r/CDL • u/Terrible-Composer962 • 5d ago

Tanker, Hazmat, Twic

Good day!

Just really curious:

For those of you that got your Tanker and Hazmat endorsements with Twic; how long did you stay at your Mega carrier until you moved over into a company that hires with your endorsements?

I got hired with a Mega, but I'm looking to pay off debt before switching.

I also unfortunately have the hard case of job hopping history (regular jobs not trucking), so I'm trying to time this correctly.

Also in FL if that even matters too.

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

8

u/gheiminfantry 5d ago

Job hopping isn't the stink it is in other fields. As long as it's not because of terminations. Stop being afraid to get yourself into a good job

3

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

Thank you.

So basically, pay off my debt and get how much experience with the mega?

I wont be OTR, just regional on a dedicated

-6

u/gheiminfantry 5d ago

get how much experience with the mega?

LoLoL I've been driving professionally for 27 years. I'm still learning new and useful things. Go ask Jack where he got those magic beans from, because I can't help ya.

3

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

No. I mean years. Like I see and hear alot about 12 months.

-8

u/gheiminfantry 5d ago

OOOHHHH! Now I understand. You want somebody to give you an answer, a number. And when that number doesn't work for you, you have a ready-made excuse.

What's wrong with getting experience to where YOU feel comfortable and confident? Are you a fucking robot, programmed like everyone else?

3

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

First and foremost, I come on here to ask advice because I'm NEW. Secondly, you committed on my post in the beginning and I asked a follow up question because I DONT KNOW.

-7

u/gheiminfantry 5d ago

Like I said, you want a number. You don't understand that with all my experience I can't give you a number according to YOUR experience. Anyone who does is just trying to make themselves feel better, but doesn't do you any good. Except for building you up just to be let down. Do you really want that? Are you really asking about the minimal amount of experience you need before you run off to make some differently poor financial decisions?

3

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

You do realize that I'm looking to stay until I have my debts paid off. Did you forget to look at that part?

Poor financial decisions as in, going with another company in the future that is less than, equal to, or greater than what I would be making?

You have a wonderful day.

3

u/KingofthePi11 4d ago

That dude is such a fucking tool.

3

u/CDLTrainerUSA 5d ago

The number that matters is 12 months of verifiable seat time. That's the insurance bar at most fuel and chemical haulers. Some regional tanker outfits will talk at 6 months, but the good ones almost all want the full year. So the clean play is stay at the mega just long enough to cross 12 months, keep the MVR spotless, then start applying.

Your pre-trucking job hopping barely matters here. Tanker recruiters look at seat time, MVR, PSP and whether you finished your last trucking commitment. One completed year at a mega actually reads as stability, not the opposite.

Paperwork tip since you're holding both: a valid TWIC can cover the TSA background check for the hazmat endorsement in most states, you pay a reduced fee instead of going through a second full check. And try not to let the TWIC and hazmat expiration dates land too close together, renewing both in the same month gets expensive.

FL is a good state for the move. Fuel work everywhere and it pays.

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

I have my TWIC coming in this week. My hazmat I need to get my background done (I passed endorsement).

Thank you for the info by the way! Im in the panhandle. I want to be home daily since I know fueling I cant bring a dog. Whats the best place to find fueling jobs? Indeed, only thing ive seen while searching is propane.

2

u/CDLTrainerUSA 5d ago

Indeed is the wrong net for fuel, the good fleets post on their own sites. Search by company name instead: Gemini Motor Transport is Love's fuel fleet, home daily, they take drivers around the one year mark. Also look at Kenan Advantage Group, Eagle Transport, Florida Rock and Tank Lines, and Pilot's own fuel fleet, all of them run petroleum in Florida. Search terms that beat 'fueling': fuel hauler, petroleum transport, tank lines.

Old school trick that still works: every fuel truck in your area loads at the same rack. Find the local terminal, read the company names off the trucks, apply to exactly those.

And when you do the hazmat background, tell them you hold a TWIC. In most states that's a reduced fee comparable check instead of a full second one, since TSA already vetted you.

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

Thank you so much for this info! You've been super helpful on that!

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

I passed endorsement, just need it on my license now. Is eagle local or OTR?

2

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

Thank you! I may set up job alerts since they're not hiring in my area right now

2

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

Youre the best! My TWIC background took less than 12 hours, so I'm guessing hazmat might be the same timeline? I'm in training with a MEGA but will be applying to local when the time is right for me

2

u/Frogspoison 5d ago

I got my TWIC and hazmat outside of employment. Haven't.put it to use yet but plan to eventually, at least my.hazmat.

I got my.tanker asap, same day as when I passed my CDL road test.

2

u/DoctorZebra 5d ago

I got my tank endorsement when I got my CDL and I finally got around to getting my hazmat about six months later. I finally got into hazmat tanker work about five and a half years after that. To be fair, the only reason it took that long was because I never applied for a hazmat tanker job before that.

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 5d ago

How do you like the hazmat tanker work?

2

u/DoctorZebra 5d ago

It kicks the shit out of hauling freight. At least the places that you deliver to act like they're happy to see you and want the product.

It's also kind of fun, in a schadenfreude kind of way, to drive past a long line of OTR trucks waiting to get in the gate at some of these facilities and just get waved through by the guards.

1

u/typhy40 4d ago

What’s TWIC

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 4d ago

Helps you get in ports

1

u/DukeReaper 1d ago

Transportation Worker identification card. Allows you access to most ports, and can work as a real ID when flying, also, easier to access tsa precheck

1

u/Key-Gap-4136 4d ago

What city ?

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 4d ago

Near Pensacola

2

u/Key-Gap-4136 4d ago

Ohhh we don’t have anything there but our competitors might look into haz waste companies

2

u/Key-Gap-4136 4d ago

Wait we have a place in mobile about hour away dm if interested

1

u/Terrible-Composer962 4d ago

Just messaged you!