Schneider National OTR: Tanker Or Truck

Howdy! I want to drive for Schneider National. My recruiter says that I should drive for the tanker division. My only concern, the entire reason I want to truck is to see the country. The ENTIRE country. And I fear that tankers, albeit OTR , are more resigned to smaller sections or regions of the country. I'm from the Southeast, I'd be based out of New Orleans, my recruiter tells me. I'd like some feedback from someone who drives Schneider National tankers if possible. Do you get to drive whole country?

Shoot, I'd even like to go to Canada (I have a passport).

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

I don't work for Schneider but there are lots of people here who do. My opinion is, if the job title is OTR then you'll get to explore the entire country. I'm not positive that Schneider does Canada but if you take the OTR job then you'll be everywhere. I wouldn't worry about this. There's no way that a OTR driver only gets held to a small region of the lower 48. Regional driving jobs usually only do a few states so just make sure that its an OTR job and not a regional job and you'll be good to go.

As soon as ThinksTooMuch sees the title of this thread he will jump in quickly! I'd await his response since he'a a current Schneider tanker driver. But like I said, if its OTR then you'll be everywhere.

I don't work for Schneider but there are lots of people here who do. My opinion is, if the job title is OTR then you'll get to explore the entire country. I'm not positive that Schneider does Canada but if you take the OTR job then you'll be everywhere. I wouldn't worry about this. There's no way that a OTR driver only gets held to a small region of the lower 48. Regional driving jobs usually only do a few states so just make sure that its an OTR job and not a regional job and you'll be good to go.

As soon as ThinksTooMuch sees the title of this thread he will jump in quickly! I'd await his response since he'a a current Schneider tanker driver. But like I said, if its OTR then you'll be everywhere.

Forgive me if Im wrong because Im still new at this but at my company we are considered OTR and we mainly run Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio. Sometimes Kentucky and Wisconsin. Again excuse me if Im wrong on the OTR thing but I do know that they say we are OTR drivers.

I don't work for Schneider but there are lots of people here who do. My opinion is, if the job title is OTR then you'll get to explore the entire country. I'm not positive that Schneider does Canada but if you take the OTR job then you'll be everywhere. I wouldn't worry about this. There's no way that a OTR driver only gets held to a small region of the lower 48. Regional driving jobs usually only do a few states so just make sure that its an OTR job and not a regional job and you'll be good to go.

As soon as ThinksTooMuch sees the title of this thread he will jump in quickly! I'd await his response since he'a a current Schneider tanker driver. But like I said, if its OTR then you'll be everywhere.

Forgive me if Im wrong because Im still new at this but at my company we are considered OTR and we mainly run Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio. Sometimes Kentucky and Wisconsin. Again excuse me if Im wrong on the OTR thing but I do know that they say we are OTR drivers.

OTR means you basically live out on the road. So yes, you're Over-the-Road but you run a certain region. So yes, you can be called OTR. But it's so much less confusing for OTR to mean 48 states, and regional to mean only a handful of states (like in your case).

I don't work for Schneider but there are lots of people here who do. My opinion is, if the job title is OTR then you'll get to explore the entire country. I'm not positive that Schneider does Canada but if you take the OTR job then you'll be everywhere. I wouldn't worry about this. There's no way that a OTR driver only gets held to a small region of the lower 48. Regional driving jobs usually only do a few states so just make sure that its an OTR job and not a regional job and you'll be good to go.

As soon as ThinksTooMuch sees the title of this thread he will jump in quickly! I'd await his response since he'a a current Schneider tanker driver. But like I said, if its OTR then you'll be everywhere.

Forgive me if Im wrong because Im still new at this but at my company we are considered OTR and we mainly run Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio. Sometimes Kentucky and Wisconsin. Again excuse me if Im wrong on the OTR thing but I do know that they say we are OTR drivers.

OTR means you basically live out on the road. So yes, you're Over-the-Road but you run a certain region. So yes, you can be called OTR. But it's so much less confusing for OTR to mean 48 states, and regional to mean only a handful of states (like in your case).

ahhhh haaaaa. Ok I get it now :) Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Welcome aboard Mark!

Your recruiter should be able to tell you on no uncertain terms where you'll be running. If it's all 48 contiguous states they'll let you know.

Now Schneider is a great company so hopefully you can find what you're looking for there. But if you really want to run all 48 then your best bet is a refrigerated company. They have the highest percentage of coast-to-coast runs of any type of hauling.

We have an excellent series of articles on How To Choose A Trucking Company, including an 8-part series I wrote about it which covers different size companies, different types of freight, and all kinds of considerations.

Mark everything posted above is correct. And Daniel was correct when he said I'd hop on here soon as I saw the title!

Until very recently I was a Schneider Tanker driver. I left on good terms, and have had no issues with Schneider.

You are in an awesome area for liquid chemical bulk, as I am sure you know.

If you are a tanker OTR driver, you will do all 48 and Canada. It does depend on how much home time you want though. I was based out of the Keasbey, NJ terminal and I was home every 10-12 days, came home Thursday night, went back out Monday morning. Most Mondays I left NJ with a load down to Houston or New Orleans, then got something to Alabama or Mississippi, then maybe something up to Wisconsin or Ohio, then back to NJ to go home. So I ran mostly east of the Mississippi but that was because I chose to go home every 10 days. I went to Canada once and I went to California once. And that was because I chose to stay out for 17 days that time.

There is a driver from my orientation class at Schneider at the same terminal as I am, and he's been from NJ to California several times while I have only been once. And that is because he stays on the road for 4 weeks at a time, while I stay on the road for 1.5 weeks at a time.

You will get amazing training at Schneider Bulk. There are a few drivers from Trucking Truth that have went to Schneider Bulk and a few to Schneider Dry Van... and they all agree that the training is simply awesome.

So... after much rambling, my answer to you is:

Yes you will get to see the whole country. And you will not regret driving for Schneider Bulk.

Feel free to send me a Private Message if you have specific questions. I'd be happy to help you out any way I can.

Hey everybody, thanks for your replies and your help. Special thanks to ThinkstooMuch! I just got my email with flight and hotel information to start orientation for Schneider National in Houston. Heading out Monday and I can't wait. Again, thank you all and happy trails out there to ya all.

Glad to hear you made the decision that's right for you. You will love training. Orientation will be hard, you will want to quit sometimes... but muscle through it. It only gets better once you go out solo. That is when you really start having fun.

Keep us updated.

Hey everybody, thanks for your replies and your help. Special thanks to ThinkstooMuch! I just got my email with flight and hotel information to start orientation for Schneider National in Houston. Heading out Monday and I can't wait. Again, thank you all and happy trails out there to ya all.

Hey Mark B., I know this thread ended over a year ago but am hoping you are still out there. I start at a private trucking school tomorrow and am seriously thinking of driving tankers for Schneider. Do you (or anyone else too) have insight you can share that will help me with deciding what direction will be best?

I am looking for thoughts on starting out in tankers first (pros and cons), choosing to train in Houston or Pittsburgh (if given the choice), life with Schneider generally...not necessarily pros and cons but any nuances about Schneider that will be good to know in advance, etc.

Thanks in advance to anyone who is able to share their thoughts.

P.S. Hope I posted this and quoted Mark's comments correctly.