Milky Way

I checked them out a while ago. Not for me.

No regular shifts. Not, do your time and take what's available until you get enough seniority. You'll drive days, nights, whenever no matter how long you've been there.

Onlyfans option. Driver facing cameras 24/7. They have an INSANE obsession with drivers using their phones while driving. Seriously, it reminded me of Mr. Hand in Fast Times. EVERY DRIVER uses their phones while driving (according to them). They'll tell you it's only a black and white image that goes to someplace in India and all they see is a report that confirms you're using your phone while driving.

Are you into chains? Why wait for ice and snow to chain up? Drivers have to chain up when temperatures get below freezing whether there's snow or not.

 

You might also consider Idaho Milk Transport. I understand that company recently took a big account from Milky Way since MW was not providing good service to the customer.

 

I've hauled milk for 4 years with 2 different companies . One in Phoenix, and one in Tillamook. Both doing the same thing in very different way. LTI is no exception. They are a very interesting company that cant keep drivers to save their life. Milk haulers habitually have a high turnover. You usually start of on nights and there can be long boring hours and hitting farms in the middle of a snowstorm or ice/snow covered roads, chaining multiple times a night, dealing with tight, difficult farms, ect.

LTI has been struggling and my previous company has had several of their customers contact us to haul their milk, which we declined. It wouldnt hurt to talk to them. I actually applied to the branch in McMinnville, OR, but I couldnt find a place to live that was reasonably for what they were offering. Ended up going to cryogenics in portland.

LTI does alot of different things and if your area gets slow, you may have to go work another area to keep busy

 

That's a pungent area.

 

All the farms spray manure on their fields and most have manure storage tanks. The whole valley smells like &%#. One of the most beautiful places I have ever lived , but nothing like trying not to throw up as youre leaving the house

 

I did it for almost 13 years, cheapest trucking that I have ever done.

 

Ive been hauling milk about 4 1/2 yrs in s california. Theresa Milky Way dairy out of Visalia with a few trucks that almost exclusively unload at CDI Visalia (california dairy institute). I get paid by the load and would have to work almost double the hrs i work to make the same money if i was paid by the hour. I won’t work for any company that pays by the hour. I mainly haul cream, skim, pre-mix which pays alot more than milk loads. Milk loads require you to fill your tanker at your assigned dairy (i have two)…you scale in, take samples, hookup etc. CDI fills all the cream, skim, pre-mix tankers. I have to drive 50,,75, 100, and 165 miles to a CDI facility where i drop an empty and hookup pre-loaded tanker..sign all the paperwork, get my sample n im off. I dont have to wait to get tanker washout after im unloaded bcuz CDI washes out the tankers. I usually have an appt and don’t have to wait in line like milk tankers. I prefer these loads over milk loads but most drivers don’t. I don’t mind the extra miles it takes to pickup because i make substantially more and takes less time plus I’m never stuck in traffic..i always take milk loads at night because I can’t do los angeles daytime traffic..its ridiculous. The one thing about milk hauling is the constant unexpected delays. The silos are full, the pumps down, only two lanes are pumping, etc. Holidays are nightmares because ALL the trucks are sent to CDI facilities (kroeger, safeway, cacique, saputo, etc are closed) and theres 40-50 trucks in line. The cows don’t stop milking because it’s a holiday..they’re milked 24/7…without fail. Oh yeah, dairies all have milking schedules. Both dairies i haul out of do 4 loads a day. Each load has a route fixed to it. Every load MUST be picked up or else their tanks will start over flowing and the dairy will be in a mess..it’s definitely not a job you can just call in sick an hour before your scheduled load picks up. You have to be dependable and get your load picked up on-time. I proved myself with the company i drive for and now have my own truck n tanker and the loads i want. I did the grunge loads and worked my ### off. I still work my ### off but make good money for my efforts. Have fun..i love driving tanker’s and will probably never go back to 53 ft reefers or trailers.