Is Driving Semi Dump Trucks Or Transfer Dump Trucks A Good Occupation For Home-time Lovers?

I would think that they only operate during the hours of business for the building trades and landscaping companies. Transfer dump trucks look so neat. Semi dumps or transfer dumps hauled by classic Kenworths or Peterbilts look cool too. Since road construction goes on all day long and all night long, I suspect dump operators might have graveyard and swing shifts as well. Verdad?

So, David Bacon, you are wanting to bring home the bacon? (Sorry, couldn’t resist)

Are there oil fields in SD? I’ve been driving around west Texas, including the Midland area which is all about oil field work. There are an amazing amount of specialized oil field related trucks on the road. Tankers, dry bulk trailers, dump trailers, etc. I imagine that most of those drivers are local and home nightly. (Somebody familiar with oil field trucking please correct me if I’m wrong). Anything like this in your area? I think a lot of the dry bulk is frac sand and dry chemicals. It would be interesting to know more about oil field trucking and job opportunities.

So, David Bacon, you are wanting to bring home the bacon? (Sorry, couldn’t resist)

Are there oil fields in SD? I’ve been driving around west Texas, including the Midland area which is all about oil field work. There are an amazing amount of specialized oil field related trucks on the road. Tankers, dry bulk trailers, dump trailers, etc. I imagine that most of those drivers are local and home nightly. (Somebody familiar with oil field trucking please correct me if I’m wrong). Anything like this in your area? I think a lot of the dry bulk is frac sand and dry chemicals. It would be interesting to know more about oil field trucking and job opportunities.

South Dakota has limited oil production. Most of it is in just a single county:

http://www.sdoil.org/member-resources-2/industry-facts#:~:text=Known%20Oil%20Reserves%20in%20South,Custer%20and%20Fall%20River%20County.

"South Dakota’s crude oil production is far less than 1% of the nation’s total, and the state has no oil refineries. Production is concentrated in the western corner of the state, where Harding County produces the bulk of the state’s crude oil and natural gas, mostly from traditional vertical wells. Although the Williston Basin extends into South Dakota from the north, the productive Bakken Shale does not. Oil production in South Dakota has been fairly steady for decades."

My 1980-deceased grandfather was a union operating engineer in California retired in 1973 and in that trade since 1957. Heavy equipment. Road construction. Excavation. Lots of call for equipment-hauling trucks, dump trucks and water trucks to keep the dust down. I'm sure there are plenty of calls in SD for all sorts of dump trucks as long as roads are being built and maintained, mines are being mined, homes are being built, commercial buildings are being built, swimming pools are being built, landscaping operations are in force and roads, parking lots and playgrounds are being paved. Gravel, sand, aggregates and dirt = dump truck necessity. Here is a marvelous demonstration of a transfer dump in operation. My parents had a new modular custom home built in northern California in 1981 and I was amazed by that sweet Peterbilt transfer dump that was on the job site. Construction trucks and other local/regional special-purpose trucks tend to be the classic-look tractors and cabs, not the geeky aero ones so common in mega-carrier freight. A truck carrying logs, mixing concrete or hauling gravel is likely to be an old-school-look Kenworth, Mack or Pete.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu3HA1qn-l4&t=2s

Driving a dump bucket, you’ll always have a job somewhere. I hauled milling machines for a while and a lot of the companies we worked with to mill and fill the asphalt had a fleet of private contractors who hauled the millings along with their company drivers. Those guys worked circles around the company drivers because they were getting paid by the ton and their trucks weren’t governed. With that being said, if you wanted to O/O a dump bucket, there are opportunities to do so. If you’d rather be a company driver, there’s lots of jobs for that too but you’re subject to their hours and jobs which can really suck. The ones I see every day are hauling road salt. It comes in by rail and is hauled by the dirt dummies (my term for dump truck drivers) to the salt domes. You’ll make more money as an owner operator just like in OTR work but you’ll be able to work the hours you want to work and haul what you want to haul. That also comes with the expense of owning your own truck too. There are OTR dump drivers too but they’re hauling all kinds of stuff. One came into the rail yard the other week and dumped a load of scrap metal that looked like parts of a train.

I would think that they only operate during the hours of business for the building trades and landscaping companies. Transfer dump trucks look so neat. Semi dumps or transfer dumps hauled by classic Kenworths or Peterbilts look cool too. Since road construction goes on all day long and all night long, I suspect dump operators might have graveyard and swing shifts as well. Verdad?

Hi, David!

My guy used to haul asphalt in a tanker, but the paving industry has plenty of opportunities for the combo dump drivers, too. While you're at it, look at the likes of what our own moderator, G'Town, has evolved into hauling in Delaware these days. He's driving a Mack Pinnacle. Plenty of pics in his profile, as well.

Search by his name in the appropriate tab; pretty sure he's home nightly and off weekends, also.

Best of luck to you;

~ Anne ~

I am now finding out that "semi" dump trucks are often called "end" dump trucks in the industry. If a driver is not careful while raising the box for dumping, the damn thing can tip right over even in a 10+ MPH wind. You might think one should have invented outriggers for this setup for added stability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz3fssiDo2g