Milk Hauling

Well, I started out a couple years ago on this forum. I have chimed in a couple times but Im a busy bee...

I started out over the road with Central Refrigerated (Swift) I loved it. No complaints. (My family had complaints) I ended up getting sick. Bob Tailed to the hospital in Ogden. Did some scans and well things didnt look too good... had home time coming. Took a load (Hersheys) to San Diego Costco and told my DM I need to follow up with the specialist per hospitals release notes. Couldnt get those appointments within the time off and couldn't garantee that my next home time would be “on-time” for my appointments that were very neccesary and already made. I asked for some local work. Even if Inwas just cleaning the bathrooms at the terminal for a month or two. I didnt want to leave. There was nothing for me.

So I applied at a local Sand and Gravel (Transfer Trucks) company and they brought me on. I had been hauling sand and gravel for the last two years and some hazardous wastes...

I enjoy this work. A lot. Its paid by the hour and a lot of hours it is. But it was time for me to find something else. So I applied with a local Milk Hauling Outfit.

Im not on the forum a whole lot. But my email is still the same.

If your ever in Southern California and run into a problem. Im here and been running local for a few years. Might not see your post if you need something but if you send a personal message. I think I will get it in my email.

Ill be driving that Shiney Tanker for now on.

This was mainly just an update for the few who might remember me.

And of course if anyone has Milk Hauling Stories or advice theyd like to share let us hear it!

Hey congrats on the new job!

I never hauled milk locally but I pulled a food grade tanker for a year and hauled a lot of cream from the dairies.

Are you going around to local dairy farms picking up milk or are you hauling cream from the diaries to food manufacturers or what?

Hey Brett,

All I know is its going to be for C. Vermeer out of San Jacinto. They pay by the load and Ill be running 2-3 Loads a day. Lots of nights and weekends.

I couldn’t tell you if its cream or milk. Im assuming its milk because he talked about how much the cows produce on rainy days and cold weather vs the hot summer days.

They said its hauling milk and it takes patience because sometimes you sit and they have to test the milk.

They work on their own trucks looks like a small family thing and they like show trucks. So Ill try to get involved in that too (time permitting)

Did a little research on the internet and they have a cool story about how they got started in 10-4 Magazine...

Ill keep you posted.

Cool. Yeah, you'll be going to farms to pick up milk and hauling it to the dairies. It's a little scary they're paying by the load only because that's the very last thing you want to get in a hurry with is a gigantic, sloshing load of liquid. So take it real easy. Should be a decent gig, though.

Welcome back. I also started with Swift/Central. Switched to a local gig hauling milk from farm to creamery. We use double tanker sets though and our pay is hourly.

I have not been on here since i was insulted and called a "failure" for leaving werner. anyways i left werner and did dump truck over the summer, no desire here to drive OTR , not at all..... i really enjoyed dump truck but the work is mostly seasonal in nature so this late fall when the work ended i went back to class A this time milk tanker. i am a farm pickup driver for walton milk hauling. its not too bad i gross about $1k per week, and yes its the same deal..... i get paid per day, which is one of the few things i dont like about the job. you just have to get that out of your head and run the truck in a safe manner, if it takes me longer on a crappy day so be it..... treat that tanker like its WANTS to roll over and kill you. they are smooth bore tankers and well known for roll over accidents. if the corner is rated for 50 mph, im going to do 35 mph. you must respect a smooth bore tanker.

being with my family was far more valuable to me then living on the road. i make $55K per year roughly and i sleep, shower, and live at home.

i posted on here because this post is relevant to what i am doing, and if i can offer advice i will.

RESPECT THAT TANKER, above all else.

Hey Mr. Smith, congratulations on the new gig - it sounds pretty cool to me! I hope everything is good with your health these days, and it was great to hear from you again!

Forgive me for hijacking your thread, but I just had to respond to this...

I have not been on here since i was insulted and called a "failure" for leaving werner.

First off let me commend you ad356 for your comments here in this thread - they were very good solid comments concerning driving tankers.

For those of you new in here and wondering about ad356's comment that I quoted, you can read the entire thread that he is referring to when you Click Here.

It is worth taking a look at it, especially if you are new to trucking, or wanting to get started as a truck driver. We work real hard in here at helping folks learn how to get started in this career. There are many ways that one can get started as a professional truck driver, but there is a basic solid approach to this career that we try to help folks navigate. Some sneak in a different way every now and then, but we try to teach what we know as the best overall approach. We try to stick to the basics and help people understand the obstacles and difficulties they will face. If you will follow that link and read the thread that ad356 is referencing, I think you will learn a great deal. He fumbled his way in, but he is in none the less. A few missteps and he could have ruined his chances at success. He made it, and I commend him for his success. I still think he could have made a much better start at it, and I stand by my comments and the general approach that we teach here.

I seriously recommend that all of you take the time to read through the linked thread where ad356 got his feelings hurt. It is right up there in the top ten legendary threads from guys who are full of misinformation about this career. It's about ten pages long, and absolutely full of great information that those of you who are new to our forum can learn from.

You have to decide how important family is. for me, family is number #1, having a relationship with my child (now two kids i have a newborn) and my wife of 13 years was far more important. perhaps i did take a different approach but i did not want to screw up my successful marriage of 13 years, my son was also acting up in school in my absence. my wife was having difficulty keeping everything going at the house, keeping the driveway cleared out, and god forbid if she had car trouble (i do my own repairs). IF i had stayed with werner i would have had only 34 hour home per week and for the sacrifice of seeing my family on a daily basis i would roughly make about what i make now.

this summer i worked for serafini construction, it was actually a great experience. they were really good to me and the company is run by a good woman. i drove a sterling tri-axle dump truck and got allot of rate work ($21.69 per hour), unfortunately it was seasonal work. i left on good terms and was told i am welcome back, should i ever need a job. i also drove class A fertilizer truck which was a good experience BUT we had far too much rain and it was only getting 1 or 2 days of driving sometimes per week; so i went to serafini. serafini is not a bad company to work for.

leaving my wife for 8 weeks was a huge emotional drain i was not prepared for. i have been with her and around her almost everyday since 2001. i think lowering the CDL age to 18 is not a bad idea, get people to consider this as a career choice BEFORE they have families. the OTR lifestyle is a poor fit for family life.

as far as driving a class B truck, i think it was a positive experience. it gave me an opportunity to handle the weight, air brakes, and shifting an eaton manual without dealing with the trailer length. the werner trainer i had was very poor and i was just someone on the truck that could run up miles for him to make more $$ off my back. i was no where near prepared to drive that 53' trailer into places like NYC. serafini was almost all city driving so it gave me some seat time driving a truck in the city. i now have a rural route and i like that.

this is not an easy industry to get a start in. i decided i would only drive a day cab , or i was going to get out. family is most important to me.

We all have to find our own way. the first time i stepped foot in a truck i really only wanted local job, i had little interest in ever driving OTR. when i got out into the "field" i discovered that was next to impossible. when i came home from training, it was springtime and i discovered there was a company that would hire me, so i took it. i never returned to OTR.