If you are interested in joining the ranks of livestock hauling drivers, you might consider driving a bull hauler. In this post, we will go over what you need to know about bull hauler jobs, including what you can earn, job opportunities, and how to get started in this livestock driving specialization.
What is a Bull Hauler?
A bull hauler is a heavy duty tractor trailer or semi-truck that is used to transport cattle and other livestock. It features a loading facility or ramp, along with a ventilated and partitioned livestock trailer.
Transporting livestock is a specialized job, requiring familiarity with all of the safety features and functions of a bull hauler. In addition, you need to know the compliance rules for livestock transport inside and out. During the course of your job, you will have to work directly with the cattle as well, so livestock skills are needed.
Because not every trucker is capable of driving a bull hauler and moving livestock safely and successfully, you may find better pay and less competition for bull hauler jobs than you do for some other more general trucking jobs.
Bull Hauler Salary: What Can You Earn Hauling Cattle?
According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for a cattle truck driver is $56,348 per year. That comes out to $27 per hour. The lower end of the salary bracket is $21,500, while the upper end is around $103,000.
Geography is one factor that can impact what you earn as a bull hauler. Here are some location-based salaries that ZipRecruiter shares:
| City | Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | Weekly Pay | Hourly Wage |
| Berkeley, CA | $72,245 | $6,020 | $1,389 | $34.73 |
| Bailey’s Crossroads, VA | $68,565 | $5,713 | $1,318 | $32.96 |
| Daly City, CA | $68,372 | $5,697 | $1,314 | $32.87 |
| Johnstonville, CA | $67,220 | $5,601 | $1,292 | $32.32 |
| San Mateo, CA | $66,309 | $5,525 | $1,275 | $31.88 |
| Irvine, CA | $66,149 | $5,512 | $1,272 | $31.80 |
| Orange, CA | $65,830 | $5,485 | $1,265 | $31.65 |
| Richmond, CA | $65,824 | $5,485 | $1,265 | $31.65 |
| Tacoma, WA | $65,666 | $5,472 | $1,262 | $31.57 |
| Oxnard, CA | $65,136 | $5,428 | $1,252 | $31.32 |
These are the top 10 cities. Keep in mind that they are all in California, where the average cost of living tends to be pretty high. So, a higher salary geographically tends to offset higher costs of living, rather than representing a real gain.
The amount of experience you have hauling cattle also can impact what you earn. When you are first starting out, you will probably be paid toward the lower end of the salary range. As you gain experience, you may qualify for higher-paid jobs.
One other potential benefit of this job is that some companies offer hours that let you return home every weekend. That can be great if you want to have a relatively “normal” schedule allowing you to rest on weekends.
Bull Hauler Truck Driver Demand
Will You Find Jobs Hauling Bulls?
It is hard to find data on the demand for bull hauler drivers, because this is just such a specific role. But if you search ZipRecruiter, you can check how many postings are currently up for cattle hauling jobs for owner operators and company drivers. For example, at the time of this writing, we see 40 cattle hauling jobs posted in the Los Angeles area.
According to a post in this forum, here are some of the top companies to work for as a cattle hauler:
1. ALLEN ANDERSON HAR LIVESTOCK DISPATCH
2. MAVERICK DISPATCH, INC
3. BLASE TRUCKING LLC.
4. PRIME TIME EXPRESS
5. JAK TRUCKING, INC
6. BROKEN SPOKE DISPATCH, LLC
7. BEEF CORP
8. MIHM BROS INC
9. BRYAN HAUXWELL TRUCKING INC
10. JEREMY BARNES
We recommend researching some top companies, as well as areas where you would want to work, to see what kinds of job postings are available.
Job Requirements: How to Start Hauling Cattle
Let’s say you have decided that a job hauling cattle in a bull hauler is for you. How do you go about breaking into this field? Let’s go over the basic requirements you need to meet and the steps to becoming a bull hauler driver.
Basic Requirements
- You will need a high school diploma or GED.
- You also will require a class A commercial driver’s license (CDL).
- To work for a company hauling livestock, you will likely need to pass a drug screening and background check.
- Previous experience. While not every company will require this, most strongly prefer it. This includes experience driving trucks and experience handling livestock.
- Physical stamina. This is a job that requires a lot of hard physical labor. Along with the driving, which is already intense, you will need to be able to handle the loading and the unloading of the livestock.
You will notice that you do not require a college degree to become a bull haul driver. That is one of the reasons why this profession as well as other types of truck driving are so attractive.
The entry barriers are slightly higher than they are for general trucking jobs, but that is because this is a specialization that involves transporting live animals and ensuring they stay safe and healthy in transit.
Steps to Becoming a Cattle Hauler Driver
1. Get your CDL (see our recommendations on CDL schools).
2. Find your first driving job. There are two possibilities here:
- Try and start working as a bull hauler driver right away. This may be possible if you can find a company that is willing to train a complete newbie for the role.
- Start out with a different type of trucking job. Even a general one will help you start getting some of the experience you would need to be a more appealing job candidate. You also may want to find a way to get some experience handling livestock.
As you can see, it can be a little harder to break into driving a bull hauler than doing other types of truck driving.
But the good news is that once you do have sufficient skills for more employers to be willing to consider you for a role hauling cattle, you will not have to compete with as many other drivers. Most truck drivers simply do not have the required expertise or experience.
Bull haul drivers are truck drivers who have the specialized skill set, experience, patience and grit to do the tough job of hauling livestock safely to its destination. These drivers are experts at handling not only the regular stresses and challenges of the road, but those involving cattle as well. For those who are a good fit for this profession, it can be a rewarding one.