Physical reality of tanker driving?

@brettw777 --

Current fuel hauler here.

I do deliveries in south GA & north FL.

I started hauling fuel in my late 50s.

The above advice is pretty good--if your prospective employer will in fact let you do a ride-along.

Part of the appeal of this job (depending on your perspective)....is....this job is A LOT MORE PHYSICAL than many other trucking jobs (one exception: food service jobs; but that's off topic).

You'll spend A LOT MORE TIME outside of the cab, doing physical labor.

When I started fuel hauling, I lost 15 lbs.

To answer your question--be prepared to lift 50-60 lbs, routinely.

As they say, "lift with your legs--not with your back."

When lifting--always keep your spine straight. Don't lift while bent over.

If you're still not sure if you can handle it--you might also wanna talk to your family doctor (and/or a back specialist) about it.

Other things you should consider: when you start out hauling fuel--most likely, your employer will want you to start doing this on nights, weekends, and also holidays. Schedules are seniority-based. Your "weekends" probably won't be on the weekend, in the beginning--but most likely something like every Tues and Wed.

If you finally did move to the South Carolina area--most likely, you won't have to get rid of ice/snow to get to the fuel tank lids. Those milder South Carolina winters will make winter deliveries much easier.

You might also inquire about exactly where you will be delivering. If you're expected to deliver at night to some....let's just say....questionable neighborhoods/areas.....you might wanna think twice about the job--regardless of what it pays.

Also ask about what other stores you will be delivering to (if any) besides Raceway/Racetrac. Stay the #### away from CIrcle K stores!!!

As a beginning fuel driver--pass up on any fuel hauling job that doesn't pay by the hour. If it doesn't pay by the hour--only accept the job if it has a weekly minimum guarantee.

Hauling fuel (especially as a rookie) and being paid "by the load".....will suck--big time.

--Lual

 

I recently joined the tanker business. I do all kinds of things, molasses, milk, grease, DEF/Urea, alcohol (hazmat), jet fuel (hazmat), honey, etc.
Less/more work. Some places have their workers load/unload themselves the product to the tank where others do not. Some allow you to use their hoses/pump others don’t or don’t even have any.
Hoses can be real heavy even after you blow out the product at the end.
Temperature also matters here, the hotter it is the easier to unload. If it’s below freezing things can get clogged and that’s a pain I heard.
Closing and opening valves, the type of trailer (belly dump rear dump etc) all matter. Gravity matters here. Leaks can be a big problem if unattended, can’t sit on your cab while unloading especially if new at the job.
A little spill can lead to a major disaster.
Most places require PPE, hard hats, goggles etc.
But something I do like about this business is there is little time waiting, you’re in and out in 1-2 hours.
No backing, well almost no backing at all
No bumping docks
I get paid by the hour!

 

Hopefully you forgot to add, little backing.

 

Heck yes! no bumping docks or dealing with annoying reefers.
Most customers have parking. it’s much more chill in that aspect.

 

That is (or was) a "truck and trailer" as opposed to a Semi truck and trailer. I loved driving those but I hauled propane/butane in them.. never gas. The good things with truck and trailer is that you can drive them practically anywhere, super maneuverable.. the bad thing is that they can drive anywhere.. you'll get to go places that semi's cannot go. I used to go to Point Arena on the coast of Northern CA.. it was pretty darned spooky running HWY one on the coast. but beautiful

 

@brettw777 --

If you still aspire to tanker duty (and I would encourage that), you might find yourself to be a much better fit over in the world of cryogenics.

There--the hoses are much smaller, and lighter.

If you do local cryo work--it will still very likely start off doing nights, weekends and holidays.....though.

Numerous threads in the Tanker Forum area discuss what life is like there.

You might wanna check it out.

--Lual

 

When I hauled fuel, I don't remember lifting a complete hose ever. You pull one end and put it on the trailer and walk it up. With a bad back, i imagine the difficulty would come in unlocking the tank lids which are recessed in the ground. Go watch a fuel hauler deliver a load. Loading is easier than unloading. The racks have large loading heads but your just pivoting them into position, not lifting them up. I never climbed on top of the trailer not once. I got trained by a guy in his 70s who didn't seem to break a sweat hauling fuel. I found it to be a mentally challenging job more than physically demanding. Do everything the same every time. Check check and check again. I'd at least give it a try. I doubt you'd have any trouble if you go slow and think about how to best go about it.

 

If you look I’m sure in your area there are aviation fuel hauling companies.
Airports are the way to go. You do have to do pump offs at the smaller airports, the big ones have their own hoses and pumps. They also normally use 4inch hoses.
I will say that a strenuous part can be loading the truck. Some of those risers and vapor recovery hoses can be a bi**h!

 

Most petroleum hoses are lighter than chemical hoses and usually have lighter aluminum fitings.

Still I don't remember ever having to hump too many hoses without help.

Have delivered paint materials requiring pump and 100' of 3" chem hose brought by pickup and the customer did the heavy work [vertical rectangular wooden tank that almost reached the roof] and the stuff was so thick that at idle it sounded like the pump was going to jump out from under the old mack.

Their was guy is 25 feet up on what looked like a coffin for the Jolly Green Giant standing on a 3" hose to hold it in the opening...OSHA Who?

Usually the odder the customer's layout; the more help you got.

Probably because they didn't want the supplier to hear how bad it really was.

90% of the customers usually had it together; a lot of the time you are bringing in raw materials that the customer needs to do business and has been handled for a long time.