used and properly secure it before departing for a tank wash or terminal facility (imagine one or more 20' long, 3" diameter hose(s) filled with product needing to be drained before stowing for transport....this can carry a little bit of weight!).

Also, there is much more involved with driving and handling a tank as well. It just simply too much responsibility for a driver to handle, and not just new drivers at that! Which is why many do not recommend tankers to beginners, though I know several drivers who have came right from school and jumped into driving them with great success. I know of many more with little to no experience though who have tried and have failed. The odds are not in the new driver's favor.

That being said, if you are still interested in tanks there are only two companies that I'm aware of who are truly geared for training a brand new driver fresh out of school (depending on where you live as well). Those are C.T.L. Distribution and Schneider. My company and it's sister affiliate will train as well, but are much more picky about who they will take (as we generally require a full year's experience). If you want any more info please don't hesitate to ask, that's what we're here for...

:wink:

 

Hi Carlo (Cyanide)!

You may not remember me but we corresponded via email a little a few years back, somewhere around 2002. My name is Ron. I went by the username BigTruck on Truck.Net.

I worked for Manfredi (now DisTec) at the time. I'm now working for Schwerman. Been there a little over a year and I'm very happy with them. I'm 55 now so I plan to retire with them if this country doesn't go to hell-in-a-handbasket first.

Glad to see you're still around. I'm sitting at home after surgery on my shoulder so I'm cluttering up CAD with my humble opinions. Take care.

 

Im a newb, still have one more month to go before I finish. Im working at getting in with Superior. Had a meeting with the TM on the 22nd, so far so good. Once I get my CDL Ill fill out my app. and hopefully (crosses fingers) get the process rolling with employment. Ill be doing the Entry-level program of course. I understand its not the easiest driving by any means, but I would like to start off on the right foot with the right company. Im up for the challenge.

 

I pull food grade. Yes, almost every load I drop the loaded trailer and grab a clean one. Still have to climb the ladder to inspect gaskets and verify seal numbers. I also load almost every load by myself as I pickup dairies.

 

I pulled petroleum tanks til last month. Ours were all aluminum and could not be unhooked while loaded.

Starting stainless chemical tank this next week and heard they, at times, do drop and hook.

al = 9600
ss = 6500

have no clue this is the difference as to why you can or can not unhook while loaded... I just do as I'm told...

 

well, i just spent 5 hours at a tank wash, and this was just getting an "electronic" wash. so, basically, i had to get it done twice. but the guy had to get in there and scrub, and the other place made me wait cuz they were the second shift guys and nobody seemed to have a clue what I wanted.
fortunately I get hourly for that, but it still sucks on a friday night, especially after getting rear-ended on the 290 right before that!

 

Aluminum Tanker trailers are specifically designed to support the weight of the product from King pin to Tandems. There are no frames, so the structure has to hold the weight. On the front of the trailer there is a "cradle" that holds the tank (attached to the King Pin). The Landing gear is not connected or attached to the cradle so there is no support when the trailer is dropped loaded. On top of that, if you have compartments loaded differently the product is not distributed evenly through the trailer like a Solid Bore Trailer.

 

from my experience (cement bulk tanker), I had to hook up hoses, set the PTO, and unload it all myself while watching the pressure and pulling levers and such.

there were no drop and hooks. but there was no climbing either. i just get out of the truck, hook up a hose, and use my hands to pull levers. it wasnt that hard on the knees at all.

oh yeah, and a rubber mallet to bang on the side of the tanks, that was about it.

 

I pull a smooth bore chemical tanker for Miller Transport and love it. The best part about pulling a tank is the customers, you will almost never have to wait at a customer and if you do you will be paid. The customers in this side of the industry know that the drivers are a huge part of what they do, I personally have never run into any place where I felt mistreated. The terminal I run out of hauls a lot of fiberglass resin and usually will pump it off. Pump offs are no big deal and phisically is not a challenge.
I enjoy my job and will always pull a tank it is not for newbys or fearless drivers you need a lot of respect for what could happen and your driving has to reflect that respect. I personally average over a thousand dollars per week with paid insurance and retirement, that is not too hard to find in tanks.I average around 2200-2500 miles per week. The hourly pay is where we make around 1/3 of our pay, if you are doing something you are paid period...Carlo was the biggest reason I went into tanks (thanks Carlo!!!f you are interested in this area of driving you really need to read his blogs and talk to people on here. I will post below how I am paid so any one interested in Miller can give me a shout, Our fleet average age is 46 and we recently had some guys retire in the Little Rock terminal so we are short handed right now.....wonderman