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Originally Posted by golfhobo
Yeah, I'm not worried about the "surge!" It might take me an hour or two to get used to it but, I can handle my rig!
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I get the impression you're a well experienced driver. The surge shouldn't be a problem for you.
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I guess what I want to know is..... what kind of LOCAL jobs would use tankers? Gasoline deliveries is a given..... but, what ELSE?
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Water (though this may be seasonal), liquid asphalt (another one which may suffer from a slow season in the Winter), dry bulk (cement, concrete, etc), gasoline deliveries (as you've already stated), and there may be others, depending on what industries are present in the area in which you live.
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Do food grade do more LOCAL or OTR runs?
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Depends on the company, and where you live. Are in an area with lots of farms and food processing plants?
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Hmm... I've seen G&D, any idea what that stands for? What do they do?
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I couldn't tell you either one. All I know is that they seem to run dry van freight exclusively. The shamrock on the logo is a nice added touch, but I'm Finnish, not Irish, so I really don't give a damn about Saint Patrick :P
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Thanks. It was just a thought because I see quite a few of them around home.
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I've considered it. I decided against it.
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Are you saying that $18 an hour to sit on my azz isn't very good pay for local? And that dumps, in general, pay lower scale?
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I thought it was pretty decent - much better than what they paid for dump truck drivers. The only thing about it for me was the monotony.
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URRR, URRR! :lol: [Tim Allen style! ]
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:lol:
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Um.... what's a "stinger?" This response reminded me, tho, of an offer I had awhile back to haul SILOs cross country. But, then..... I am asking about LOCAL work. (Have to keep beating that into my head!)
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Systems which attach to trailers (usually equipment trailers) to provide additional axles.
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BTW, Jeff. Just out of curiosity, you seem to have done alot of trucking here in the states before going away to Dubya's WAR!! (just had to throw that in for BigDiesel! :lol: )
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This was actually my second war. The first was Afghanistan, when I was in the Regular Army.
I wouldn't really say that I've done a lot.. I've done a lot of bouncing around, rather, and have managed to cram a lot of different things into a rather short period of time, and, overall, this whole thing has gone a course of twists and turns which I absolutely would not wish on anyone else.
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Care to give me a few more details? How many years? What kind? You seem to have had alot of the experiences that I would like to try someday. What were your favorite jobs? ..... and why?
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I started in August of 02, so I haven't been at it as long as it may seem.
From August to November of 02, I worked for a construction outfit. I was hired to drive a flatbed, but spent some 90% of my time in a water truck, instead. I got bored with the monotony of that job, and decided to seek out greener pastures.
In November of 02, I was seeking a dump truck or end dump job, to no avail. The only person who would hire me only needed a weekend driver, because one of his more senior drivers was pushing 65, and wasn't down with putting in seven days a week. So I worked that job on weekends, and worked for a food tanker company during the weekdays. I spent my first six months driving a straight dairy truck, with the occasional run in a daycab, which was done for evaluation purposes. The next 18 months, I ran regionally. That came to an end when the company owner lost his ass in divorce court, and that spelled the end of the company.
As for the weekend job driving end dumps, that only lasted for four months. While hauling contaminated soil, I ended up laying over a 40 ft frameless dump. I dumped on ground which wasn't perfectly level, and that, combined with the clay which was sticking in the trailer, sent it keeling right over, and I was fired, but retained my food tanker job.
In November of 04 to February of 05, I went to work for Swift's flatbed division, out of the Eden terminal. I only lasted there for three months, thanks to one prick of a dispatcher, who caused me to miss my Army Reserve drills during that time. After having served in combat, I wasn't going to allow myself to get canned from the f---ing Army
Reserve because of him.
From February of 05 to September of 05, I hauled equipment for a fleet owner who was leased to Landstar. He owned eight trucks. That came to an end when one of his trucks caught fire and was destroyed. As he didn't intend to buy another one, he found himself with six trucks and seven drivers (he drove one truck himself). Being the most junior of his drivers, I was bumped so he could keep on a more senior driver. But his letters of recommendation made me look like a rock star, and I can understand why he made the decision he did - I worked for him for less than a year, while the next most junior driver had spent five years with the guy.
I drove dump trucks from September of 05 to March of 06, and from December of 05 to February of 06, also managed to find a weekend job hauling livestock (which really sucks ass, big time). The guy hiring me knew it was only a temporary means until I found something better, but he really had no problem with it. When I came back from Iraq with an amputated leg, he asked me if I wanted to go back to work for him. He told me I could even drive the automatic truck. I held my tongue, but that really pissed me off, although I did eventually come to realize that he meant well, and wasn't trying to be an ass. But it was a very touchy subject at the time, and I'm glad I refrained from saying the things I felt inclined to say when he told me that.
And I began hauling equipment for a road construction outfit in April of 06. I started off pulling a Landoll slider, and, after four months of that, was moved up to the heavy hauler (largely because nobody else wanted it). On days when no equipment was being moved, I would either have to drive a dump truck, or take on an end dump trailer (even though this one had a frame, I was still terrified of end dumps after my previous incident) and haul stock material. It was during this time that I made the biggest mistake of my career. In June of 06, I met a rather shady dump truck fleet owner, who liked to run his trucks around the clock. Since not all of his drivers were with the program, he hired me on to do some night work with him, which often left me fatigued, but I was such a cocky young prick, I didn't think it would phase me. One night, as I'm waiting to back into the paver while the road crew cleaned it out, I fell asleep at the wheel, and let my foot off the clutch, sending the truck back towards the paver. I didn't wake up until it had hit the paver, but the account that I got was that I came within a hair of crushing one of the road workers, who was pulled away at the last second. After coming so close to killing someone because of my own negligence, I first told the dump truck owner that I couldn't work for him anymore, and I would've quit my lowboy job as well, if my manager hadn't made a quite an effort to talk me into staying with the company. So, yes, I have made equally idiotic choices as anyone else out there, because I let my head get too big for my own good.
In November of 2007, I was activated from the Army Reserve and deployed to Iraq, as a replacement for a line medic who had been killed previously.
Now I run a yard spotter.
I can't pick one favourite job, because they've all had their ups and downs. Working for small companies, it tends to be more fun, at the expense of pay and benefits. But it's nice to be more than just a number. The bigger companies which can offer insurance and benefits are nice in that they can do that. OTR had its perks, local work has its perks.
My absolute favourite job... I suppose it would be working for the fleet owner leased with Landstar. The pay was decent, the guy was good to work for, and it made feel rather distinctive to haul heavy equipment for a fleet which was leased on with what's commonly considered one of the more elite companies out there.
The thing I like about local work is that you know the people you work with, as opposed to being OTR, where you really don't develop such familiarity unless you're on some sort of dedicated account.
I'll post more later. I seem to have developed a craving which only a burger from the Cookout can cure.
