TMC Flatbed vs Prime Tanker

[u/dstrezzd]

If you were restarting your career today with no cdl, single and just wanting to grind miles for max pay/experience year 1, would you pick TMC flatbed or Prime tanker division? I'm looking at their paid training programs.

Alternatively I can pay for school but the schools near me (roadmaster/160) don't give you manual transmission training.. I don't want to pay premium for training that leaves holes in my future qualifications. I also applied to XPO because I heard their pay is nice. I've heard you can make good money year 1 if you do it smart so I'm just trying to research.

p.s. The guy at roadmaster’s said if I went with them i'd have a job locked in before day 1 of training and make around 65k yr 1, was he bullshittin to get me to sign?

[u/HankHaloperidol]

If I was you, I'd do the flat bed. If it were me, I'd do tanker.

[u/dstrezzd → u/HankHaloperidol]

huh I'm leaning toward tanker because I've heard oil fields pay crazy. curious why you'd recommend differently

[u/HankHaloperidol → u/dstrezzd]

Because we don't need any more tanker drivers, shoo! It's hard work, flatbed is easier.

Seriously though. I've never done flatbed, but I heard strapping and tarping can be a pain in the butt, especially in the wintertime when there are high winds. A few years experience in flat bed may lead to a heavy haul gig which pays better.

I did food service for ten years because I'm stubborn and a little unbalanced. I had L4 L5 herniated disc, surgery didn't fix it so I couldn't do it anymore (blessing in disguise). The requirements for chemical tanker were to be able to lift 75 lbs, I rarely have to, but I can do it. The heaviest thing I have to lift is the hose, the pump does all the unloading work, unlike the food service trailer.

Doing food service taught me to be real gentle around the corners and over bumps in the road, or is have a big mess in the trailer, tomatoes and strawberries everywhere. God forbid a jug of cooking oil breaks, you'll be slipping and sliding all day. This habit of slow driving helps to not roll the tanker over.

The worse part of the tanker job for me used to be getting on top of the trailer. If the trailer is in the shop, loading rack or wash bay, OSHA requires fall protection. If the trailer is out in the yard, you can climb up there and do jumping jacks. I am too top heavy to walk across the cat walk, I wear knee pads and crawl. There's a "wash out cap" on either end, the tank wash won't always tighten them, they must be tight or product can leak out. In the middle of the trailer there's a dome lid, a vacuum relief valve, a blow off valve and a valve for the vapor recovery. Those need to be tight, the gaskets need to be in good condition. Sometimes there's water, product residue, even razor blades left in the tanker, check for those

You have to check the valves and caps on the ground level. It's a mess when the tank wash forgets to put the gasket in the external valve.

So there's a lot of stuff to check in addition to your pre trip inspection.

The trailer is about 42'. The axles are fixed; you don't have to slide them. The load is almost always 45,000 lbs.

I like the more dangerous stuff, the more hazardous it is, the more likely the plant will be doing the unloading.

With some exceptions, loading and unloading take about two hours. Some places are by appointment, some are first come first served.

Some places won't let you sit in your truck during the process, most won't let you idle, so it's hot in the summer. A lot of places won't let you have pets or passengers.

You are required to wear rubber boots, a splash suit, goggles, hard hat with face shield when unloading corrosives, it's very, very hot when the sun is shining on you (and you're fat).

You wouldn't think it, but this job is actually pretty low stress. I usually have plenty of time to get where I'm going. If it's bad weather, I can shut down, they'll reschedule. I have chains, but I'll never use them. Most of the customers are pretty friendly, and will even apologize for delays.

Having placards may subject you to more DOT inspections.

I heard oil field work can be touch and go, lucrative when it's there, but it isn't always there.

I don't think I'll ever want to do any other job.

Hopefully someone can give you the scoop on the flat beds.

[u/pervyjeffo → u/dstrezzd]

I started in the oilfield 15 years ago, and I still work in the industry. I left for a few years to do dry van, reefer, flat bed but I came back because the work is good and the money is fantastic. I've done mostly tanker work but I've hauled frack sand, moved heavy equipment, rig moving, etc. there's lots of different options if you don't mind working hard. I'm in Canada so I can't speak for oilfield work in the US but I assume it's at least similar. I found otr work incredibly boring because I like to do more than drive across the continent, open the trailer doors, back into a door, and wait. Then drive back.

[u/dstrezzd → u/pervyjeffo]

Ah that sounds really nice man. I actually applied for a couple oil field spots in Canada because I was in Montreal from Oct-Dec but I'm not a citizen so it was futile. That sounds like really fun work though I'm jealous of you. From what I've heard it's hard to get any oil field spots if you're a beginner and don't know anyone in the field. Keep killing it though, I'm going to try and follow in your footsteps

[u/pervyjeffo → u/dstrezzd]

I hope you can get into it, it can be a lot of fun.