Considering A Change Soon. Worth It?

As a few may remember I had a bit of a bumpy start in this career. I was set up by a friend for a job hauling oversized loads and it fell through for reasons I was not told. I then got hooked up with Werner. I sold my only vehicle to get the money to go and live somewhat comfortably until I got out of training and could actually turn decent miles. Well the night before I was supposed to get on the Greyhound for the Springfield Ohio terminal I had to run out to town and get a few last minute things. I borrowed my mom's truck and like a fool I assumed everything is good to go on it.

Get in town and get pulled over. Turns out she had no insurance on her truck and I got a ticket. Talked to my recruiter before getting on the Greyhound since I had a court date for the ticket just a few weeks away. He decided it would be best to wait and see if the ticket stuck. In that time I managed to get on with a friend's uncle driving a hydroseeding truck and hauling small dozers and other equipment that aren't oversized. Well to keep a long story from getting any longer, the ticket was dismissed and my record remains crystal clear.

On the flip side of the country, the situation at home has changed drastically and I can no longer be away from home 4-6 weeks at a time. I can manage 2-3 weeks max.

The job I'm on now I'm home daily but there's no benefits whatsoever or insurance and the pay is very lackluster ($10/hr). I have been offered a job opportunity from.a family member to come drive for a company called BMC. It's a small company consisting of around 25 trucks and 30 trailers. They haul frac sand for the natural gas wells in northern WV, PA, NY, OH and a very few other places. It's all dry bulk tanker work and I can stay out as long as I want or come home weekly for a few days if needed. The trucks are mostly older but very well maintained Mack's and a few Cascadias and I think he said they have 2 long nose Pete's. Maintenance program is top notch, safety is top priority for them. Pay is by the load ($150 per load) and rookies average 2 loads per day. They also have a guaranteed minimum weekly pay of $1200. There's insurance and retirement as well, not the best in the industry but not terrible either (high deductible but low copay and low premiums).

On the surface it would seem to be a rookie's dream but I'm curious for your input considering it's a tanker position (even though it's dry bulk) and I've only been driving a tractor trailer regularly for about 2 months. I was also told they would give me a few weeks training in the same truck as someone else then once they feel I can handle my own truck reasonably well they would allow me to run behind my cousin or another experienced driver for a few additional weeks before throwing me to the wolves. I have until just after Thanksgiving to make my decision. Any input good or bad is more than welcomed.

Dry bulk is not like other tankers. There is no surge. It will have a pneumatic pump for off loading product. I don't see any major issue. You will consistently be close to max gross. But being heavy isn't necessarily a bad thing. If they are willing to take the time to run you thru a training program and then pair you up to run behind someone, might not be a bad way to go. Just because it is unorthodox doesn't mean bad. Just understand with it being a small operation they will need you to start performing quickly.

Drive Safe and God Speed

Thanks Patrick, I fully anticipate them expecting me to be very good investment of time and resources in a very short time. In fact I expect myself to be a top performer at the company within a few months as my way of showing my gratitude for the opportunity. I do wonder though if down the line things change that I can be away for extended periods could this be counted as experience to some of the larger carriers seeing as it's sort of a dedicated regional type of position.

It should count for experience. It didn't sound like a run around town kinda gig. As long as it is interstate commerce with a tractor trailer it should count for OTR experience.