CDL B Propane/heating oil

Posted by fear_knot@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 11 comments

Anyone do this kind of work? What’s it like? I know pulling hoses and dealing with the whole hookup and transfer process is a whole job in itself.

Is it a job you can do year round, or do you have to switch off to something else like concrete mixers? So far I hear that it doesn’t pay all too well despite the labor involved, but these jobs seem to be plentiful in the northern states, which may indicate job stability?

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Notols@reddit

Mostly seasonal. There's some summer work especially if you live near farms that dry harvest with propane. But starting this time of year we mainly deliver ice. Our company owns gas stations

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fear_knot@reddit (OP)

What about cylinders? Do bulk propane gigs sometimes switch you over to that in the summer, or is that a whole different thing altogether?

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Notols@reddit

That's their own company those little BBQ grill propane cages you see outside of home stores. The place I worked for owns several thousand 7-11s and does gas, oil, propane, etc. I didn't do bulk. I did class B propane.

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JLRD9319@reddit

I’m a propane bobtail driver. It’s really easy. Probably the easiest job I’ve ever had. Pulling the hose is easy as you back up right against the tanks, I only pull my hose a few feet most of the time. You get some residentials where the tank is in the backyard but the trucks nowadays have a reel button on your remote so it unwinds itself by motor. Hooking up, filling and reeling your hose back in usually takes around 5 minutes. I’d say the most labor intensive part is filling forklift cylinders because you have to flip the empty ones in the cage before you fill them but it’s pretty easy, an empty cylinder doesn’t weigh much. I make 30 an hour but Ive only been there 9 months and haven’t gotten a raise yet. It’s easy year round work.

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Guilty-Tale-6123@reddit

What region are you in?

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JLRD9319@reddit

Southwest

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fear_knot@reddit (OP)

Beats out most of the CDL A jobs around me, pay wise. Although I suppose everything is location dependent.

The way you describe it, it makes me consider just not pulling trailers at all.

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JLRD9319@reddit

I refuse to pull trailers. Although I know how to because I have my class A and I’m damn good at it, it just adds more stress to being on the road and I feel like the pay isn’t great to drive around a small building. I drive my propane truck exactly like I drive my regular car. Takes the stress out of being on the road and backing.

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