Can you re-route your next load to my house? Or the closest gas station to my house and give me a heads up first?
Ask the Gas Man
- Thread starter HazMat Shaver
- Start date
Ok, so like you call yourself HazMat Shaver and you haul gasoline around for a living ... got it.
But in the Big Bad World of truck-drivin' ... isn't a gas run kind of mundane and boring?
Basically its kid-stuff, and routine, repetitive kid-stuff at that.
Ever done anything REALLY EXCITING?
Bio-hazards?
Human remains?
Radiocative waste?
Area51 stuff?
C'mon ... I bet you got some stories to tell.
But in the Big Bad World of truck-drivin' ... isn't a gas run kind of mundane and boring?
Basically its kid-stuff, and routine, repetitive kid-stuff at that.
Ever done anything REALLY EXCITING?
Bio-hazards?
Human remains?
Radiocative waste?
Area51 stuff?
C'mon ... I bet you got some stories to tell.
This is a very interesting tread! I never thought I'd find reading about fuel so interesting! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Gas Man.
As a topical question, do gasoline and/or hazardous material drivers have same mileage or hours driving restrictions as other long haul truckers? As many people know, the southern US is being impacted by the Colonial gas line leak. The local news is reporting that some stations are starting to run out of gasoline and many more are expecting to be out on Monday. In response "Southern governors lift driver rules after gas spill", I suppose this is in anticipation of demand once the pipeline is fixed.
As a topical question, do gasoline and/or hazardous material drivers have same mileage or hours driving restrictions as other long haul truckers? As many people know, the southern US is being impacted by the Colonial gas line leak. The local news is reporting that some stations are starting to run out of gasoline and many more are expecting to be out on Monday. In response "Southern governors lift driver rules after gas spill", I suppose this is in anticipation of demand once the pipeline is fixed.
Cool thread! Not so much a gas question as a trucking question, but ... how do you keep your truck from being too tippy when half full, and the contents slosh around going around corners? Do you unload a whole truck at one gas station? Or are there other tricks?
The gas stations south of Atlanta are almost all missing one octane level or another. Some are completely out of gas now.
What can be done with "old" gas? I usually fill up a plastic can with a gallon or 2 early in the summer for my lawnmower. Inevitably when it is down to 1-2 inches left the gas has deteriorated (or become waterlogged?) to the point where the mower won't run and I have to flush the lines with fresh gas.
What can I do with the old stuff? Add it to a nearly full car gas tank? Burn it? Is there some additive that will restore it? Stabil won't do anything at this point, I don't think. I wonder if it would be better the leave the container lid a little loose so it off-gasses fumes instead of being bottled up, I wonder if that would cause it to either stay usable for longer or evaporate away before going bad.
What can I do with the old stuff? Add it to a nearly full car gas tank? Burn it? Is there some additive that will restore it? Stabil won't do anything at this point, I don't think. I wonder if it would be better the leave the container lid a little loose so it off-gasses fumes instead of being bottled up, I wonder if that would cause it to either stay usable for longer or evaporate away before going bad.
I'm loving the information here!
Can you explain the difference between Gas and Diesel? And what's the difference between different octanes?
Also, this has perplexed me forever.... Until very recently the difference in price between different octanes has always been 10 cents. If Unleaded was $1.00, then Midgrade was $1.10, and premium was $1.20. But then when Unleaded was $3.00, there was still just a 10 cent difference to mid and then premium. It always seemed to me that if you triple the price of Unleaded to $3.00 then the price of premium should be tripled as well, making it $3.60. What am I missing here?
Can you explain the difference between Gas and Diesel? And what's the difference between different octanes?
Also, this has perplexed me forever.... Until very recently the difference in price between different octanes has always been 10 cents. If Unleaded was $1.00, then Midgrade was $1.10, and premium was $1.20. But then when Unleaded was $3.00, there was still just a 10 cent difference to mid and then premium. It always seemed to me that if you triple the price of Unleaded to $3.00 then the price of premium should be tripled as well, making it $3.60. What am I missing here?
- Thread starter
- #49
Sorry my friend. I dont evan get any leftovers. I buy my gas just like everyone else and dont get any discounts ether. Kinda sad isnt it.
- Thread starter
- #50
Ill try to make this short. Dont want to fill up a lot of space with my personal habbits and experiances but will most likely start a couple more threads later after this one slows down some. I just dont have a lot of time you know. But i keep at it the best i can. Mostlike will start one about trucking in general and another on radios/ham sence it was brought up. But thats later.
I have driven, dirt/rock trucks, hauled asphault for paving roads, ran flat bed and dry van and refer van trailers. Now tankers. Plus did my time for uncle sam. I got tired of the dirt and rock as they never would keep the loads in the trailer. Spreading stuff on the road from being over full,getting tickets for over weight and the trucks are constantly falling apart. Aspault was smelly, and dirty as hell. You would ruin uour clothes and boots in just months and still the same problem of over weight and inproper loading just to move the product. Dry van and refer was ok until my body stopped keeping up. Back problems from loading and unloading plus id be on the road for 3 weeks at a time. Get home friday night and be back in the truck on sunday by noon. No life or family. For Uncle Sam i was a driver/mechanic/genorator operator for the Hawk Missle System. Lot of good and bad memories and lot of times i dont evan remember from boose and drugs. Sorry if this offends any one. Im a clean and sober driver. Would never touch drugs unless subscribed by a doc and he will know i drive for a living. Will drink a 12 pack of beer a year at the most but never while driving.
I drive fuel now because it stays in the trailer, never leaks out, thank god for that, ha. My weights are very accurate per axle and gross max and i control it no mater what the dispatcher whats me to carry. Im the captain of this ship. I get home most every night but some times will stay in a motel paid for by the company. I dont have a truck with a sleeper as every bit of weight matters.
Ive seen just about everything you can imagine on the road from dead bodys to people having sex going down the road and stuff you dont want to hear about.
I dont ever plan on goi g over the road again and staying out for weeks at a time any more so bio-hazard, area 51 and radio active stuff is just not going to happen. Been there, done that, as they say. I enjoy having a home life. Evan if its just one hour before i got to go to sleep. Bathroom time, eat, kiss the wife and off to bed as i work 14 to 16 hrs a day. No time for much else. Then my 2 days off i spend doing the huney do list, mow the yards and try to get some time on the radio.
So no more of the crazy trucking life for me. Its not a job. Its a life when your on the road like that!
I only did one year over the road and that was enough for me. The rest was line hauls and peddling in dry vans.
The good life in your own bed every night.
The good life in your own bed every night.
I've carried worse things in my trunk. But that's me, Mr. Jersey.
- Thread starter
- #53
Thank you for reading. I was afraid this thread would bomb out really fast. Glad im able to help a few to understand the real info and not just what they hear on the news or read in a mag or internet. Make me feel good to share.
when you've made a few deliveries along the route and you've still got a few more to go ...
does driving with a partial load affect handling?
won't the gas slosh around and throw off the rig's balance?
does driving with a partial load affect handling?
won't the gas slosh around and throw off the rig's balance?
Interesting post, HazMat Shaver. Thanks for your insights.
- Thread starter
- #57
75% of the time my load goes to one store. But at times i have to split it up. Between 2 or evan 3 store. I have to figure how to load it so the last stop is still in the front of trailer, 4 differrent sizes of compartment are in my trailer so that makes it tough some times. I might alsi have to change up the gallon they want me to haul for my safety and to get past scales. To keep the sloshing to a minimum i need to have my two largest compartments full to compensate for the lesser full ones. I deal with the slosh at all times buy dont evan notice it until i get out of the truck after setting the breaks and seeing truck bounce back and forth. Its a big weight thing that i have to deal with at all times. Each compartment is seporated by 2 plates with an air gap between and each compartment has 2 to 4 plates with a few large holes to cut down on the slosh but it will always be there. Not like the trucks of old that were known to jump out in traffic after stopping or surge into the car in front of them at a stop. It is minimal and safer now but you just pay close attention when driving and cornering. A wrong bank in the road or a dip that is just wrong, Its second nature to me. I dont evan think about it until i start into a turn too fast and get thefeel of the slosh moving when it shouldnt have. That gets my attention quick.
Ive trained drivers that want to haul gas and they quit after the first two days. Experianced drivers. They just hate the feel of it moving all the time. I dont evan notice any more.
Ive trained drivers that want to haul gas and they quit after the first two days. Experianced drivers. They just hate the feel of it moving all the time. I dont evan notice any more.
Buddy of mine hauled smooth bore milk and said the slosh was pretty rough without the baffles.
You become proficient or perish.
Beats talking about shaving all the time.
+1, Tony... Thanks, HazMat.
This really is one of the coolest threads I've seen on here. How many times have a seen a tanker on the road? Well, I couldn't count them because it's been so many. Yet, how many times have I thought about almost everything discussed in this thread? Well, I couldn't count them because they number zero, and you can't count zero.
Thanks for your spending your time on all this and for sharing!
Thanks for your spending your time on all this and for sharing!
