Question:
After a lot of thinking, and contemplating my future I decided to give OTR tank yankin a try. The job I had was great, except for a few issues that I just couldn't get addressed by my former boss, so the decision to switch was made.
I am now sitting in Ozona, Texas with T-bob heading to California to drop this load of juice, and grab my own truck. I am now an employee of Jim Aartman Inc. Nationwide food grade carrier.
The decision was made for me to ride out with T-bob rather than fly out to California and jump in a tank, that I had never driven before. This has turned out to be an excellent choice. It was immediately discovered that hauling liquid in a tank...well let's just say it moves around a bit.
Bob and I left Mulberry for Clewiston to get our load of OJ heading for California. Bob drove from Clewiston out to I75, then let me take over. Driving a tank takes some getting used to. The dry box/reefer never had freight that moved.
When you start off...the load moves. When you stop...the load moves. When you do pretty much anything........well you get the picture. One needs to pay very close attention to what you are doing driving this type of truck. There is no time to slack off. When I was running newspaper inserts I found myself with a certain level of "complacancy" I knew the palletized load wasn't going anywhere unless I really messed up. You hit the brakes....the load stays put.
Now this tankin thing is different. You, or at least I am, are much more aware of what is going on around you. I make certain I leave myself plenty of cushion in front of me. My following distances are increased, to make sure I don't need to slam on my brakes, or if I do, I know I have room to move. Corners are taken at the posted speeds, usually less. hauling tanks requires common sense.....but it also requires you to use common sense.
When you stop....here comes the load, and it literally slams the front of the tank. Wanting to share the love equally ( well more the laws of physics) it slams the rear of the tank. While this is all going on you must keep your foot pegged on the brakes. That load will easily drive the truck forward, or shove it back. The key word is safety.
Now driving is kinda like giving a 6 yr old a piggyback ride....while riding a mechanical bull. Once acceleration begins, the load slams the back of the tank, then front, and so on. This will usually go on for a few miles until, like that 6 yr old on your back, it settles down.......a little.
So far it is all working out well. You need to get some miles behind you each and every day. No slacking, mamby-pambies here. You actually have to drive. (imagine a truck driver having to drive...what a concept) The place I left..I had time to get where I needed. If I slacked off for a day, I always had room on my insert deliveries, since they weren't getting put in the papers for another week in most cases. It is going to take some getting used to on my part, because I am not used to running 6-700 miles a day. However it can all be done legally. Period.
It is veeeery nice driving a truck where everything works. The truck I drove before had....issues. Probably the biggest reason I left. Benefits are another biggie.
I will be updating this when possible, but so far.......so good.

Answer:
Interesting comments concerning "Driving Skills".
Sounds like you are now practicing(for the most part)
what you should have been doing in the past.
Funny how when it's YOU that's affected,it makes a difference
in "driving" techniques. Good Luck on the New Job.
Answer:
cessna*172*pilot,
There are some tricks you can learn so the liquid doesn't move. T -BOB will have to learn those tricks too.
As you meantioned, give yourself plenty of room and plenty of time. Tankers do not want to stop, even on dry pavement.
I know it's kinda early for this, but, when you start from a standing stop:
Try to always use 1st gear, not second gear loaded. Don't over RPM. On level ground you can shift between 1100 and 1300 RPM. This gives you a better start. Next, When you shift, don't mash the throttle, instead, give it a second and very gently , a feather touch, steadily push down on the thottle as far as you need to, even to the floor.
Every shift , never mash the thottle, always wait that one second, then ease down on the thottle. If your timing on this is bad, try double clutching for awhile to get your timing down pat.
It's the same with braking. go easy and steady. The liquid will slow with the truck. The same with starting out.
When stopped>>>> sometimes the liquid will MOVE when you first start out. THIS WILL SLAM THE HELL OUT OF YOU BIG TIME> you'll swear you lost your clutch or something. Before you start out and engage the clutch, "release" the brake for a second, then engage the clutch.
If your not carefull, it is possible to break a DOT scale if the truck slams like this. This only will happen when the truck is stopped and then moved forward.
When I first started driving tanker, this happened to me. I got slammed hard enough to knock my hat off my head and it landed on the steering wheel.
Just practice your shifting and timing, you'll get the hang of it. It take patience, but you'll learn to be able to drive without the liquid slamming, or evening moving as to feel anything. When you cannot feel the liquid moving at all, you know your doing things right.
Also, your going to learn to use that Jake Brake a lot. Even on snow... Practice this with the jake on low to get the feel of it. With tankers, everything is about feel.

Answer:
I basically have been letting him do his own thing in driving, i have sat back and watched how he is doing and only said something one time about curves, that was in the first day....ken will do just fine, like you said and i have come to realize, its all about the "feel" of the tank , once you get the hang of it, its not too bad...and as far as he shoulda been driving that way all along, we generally all drive safe...u have to for your own safety as well as others, its just with tanks not only do ya have to do that..u have to do a little bit more...we are almost to cali then ken can get his own truck and his personal adventure will continue there....later

Answer:
Well after almost three weeks I have decided that tankin just ain't for me. I have a knee injury from a few years ago that bothers me too much to continue, so back to freight haulin I go.
I have a few different options. I could go back where I was before, and the boss will happily let me drive his truck, or I could go with another company where I would do basically the same thing, but with brand new, or relatively new equipment. My old job had a lot of freedom, which I really enjoyed. Basically I ran the truck, and did whatever I wanted....within reason.
This is not to say that tankin is bad. Quite the contrary. If not for the beating my knee takes I'd be on my way to California with juice. Jim Aartman Inc. is a great company that I would definitely reccommend to anyone.
Special thanks to Carlo...and T-Bob....I am deeply sorry this didn't work out.

Answer:

Hmmm...what would the difference be? Climbing?
Just curious.
Answer:
Ahhh, the ol' "bum knee" excuse.
Answer:

He could pull gasoline....not much climbing there.....twice a day, is all.....pre, and post trip......LIARS SUKK

Answer:
Two years ago I fell off a roof and shattered my left leg. The surge that you get from pulling a tank is too much on my left leg/knee. It is really unfortunate, because I really liked it.
And before I get the usual smartazz remarks, I go through a pair of sneakers in three months...reeboks in three weeks. The slightest incline in any walking surface is..tricky.

Answer:
Yes, running a food grade tanker can be rough on the body.

Answer:
For those of you who choose to make comments and don't actually know Ken..which of course i do, he absolutely has a bum leg...it didn't work out for him, he moves on, simple as that..you do take a beating driving a tanker, matter of fact my knee (which has never hurt in another truck) hurts me as well. I dont understand it, i think it has more to do with these sorry seats in these pete's (which btw my bostrom wide ride seat) will be in this truck in less than a month, it has been ordered just waiting for it too come in from the factory to the pete dealer in cali..i think it'll be different for me once it's installed..we will see.

Answer:
You have to realize some of the pounding you get on your legs and knees comes up through the floorboard.
I had a 1997 (brand new) KW T-600. Man it was a rough ride and rough seats too. . no give in the seat. Seats and shocks are probably the two most important things on a truck pulling a food grade tanker.
The first T-2000 I had rode like a dream, but it's a heavy truck.
With a rough riding truck you can screw up your back also.

Answer:
I have to state here that if you have seriously bad knees or back, trucking is always going to be difficult for you physically, as is any driving job. And I have seen many individuals come in with a good set of knees and a good back, and truck driving will cause problems to both over time. I am not a doctor, but this is a fact that we must deal with. Good luck to you.

Answer:
If you enjoy tankers, bit don't want the surge, try cryogenics. Hauling CO2, Liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, etc. There is NO climbing, unless you have to load out of a railcar and it you need to change cars. It's pretty much all on the ground and real easy.
Cryogenic liquids are like hauling a giant Icee or Slush drink. The liquid is in a froxen, yet movable state. YET, it won't surge unless you get real crazy.
Try Jack Kelly or some of the other companies in your area. Other than being hazmat, they're a piece of cake.
Answer:
Cadillac I agree, but inserts move a whole lot less!
Driving the old Volvo, even with a basic seat wasn't as bad as the tank. I will submit that I-10 going into New Orleans is the bumpiest peice of crap road in the USA. That really didn't bother me with the dry freight, but I shudder at the thought of tanking down that peice of crap.
Spent yesterday with my neice and nephews. They are the biggest reason for me to come of the road by the end of 2005.