Driving pneumatic tankers is one of the highest paying jobs for truck drivers. A pneumatic tanker transports materials that need to be protected from exposure to air and moisture, such as dry bulk, cement, sand, asphalt, or dry and liquid chemicals.
To become a pneumatic tanker driver, you need a high school diploma or GED certificate and Class A commercial driver’s license (CDL-A). To obtain a Class A CDL, you must complete training courses and pass both a written exam and an on-road skills test.
Pneumatic tank drivers are typically responsible for loading and unloading the product they are hauling. A pneumatic tanker is a metal cylinder-like truck with a series of cone-shaped hoppers at the bottom and openings (or “manholes”) at the top and back of the tank. At the bottom of each hopper is a valve, opening into a pipe that runs below the trailer. Those valves are closed when a shipper loads the truck. When it comes time to unload, the driver opens the valves, letting product run out of the hopper and into the pipe. Tanks are 42 ft pneumatic and total length of the truck and trailer comes to around 58 ft depending on truck wheelbase and around 13 ft high.
Training consists of learning how to attach and detach the various hoses, loading and unloading procedures, as well as learning about the various products the company hauls. Different materials respond to different valve settings, but they are all similar in that they all get blown out the back of the trailer through pressure hoses. Most drivers are trained after a few weeks on the job. Pneumatic tanker drivers must also have excellent attention to detail and utilize proper safety skills when driving, loading, and unloading their trucks.
Carleton Transport provides on-the-job paid pneumatic tank driving, loading and unloading training as well as experienced dispatchers and written training manuals to ensure efficiency and safety.
At Carleton Transport, our goal is to create calm in the chaos of the trucking industry through offering drivers more flexibility. If you’re interested in hearing more about our current driving opportunities, call 402-332-0260 to speak with our recruiter. Or, visit our driving jobs page atcarletontransport.com/driving-jobs today.