Regional Tanker Position Farm-to-Plant
CDL-A Regional Dairy Bulk Tanker Driver
Hiring Area: Seattle / Kent, WA • Terminal: Kent, Washington
Kent, WA Regional 2021–2025 Tractors
Collect raw Grade A milk from Western Washington dairies and deliver to regional plants on 2–4 day cycles. Weekly gross runs $1,650–$2,100 with 2–3 nights home most weeks.
Weekly Gross
$1,650–$2,100
Estimated Annual (typical): ~$98,800
Sign-On Bonus Up to $1,000 after 90 days
Home Time 2–3 nights home per week
Driver Type Company Driver
Weekly Miles 2,200–2,800
Freight Type Raw Grade A Milk
Every load starts at active dairies. The tanker fills through successive farm stops before the consolidated milk reaches a processing or receiving plant.
- Positions the combination at each farm collection point.
- Connects sanitary hoses and performs required milk sampling.
- Tracks temperature readings, axle weights and load records.
- Completes plant check-in, receiving and any mandated washout.
- Navigates narrow farm lanes, livestock activity and wet surfaces.
- Flags HOS limits or equipment issues before they force a violation.
Base rate sits between $0.68 and $0.74 per mile. Farm pickup pay and detention close the gap to the advertised weekly range. A normal 2,400-mile week at $0.71 produces $1,704 in mileage. Add six farm pickups ($150) and roughly 1.5 hours of qualifying detention ($45) and the total lands near $1,899. Lower weeks (2,200 miles at $0.68 plus four pickups and limited detention) stay around $1,650. Stronger weeks with 2,550 miles at the top rate plus the same activity pay reach approximately $2,080. The $2,100 upper figure is a strong normal week, not a peak-season maximum. Annual estimate of ~$98,800 uses the typical $1,900 weekly figure × 52.
Weekly Gross Range $1,650–$2,100
Typical Weekly / Annual ~$1,900 / ~$98,800 (typical × 52)
Mileage Rate $0.68–$0.74 CPM
Farm Pickup Pay $25 per completed farm stop
Detention $30/hour after 2 hours
Sign-On / Pay Frequency Up to $1,000 after 90 days / Friday payroll
Cycle Pattern 2–4 day regional turns
Home Nights Typically 2–3 per week
Primary Operating Area Western Washington along I-5
Terminal Kent, Washington
Dispatch Window Common starts 1:00–6:00 AM
Weekly Miles 2,200–2,800
Tractor Model Years 2021–2025
Makes Peterbilt and Kenworth sleepers
Transmission Automatic on most newer units; some manuals remain
Tank Trailers 5,500–6,000 gallon insulated stainless food-grade
Assignment Practice Assigned when practical; slip-seat for maintenance cycles
Standard gear includes product hoses and reels, sanitary connections, sampling equipment, tank-level and temperature monitors, ELD, forward-facing dash camera, collision mitigation, lane-departure warning and adaptive cruise on selected late-model tractors. Idle-reduction systems appear on qualifying units. Washouts are handled only at approved facilities.
Routes follow dairy production clusters rather than fixed lanes. Northern and southern sequences dominate; longer turns appear when plant capacity requires them.
- Lynden, Ferndale and Everson farms feeding Seattle or Lynden plants
- Mount Vernon, Burlington and Stanwood collections toward Issaquah or Kent
- Skagit Valley milk into Puget Sound processing facilities
- Southbound work through Tacoma, Olympia, Centralia and Chehalis
- Western Washington or Chehalis origin extending into Portland, OR
- Occasional eastern Washington or Idaho processor moves when demand spikes
- Early pre-trip and tanker check at the Kent terminal.
- First farm stop followed by additional collection points in sequence.
- Ongoing temperature, sampling and weight verification between stops.
- Plant delivery, receiving process and washout if the next load requires it.
- Overnight parking or empty reposition; next assignment often arrives before current delivery ends.
- Northern or southern cycle continues until the planned return to Kent.
- Weekend production stays active on a rotating schedule inside HOS limits.
About the Carrier
Once milking ends, raw milk has a short window before it must leave the farm. That reality drives a specialized bulk network connecting Western Washington dairies with processing plants in Lynden, Issaquah, Chehalis, Seattle and the Portland area. The Kent terminal anchors the operation that keeps clean food-grade tankers available for multi-stop collection runs and the short-to-medium regional turns that follow. Because a tanker awaiting washout or maintenance cannot simply substitute for another, equipment positioning and sanitation timing carry equal weight with loaded miles.
Health Medical, dental and vision after eligibility period
Retirement 401(k) with 4% company match after 6 months
Paid Time Vacation and recognized holidays
Support Items Uniforms after probation, basic PPE, paid DOT physical renewal
Job-Specific Paid tanker and sanitation training, per diem, hotel when needed, washout costs covered
- Valid Class A CDL plus tanker endorsement
- Two years CDL-A experience; one or more years tanker, bulk liquid or food-grade strongly preferred
- Clean enough MVR, PSP and Clearinghouse record under company policy
- Current DOT medical card and ability to perform hose work on uneven farm ground
- Farm still preparing milk or several tankers sharing the same receiving window
- Plant-side capacity limits or quality-control sampling holds
- Weekday congestion on I-5 through Tacoma and the Seattle metro
- Rain, mud, standing water or frost on rural farm access roads
- Washout facility queues or a tractor/tanker pulled for unscheduled maintenance
1
Application
Submit CDL data and work history
2
Recruiter Call
Verify tanker experience and early-start willingness
3
Compliance Checks
MVR, PSP, Clearinghouse, employment verification
4
Orientation & First Dispatch
Drug screen, tanker eval, paid orientation, equipment assignment
Q: How many farms does a typical load hit? ▼
Four to eight pickups are normal. Volume, geography and plant schedule determine the exact count on any given day.
Q: Who pays for washouts and when do they happen? ▼
The carrier covers required washouts at approved facilities. Dispatch inserts them so a clean tanker is ready for the next collection window.
Q: What if a farm or plant runs long? ▼
Report the delay at the two-hour detention threshold. Operations resequences remaining stops rather than pushing HOS limits.
Q: Are weekends part of the job? ▼
Yes. Milk production does not pause. Weekend work rotates while planned home nights are protected when the network allows.
Q: Where do drivers park on multi-day turns? ▼
Customer or company yards come first. When those are full, dispatch helps find legal truck parking along the I-5 corridor before hours run out.
Q: Is any of the work drop-and-hook? ▼
No. Farm collection and plant receiving are both live. The driver stays with the equipment for hose connections, sampling and transfer.
Q: How long from application to first dispatch? ▼
Most qualified candidates finish the full process in 5–10 business days, depending on verification timing and tanker qualification.
The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue corridor generates steady CDL-A demand from ports, intermodal yards, retail and food distribution, construction materials, manufacturing and agricultural hauling. Specialized tanker and food-grade seats form a smaller subset because the work requires prior comfort with liquid loads, hose handling and sanitary procedures. National tanker fleets, dairy cooperatives, local farm haulers and bulk fuel or chemical carriers all draw from the same experienced pool. Regional wage levels sit higher than many U.S. markets, reflecting overall labor costs, yet seats that need real tanker or farm-collection time remain the hardest to keep filled. Port volume, grocery replenishment and year-round dairy production keep overall driver demand relatively consistent across seasons.
Western Washington’s dairy herd and the processing plants that serve it create a continuous bulk-milk requirement. Whatcom and Skagit counties hold a large share of the state’s milk cows; plants in Lynden, Issaquah, Chehalis, Seattle and the Portland area pull that volume south and across state lines. I-5 carries the bulk of the north-south movement while SR-167, SR-18 and county roads finish the last miles into farm clusters and receiving docks. Because raw milk cannot sit after milking, collection windows follow production schedules rather than conventional warehouse appointments. Seasonal volume changes and weather on rural approaches alter daily sequencing, yet the underlying agricultural supply chain keeps specialized tanker capacity in regular use across the Puget Sound corridor and into Oregon.
