New Food Tanker Driver

I’m starting with a local company hauling a food grade tanker. I’m looking for any and all advice you might be able to offer up! Thank you in advance!

Do you have any experience? Or is this your first driving job?

Do you have any experience? That's a really tough way to start this career. Tell us a little more about it.

No, this is not my first driving job, I hauled garbage for 2 years ( class b ) and most recently have been working for Dr Pepper delivering out of a 28’ pup trailer.

Do you have any experience? That's a really tough way to start this career. Tell us a little more about it.

I’ll be driving for Caledonia Haulers.

TheSchmeltz, You have indicated to everyone here that you have limited experience on semi trucks. You will have to prepare yourself for a whole new world with the food grade tanker job. Be very cautious with the specifics of hauling food grade tankers such as front to rear slosh and side to side movement of liquids which makes roll overs more of an issue. If you use common sense, patience and good driving skills time will help you in your new career. I'm sure most everyone here on TT will chime in about the difficult choice of going into tanker so early in your career. Just be sure it is what you want and learn everything you can about the specific conditions tanker will present to you. Always remember not to be in a big hurry and just relax and be safe.

I myself did not like liquid tanker but really enjoyed dry bulk a lot more. They were totally different worlds. Good luck.

Welcome TheSchmeltz.

I drove a food grade tanker myself and I can tell you I would very much prefer to see you go into anything else first before taking a shot at that. Food grade tankers are probably the most dangerous trucks on the road, other than gasoline tankers. Not only that, but you have very little experience in a rig and you're in Minnesota in the dead of winter where you're going to be hitting the brakes on icy roads and off ramps with 50,000 pounds of sloshing liquid. You couldn't have a more difficult and dangerous job.

There are a ton of jobs available that are much safer and will pay just as well. Is there a particular reason you're going with this job? What's stopping you from hauling a reefer or dry van for a year first, then switching to food grade tanker?

Thank you all for your input so far. I want to let you all know that I am not going into this blind. I have researched what comes with hauling a tanker and am not taking it lightly. By no means do I think this is going to be an easy job. I decided to go this route with my career for a couple different reasons. The challenge of it being one of them. Pulling soda around for the last year and half hasn’t been bad but it’s not for me. I want more of a challenge. Another reason I took this job is because of the company I’ll be working for. I have heard nothing but good about them. They will be putting me through a few weeks of training and I plan on soaking it all in. The home time they offer is good and certainly beats being gone weeks ata a time doing otr.

Best of luck to you. Would love to hear of your ongoing experience.

Thank you all for your input so far. I want to let you all know that I am not going into this blind. I have researched what comes with hauling a tanker and am not taking it lightly. By no means do I think this is going to be an easy job. I decided to go this route with my career for a couple different reasons. The challenge of it being one of them. Pulling soda around for the last year and half hasn’t been bad but it’s not for me. I want more of a challenge. Another reason I took this job is because of the company I’ll be working for. I have heard nothing but good about them. They will be putting me through a few weeks of training and I plan on soaking it all in. The home time they offer is good and certainly beats being gone weeks ata a time doing otr.

I want to let you all know that I am not going into this blind

So then you've considered the fact that you're taking the lives of innocent families into your own inexperienced hands and accepting a job you do not yet have the experience or skill set to handle safely?

If you received a phone call today saying a family member was killed by an inexperienced truck driver who decided to take a job they weren't yet prepared to handle, how would you feel about that? Wouldn't the obvious thought be, "Why would he do that?? Why wouldn't he have gotten a little experience first instead of putting other people's lives at risk?"

It's a fair question.

There are plenty of safer job opportunities out there that pay just as well and can get you home on the same schedule. I think you should reconsider your choice.