Hi,
I’d like to know a bit more about driving a milk tanker at night . I think the job advertised was for bulk farm collection.
Can’t imagine it would be an easy job getting in and out of farms in the early hours in the darkness.
I’ve done more nights than days in this job but driving a milk tanker at night ,I don’t know anyone who’s done it.
Any info ,advice welcomed .
At every farm the driver will take a sample of milk which the laboraty will test the milk for corrosive cleaning chemicals that have got in by accident after cleaning the lines in the farm dairy.
They test for cow muck if the cows teats have not been thoroughly cleaned with iodine dip , which leads to excess bacteria .
Watch out for loose farm dogs that may bite,the small ones are the worst, ankle biters .
The narrow lanes and tight corners , take your time, at night quiet apart from boy racers or drunk drivers using back roads to avoid detection .
Be careful of imploding tankers with the vent tap in the wrong position.
Farm milk drivers have done the job all their lives so it aint that bad .
Not milk tankers but I used to drive bulk artic tippers carrying bedding sand for dairy farms. Had to drive down tight lanes at night. Farmers would often be around at 4am and would allow us to tip then. Personally I loved it but then im a country boy from Norfolk so used to country lanes. After a while you get to know the farms and best way to them. At night hardly anybody on the roads.
HOWEVER during winter it was a friggen nightmare and often got stuck in snow as those roads never got ploughed/gritted.
Drove them for years, in the Wiltshire area. Most farms are ok, but a fair number are designed for a (small) horse and cart, and can be a struggle to get in and out. Some dairies (where the collection tank is) are easily accessible, well lit and clean. Others are not… plenty of trip hazards. In winter it can be fun. Hours tend to be less than 12 hours per shift , because the tankers are double shifted.
Some of the farmers can be real funny buggers and the older they are the worse they are. I had one of them tear a right strip off me because the cab wasn’t where he thought it should be even though the back of the trailer was in the right place. Threw the keys at him and told him to shift it if he wasn’t happy. Following day in I was offered a Full English. 
Funny folk.
Farms are getting larger and more professional by the day. Consequently a shift nowadays would have half the number of pickups compared to 10 years ago and the VAST majority of farms would have clean, washed concreted aprons at the pick-up point. Ours has toilet, shower, tea, coffee microwave adjacent to the bulk tanks. Only conditions that we have are that the gates have to be closed and locked when leaving. Staff contact numbers are given out for emergencies such as needing a pull with the tractor if you get stuck on ice/snow - dont forget, if the milk dont get collected, we dont get paid so I would think most farmers would do all they could to help.
ploughman1963:
Farms are getting larger and more professional by the day. Consequently a shift nowadays would have half the number of pickups compared to 10 years ago and the VAST majority of farms would have clean, washed concreted aprons at the pick-up point. Ours has toilet, shower, tea, coffee microwave adjacent to the bulk tanks. Only conditions that we have are that the gates have to be closed and locked when leaving. Staff contact numbers are given out for emergencies such as needing a pull with the tractor if you get stuck on ice/snow - dont forget, if the milk dont get collected, we dont get paid so I would think most farmers would do all they could to help.
You would think do 
The majority of farms are fine, and as you say, some are modernising and providing facilities. But there’s still plenty left that were modernised sometime just after the war…
there’s still farm with the old six or eight stall parlours, where the cow needs to step onto a raised platform… these also tend to be sparse when it comes to facilities.
O.p., be careful when accepting a cup of coffee or tea… 
Thanks everyone for your replies.
I may well apply.I’ve plenty of experience of getting into tight spaces just not on farms ! Hopefully it will stand me in good stead.
It’s good to know that some farms offer up to date facilities and have the forethought to provide contact numbers.
I suppose it’s a case of taking the rough with the smooth. As for locking gates I suppose it’s a sign of the times with theft etc.
Thanks again.
Night time collections?
Has the truck only got it’s standard headlights?
I’d be asking for a few extra. Not for bling purposes, but for necessity…
Goldfinger:
Night time collections?Has the truck only got it’s standard headlights?
I’d be asking for a few extra. Not for bling purposes, but for necessity…
Unless you are unlucky enough to drive a Scania, the standard high beams will be plenty enough. Having some peripheral vision further out is better. You can see the glow of head lights over hedges and around corners, giving you advance warning of oncoming traffic.
Edit to add ; a good quality Thermos for tea or coffee on the shift and some anti bacterial hand lotion prior to eating the sarnies .
A shovel for the winter to dig out of snow in winter and a few bags of salt or grit to make traction in the ice .
I did long haul for Arla to their big depots and nights on fridge trailer delivery of milk on cages to supermarkets .
Farmers live an isolated life and the driver may be the only he speaks to , so allow an hour for a quick chat .
Always lock the cab even if im the middle of nowhere, you never who is poking about at night or following you .
done farms collection on nights & its not that hard, its not like you’d be the first to collect there , most tankers are rear steer including the artics , the driving to arms is the easy bit it just getting to grips with the tanker controls themselves , dont know what software they got now , i used MACS 2000 , the more you use it the easier it gets , by the end of the week youll have it of to a tee 
Obviously different rules over here but as I travel up through the roads of Vermont I see many milk tankers, there are quite a few milk tanker companies along 22A and I see how hard those guys work, there is no day of the week when cows have a day off, therefore such drivers have to be prepared to work Sundays, Christmas day and other days when others are off. The pay for such drivers here is crap, they mat earn as much as I do but I work mostly Monday to Friday, as my elog shows I rarely work more than 48 hours in a week. Such drivers have to run bent to do the job and when elogs become law I suspect they will be in trouble.
Yeah as above, its a marmite type of job, you’ll last a couple of months or twenty years etc, very much 24/7, most firms your on a 4 on 4 off type rota or you could 5 over 7 etc, will include weekends mostly. Don’t think they use tacho’s either with it being raw milk, think most still run on a logbook system. 12 hours shift max, probably shorter. Sometimes a fair bit of your day will be sitting to get unloaded esp if the dairy is having any issues, and getting your tank cleaned etc.
dave_k:
Yeah as above, its a marmite type of job, you’ll last a couple of months or twenty years etc, very much 24/7, most firms your on a 4 on 4 off type rota or you could 5 over 7 etc, will include weekends mostly. Don’t think they use tacho’s either with it being raw milk, think most still run on a logbook system. 12 hours shift max, probably shorter. Sometimes a fair bit of your day will be sitting to get unloaded esp if the dairy is having any issues, and getting your tank cleaned etc.
Logbook??
I’m starting milk tanker work full time next Tuesday for SJ Bargh doing the dairies not farms, i’ll let you know how it go’s.
Hi,
Thanks ringmonster .
Good luck, I hope it all goes well for you.If you do hear anything about the farm side as well I’d be interested.
Hard to know to make the right decisions. Looking at general haulage as well but most people speak well of the tanker work and seem to enjoy it.
Let us know how it goes.
the nodding donkey:
dave_k:
Yeah as above, its a marmite type of job, you’ll last a couple of months or twenty years etc, very much 24/7, most firms your on a 4 on 4 off type rota or you could 5 over 7 etc, will include weekends mostly. Don’t think they use tacho’s either with it being raw milk, think most still run on a logbook system. 12 hours shift max, probably shorter. Sometimes a fair bit of your day will be sitting to get unloaded esp if the dairy is having any issues, and getting your tank cleaned etc.Logbook??
How does this work if you dont mind me asking? Logbooks instead of tachos?
RockyLUFC:
the nodding donkey:
dave_k:
Yeah as above, its a marmite type of job, you’ll last a couple of months or twenty years etc, very much 24/7, most firms your on a 4 on 4 off type rota or you could 5 over 7 etc, will include weekends mostly. Don’t think they use tacho’s either with it being raw milk, think most still run on a logbook system. 12 hours shift max, probably shorter. Sometimes a fair bit of your day will be sitting to get unloaded esp if the dairy is having any issues, and getting your tank cleaned etc.Logbook??
How does this work if you dont mind me asking? Logbooks instead of tachos?
Some types of work are tacho exempt, maybe somebody’s who’s done it will let us know!
As its animal welfare you run “out of scope” so the wtd is the only thing you need to pay attention to.