Question:
Hi all, I have been lurking on trucknet for about 5 years. I have pulled vans and refers for the last 4 years and I am about to make a move to pneumatics and thought some of you might have some insights for me.
I am also going to post some of my experiences as they happen so that the newbies and experienced drivers can see some other options besides pulling boxes. I have heard of many good drivers that quit because of dock delays, I have been there myself.
Going to bulk, I hope, will save my sanity and keep me in trucking. There is a list of things about trucking that I don't like such as:
going to Walmart DC to wait
going to Affiliated Foods to wait
going to any meat processing plant to wait
getting to customer on time or early and waiting for hours and hours
sliding tandems, especially on old rusty reefers, or not sliding tandems on old rusty reefers... when I really need too.
having to re-scale after sliding tandems and hoping it is right this time
lumpers...some are ok, some are creepy, some get the job done quickly, some don't, you just never know.
53 foot trailers in small towns
not being able to replace burned out top trailer lights
Traffic does not bother me that much and docking is a big dislike for some but I did about 6 months of local with 10-20 docks a day (53') when I first started so I don't usually worry about that either.
Pulling pneumatics will eliminate many of these problems, there is always the possiblity of delays to get loaded or unload and you do scale to verify load weight but usually the customer has scales on sight.
In bulk you have to unload. Be it tankers, dry bulk pneumatics, hoppers, end dumps. Most pneumatics will dump like a hopper bottom or unload with air though a hose like a tanker. The quicker is bottom unload otherwise it will take some time. So, that is one drawback, on duty-not driving. However, you are in control of the unloading and not waiting on the forklift driver to get off break or sitting in truck listening to CB to see if you can come get your trailer yet. I guess its the not knowing how much longer that I don't like.
I am aware of another drawback to pneumatics. The unloading pipes underneath the belly are only about 14 inches off the ground so I will have to watch out around RR crossing. I would imagine some tankers and hopper bottoms would also have this problem.
I will be hauling mostly agricultural products but also cement, the aggregate that covers roofing shingles and oil dry (kitty litter).
Anybody with experience in pneumatics please post up and let me know what else I might expect and any tips to help with my transistion.
Questions?
Answer:
Buy a rubber mallet. You'll need it to tap the sides occasionally.
I've talked to a couple pneumatic drivers and they've told me that it can and does sometimes take 3-4 hours to unload depending on the product.

Answer:
Never ran an air tank myself, but did work with a company that had a division of them.
Just from what I was told by the drivers they spent as much or more time trying to get loaded or unloaded as any one else. Sometimes more.

Answer:
Like HOSS said get the MALLET , never had to BEAT the side of a REEFER to unload 12 skids of produce
BULK has a lot of benefits and like anything its share of hassles. you get to wait at customers as well as where you load , many places out in the middle of no where , and it can be a DIRTY job with some of the stuff you might haul.

Answer:
Loading a pneumatic tank is fairly easy. Just pull under the silo, open the dome, and line it up correctly under the fill tube. For the small amount of time that I drove 'em, the places I loaded at, the scale was directly under the loading area. Park, load and scale at the same time. That was nice! The other thing you'll want to avoid is trying to unload the product too fast. You can clog up a hose rather quickly if you do this. I can't offer much else because, like I said, I didn't stay in bulk very long.
Answer:
I supposed every type of trucking will have waiting times. Can't get away from it. The unloading time won't bother me as much as waiting to get to unload.
Thunderbolt, how did you go about unclogging a clog?
Anybody know how these 42' pneumatics pull. I notice that the tandems are all the way to the back so I would suspect that they might be similiar to a 48' with tandems slid to the middle, as far as making tight turns. It also looks like a high center of gravity. At least there is no "tanker surge".
As far as the rubber mallet, I have one. But, I bet you don't want to hit that tank too hard to prevent denting it. Maybe they are tougher than I realize.
I will begin pulling pneumatics at the first of May so I will report on how it goes, types of loads, types of runs, how the trailer is to handle, whether or not I make any miles and if I like it better than what I have done previously.
Answer:
I pulled PNEUMATIC BULK for about a year , it was ok , we usually had 2 or 3 trucks delivering at the same time so you had help to UNCLOG things along with someone to go for Food / Coffee when we were stuck at some remote plant waiting to load or discharge the product.

Answer:
Just wait till you get to a tank that will not hold your load. You get to wait. Will not happen much, but it dose happen.
Are you pulling food grade or junk? It happens in both.
The chemical tanker side it happens alot with Nalco.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
Daytrader
I will be pulling non food grade agricultural products, lime, fly ash, cement, aggregate for roofing shingle, kaolin clay, etc. and corn but not for human consumption.
Can anybody tell me how long these tank washes will take?
Answer:
Don't ask me how I know but be very careful to no put the wrong stuff in your tank. It can be quite a chore getting it back out.
As far as wait times go. Your going to have them more than you might think. Like can man said learn to help each other and get some one to make a run for food and drinks.
Good luck.

Answer:
Alot of the tank washes are drop and hook if you use the same ones. Drop the dirty and grab a clean.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
If you're going to pull sand,or lime, you will never have a clean truck interior.
Watch out for the hose as well...make sure there is no pressure in the tank or the hose, before you take it off.
At most you could hurt yourself real bad, at least, you will get a face full of lime LIARS SUKK

Answer:
Thanks, I be sure to watch out for that
Answer:
I'm definitely no expert, but I'll share what I can. I've been hauling dry bulk tankers and the occasional flat bed for the last two years. I was full time for the first six months and part time since then. I suppose your experience will depend on what part of the country you work in and the company you work for.
I'm in eastern Pennsylvania and run local to many different customers in PA, N.J., N.Y. ,DE and MD. I've had a lot of variety, but mostly haul cement powder from one of 4 mills to various concrete contractors and pre-cast places as well as construction sites. We also haul hot catalyst and magnesium sulfate from oil refineries, as well as lime, fly ash, plastic beads, and food grade flour.
This has been my first and only trucking job after CDL school, so I received four weeks of company training before going solo. My trainer was excellent. I learned a great deal about operating the tank and dealing with things that can go wrong.
I've rarely waited more than a couple of hours for a load, and usually I'm loaded and out of the mill within 30 to 45 minutes if the line isn't too long. The only exception has been a lime quarry in Thomasville Pa. where you self load. There's no scale where you load (you scale in and out at another location) The fifth wheel weight gage (if you have one) is not always accurate, so it's hit or miss. Sometimes you get it right the first time, but more often (at least for me) you have to either go back for a little more or blow some off because you're overweight.
I usually don't have to wait at the consignee, but many of them up here are in urban locations with limited room. It can be quite tricky at times getting to the silo and out again (manuevering around stone pits and contractors vehicles as well as cement mixer trucks). No big deal if you are an experienced driver already, but it was a real learning process for me. A lot of backing practice!
We do two to three loads a day, and they can be long days. In Summer, its hot and dusty so you and the truck can be quite a mess by the end of the day. The tanks are noisey, so definitely wear hearing protection. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes per hopper to unload cement powder, so you're out there for about 90 minutes setting up, pumping off and then breaking it down. I'm kind of slow because I only do this a few times a month anymore, so there are guys who can do it a lot quicker than I can. I've clogged a hose only a few times. Usually you just shut off the product valve and open the air assist all the way and that clears it. If that doesn't work, there are a few other things you can try before you have to depressurize the tank and clear the hose by hand. Hopefully you'll receive good training on how to deal with stuff like that.
A couple of other points in no particular order:
-Most of these companies pay by the load
-You will run close to 80,000 lbs. most of the time
- Be a morning person! I'm usually in line at the mill around 4-5am.
-Depending on what you haul, the work can be seasonal
Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Answer:
Windwagon I have been pulling bulk trailers for more years than I will admit to. Looks like a Stephans tank in your picture,hard to tell if it is a 1600 cubic foot or a 1000. I haul mainly cement and ash in Florida in a 3 hooper 1000 cubic foot trailer.
Well as for clogging always remember when your pressure starts rising the first thing you do is shut off your product valve if the world comes to an end shut off the product valve this is the most important thing to remember!!!! After that open your line valve so all the air is going in the line and not the aerators. Then shut off pto and drop tank pressure.Then go engage pto and start your blower back up and try blowing air through the line this should free up the clog and you can start normal unloading process. If that doesn't work there is a process to suck product back in to an empty hopper but that is too complicated to explain on here your trainer should be able to show you that in person.
As for the product line being too low trust me it is higher than it looks I have yet to rip one off and I have been on many shitty jobsites.Loading for me is simple pull on scale drop spout in manhole 7 to 8 minutes later bam 54000 pounds of powder.Unloading is about 60 mins from the time I hook up and blow outto unhooking and down the road I go.
Hope that gives you an idea I wouldn't pull nothing else,I love it. I pulled a food grade milk tank for years too this is the best yet.
REMEMBER SHUT OFF PRODUCT LINE IF YOU LINE PRESSURE IS RISING.