Water truck drivesr in ND... What's it like?

my friend is in north dakota driving a water truck, he tells me things have slowed down there, and is moving to sw kansas where he claims the next big boom will be.

 

Water has slowed down, just look at the water job ads on Craigslist.

 

I don't know why this OP isn't getting any love. I haul frac sand, so I'll share the little I know. Water is probably a good place to start. Only one year experience will disqualify you for some jobs, but you only need one, you shouldn't have trouble finding one.

I "live" in my truck, but the company flys me home every 5 weeks or so. Others have varioius housing arrangements. Truck stop food isn't the greatest, and it isn't cheap, but there are Walmarts ringing the Bakken in Williston, Dickinson and Minot. There's a new grocery store in Watford City.

I can be driving anytime night or day. Some actually have fixed shifts.

I'm probably on a $60,000 pace. Low, but this is my first year out here. I only had six loads on my last check but I still cleared $1,000. It's hard for me to clear that back home.

Something kind of cool about the Bakken, it's all one big circle 100-200 miles across. You learn the roads well. You learn every lock that ain't locked...well, at least you learn where you can park, where your favorite food is, where the tight curve is, etc., etc. If you get to the Flying J in Minot and have some time, I recommend a tall Bud Lite in the little bar, there.

 

Have been hauling in and out of the fields in ND for over 3 years now, started as a water truck driver and now pull mobile homes up there. Will try to help with some of your questions as best I can.
It's not to hard to get a job there, lots of companies hiring, for flatbed, water, oil, sand, side-belly dumps. Just check and apply with as many companies as you can, and suggest you check want ads in local papers.

as for what's it like, well it's different there to be sure. Tempo depends on the oil fields themselves totally. When I hauled water I could go for 2 weeks straight doing 20 hour days and only sit when I was waiting to my turn to load/unload. Or I could have days where I made maybe 1 load for the day and worked an hour or two. Just depends on what the rigs are doing and what they order for the day. Weather is the biggest issue, ND winters are insane
for the most part. Tons do snow and freakishly cod temps, with wind it can get to -50 easy. Be prepared to chain and unchain a lot. Same come spring when the snow melts and the rains come. Most of the rigs are out in the sticks down temporary dirt roads and can get deep mud. You will chain up just to make it through mud in spring. On the plus side though summer and fall are wonderful up there. Last summer we had like 2 weeks in the 90s and that was it.

Some companies have man camps that they charge you by the month/week to stay in. Others have you sleep in your truck. Finding a place to park a rv can be difficult and expensive but is possible if you look.

Schedule will depend on the company. The guy I worked for ran us 2 weeks on 2 off. Made 25 an hour hauling water billed anywhere from 15-20 hours a day, a lot of that time spent sitting at a rig waiting to get unloaded. But this isn't bad as you are getting paid by the hour! So the money can be really good up there, but it's expensive. Food is high, lots of restraints in the area but they tend to stay insanely busy, so service suffers and can take along time to get a table or get served. Lots of bars plus movie theaters
ad such.

hope this helped

 

I have been out here in the Newtown area for quit sometime now and I can say things have drastically slowed down however there is still PLENTY of work for the RIGHT PERSON. There is a lot of bottom of the Barrel type drivers out here and if a COMPANY can find someone dependable, level headed, have a can do mentality etc. etc. you will have no problem getting rolling with a good SOLID company. There are many that have come here looking to get Rich, many have succeeded but more have Failed. The controls have caught up and the numbers for rig services, per BBL rates ect. have dropped substantially. A lot of companies cutting each others throats just to keep there large fleets busy. Not trying to be negative, ALOT of work but its own separate life out here, forget about the amenities of home because they likely don't exist here and if they do you will travel, wait and pay.

Do your research on whats best for you and what can provide the longevity you seek, be flexible in what you can do and you will have plenty to do. For instance, Bellys, Sides, Vac Trailers, Lowboys, Flatbeds etc. A 1 trick pony is the first one kicked out to pasture when things get slow.

Good Luck

 

Be very careful who you hire on with up there. Any warm body with a CDL can find a job, easily. You will find that little things like safety and compliance are far down on the list of priorities for a bunch of the companies up there. They are looking for easy money and are willing to sacrifice you and your good driving record to do so. Are you a drunk? An ex-con? Horrible driving record? No problem. You can find a job. If you are not any of those, then you should be concerned about driving with all those others out there on the road with you. It is the wild west up there and it isn't for everyone. There is great money being made if you are willing to bend the rules and take your chances. My advice to you is to HEAVILY research the companies up there before making a decision. It's a hive of scum and villainy. But there are some good companies there. Unfortunately, I worked for a bad one. I was one of two drivers in the company that didn't have a horrible CSA score, a criminal record, or a penchant for drinking until my liver fell out of my ###... they failed to tell me that the job didn't pay until the whole contract was over (road construction) so my friend and I were stuck with living on advances. My fault. I didn't look into it enough. Learn by my mistake. Good luck.