Oil Field Gate Guard

navyAZ1

Well-known member
Has anyone done this? Ann and I are considering doing this and have been doing some research on it but just curious if anyone here has personal experience with this and if so which security company did you work for?

Thanks,

Ron
 

porthole

Retired
Have not done this.

And I always wondered why people would respond to a post of "have you" .... when you didn't :D

If you are near the water I would first start looking into the requirements for a TWIC card.

That is a USCG program. "Transportation Workers Identification Credentials".

A TWIC card is required for access to many facilities, both onshore and offshore. If the Oil field you are looking into is near the water or any transportation the card might be a good thing t get first, especially since it can take 8-10 weeks to acquire. And of course there is a fee, about $135 and good for five years.

The card is also required for any facility, onshore or off that deem it necessary.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
I have seen the ad for this in the Workampers newletter. I was just wondering why anyone would want to commit to a 24/7 job. That is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When are you off. How can you go to the grocery store. When do you sleep. They say $100 a day for 24/7 commitment. I dont think I will bite.
 

porthole

Retired
A 24/7 job could be 7 days on 7 days off, 14/7 21/7. You may spend a full 24 hours on site but maybe not working a full 24 hours. I work a 24 hour shift but I am not expending energy/staying awake (at least most of the time) for 24 hours straight.
 

navyAZ1

Well-known member
I have been able to find a few folks who have done this and are still doing it. Their first comment is "this isn't for everyone" the isolation and yes you must be there 24/7, that's why they only hire couples so one of you can go to the store or what ever while the other stays on site. Plus this allows you to work in shifts since the traffic flow can be heavy sometimes during certain phases of the drilling you can have vehicles coming in and out at all hours of the day. We were told that what we will have to do is sign vehicles in and out and that's it for $125 per day. The folks we talked with who have done this say on average most of your traffic is around 6:00 am and then everyone is usually gone by 9 or 10 that night. We're thinking we plan to be in south TX for the winter anyway so why not get paid for it and use that money for our travels the rest of the year. We know we will have to put up with wind, dust, cattle, and wildlife hanging around but we want to give this a try, if it works out we plan to do this each year to fill our travel cash box.

As to that special license, we will be working for a security company who I assume has that license, however we will be required to purchase a "non-commissioned security license" for each of us to be able to do this work, that only cost $58 each and their good for 2 years. If any of you are in south TX this winter and you see a BH sitting near the road at a gate stop by it might be us.

See Ya,

Ron
 

navyAZ1

Well-known member
Well, Miss Ann and I just completed a 9 week run as a Oil Field Gate Guard. First thing I'll tell you this is not for everyone but we have decided that we will go back and do this again after the first of the year. The company we worked for was very good about supporting us and keeping all the needed equipment running well and making sure we had everything we needed. The main thing we missed is we never got to do anything together other than when we were at the gate, if we needed groceries or other supplys one of us had to go to town while the other manned the gate. At times we were quite busy and at times we had nothing to do it all depended on what process was being done on the wells and pipeline. All in all we found it to be well worth the time invested after being there for 9 weeks we have banked over $8,000 to pay for our travels next year. The BH has never been this dirty inside and out, we were lucky and they shut down the oil field for 3 days at Thanksgiving which gave us time to do some cleaning inside, but I still have to clean the exterior. We did find out that in south TX they have an over abundance of large rattle snakes, and huge spiders. We only have 2 encounters with ilegal aliens while there and it wasn't no big deal we just called the Border Patrol and they came out and picked them up after they had left our area. As I said it was a pretty positive experience all the folks we had to deal with at the gate were very nice and considerate towards us. If anyone is interested in doing this type of work just send me a PM and I'll answer all the questions I can.

See Ya At The Elkhart Rally,

Ron & Ann
 
it is true gate work is not for every one. for some of us it's a dream come true. my wife and i have been full time for 11 years we prefer remote places. we have now found a way to get payed for it. plus our water, elect, sewer, propane. we are not going to stay for 20years.
like a lot of people in the usa today the economy got the better of us. our rv solar buseness was down 60% this year. we have been thinking about gate work. so now that we need to do somthing else we gave it a try.
we are going to work straight thru 14 months. in jun 2012 we will be able to pay chash for a place back home in montana. then we will come back 4 months each year. work 4 months vacation 8.
we have a realy great gate. the gas company tells us it will be maned for 10 years. the ranch owner is limiting trafic to one drill rig on the property. so trafic is light. we want to share this gate with some other couples. for starters we need someone to work it in jan 2012. if you like the work there is lots of gate work, there is an oil/gas boom going on here in sw tex.
the term guard or security is misleading we are gate keepers we have no authority, we log them in we log them out we don't know who they are or why they are here.
we are 50 mile north of laredo on hy83.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi gatekeeper,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. That's very true about gate work not being for everyone. I have thought about it, but not sure it would be for us. But some do like it.

Jim M
 

TandT

Founding Utah Chapter Leaders-Retired
Everywhere I go, someone has told me about this job. The monetary part of it sounds good, but none of the rest of it does. For now, I think I'll look for alternatives.
 

2psnapod1

Texas-South Chapter Leader-Retired
I agree...some aspects sound interesting...but others (not ever being able to do anything together. Dinner out, a movie, a nice drive, etc) don't sound too appealing to me. I'm glad that you enjoy it and will continue to but I don't think it's in our future. Good luck to you!
 

soilmovers

Well-known member
There's a blog done by a fellow who does gate guard in Texas. www.myoldrv.com
Info on that subject appears to go from Jan -July 2011. Pay depends on how many wells are on the site. $150 per well per day. Of course, 1000 vehicles driving thru each day is a lot of work! He had 6 wells at one time........
 
my wife and i go to town together every week ! there are other gate keepers near us. i took a drive around the area. i stopped in to each gate i saw, i met several nice couples. we struck a deal with one of them. once a week my wife or i stay at thier gate for the day (we decided on 8-9 hours) then one of them does the same for us. if you don't think out side the box , you stay in side the box !. i don't like it in the box !
not all gates are real busy ours varries from 45-20 per day is typical. now and then we have 140 (our biggest day), now and then it gets pritty bussy 3 to 6 days in a row. yesterday we had 8. this gate is going to be like this for 10 yrs. we would like to share it with some other couples.
we are going to stay here 14 months total, ending on june 1 2012. it payes 4500$ month. we save 4k/month. if you want to be next in line for this gate. we are not looking for short stay people. and we are going to have it. nov-mar. each year. if you need a $$$ boost this is an easy way to do it.
 

2psnapod1

Texas-South Chapter Leader-Retired
Sound like you're a very wise man! Glad that you were able to strike up a deal with your 'neighbors'! I just can't imagine not being able to ever do anything together!
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi: My wife and I are planning on doing gate guarding too. Please give us the contact info for the company you worked for.

Hi jacobdonmark,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share if needed.

I'm sure you will get the information soon. Meanwhile enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

Dell

Member
Hello Ron and Ann,

My wife and I are very interested in the Gate Keeper position. Please send information on who to contact in TX for a gate keeper job.
We are retired and fulltime RVers. We spend the winters in Alamo, Tx and the summers in Elkhart, IN. This sounds like a great way to
for our fun time . It sounds great to us. Thank you for your time.


Dell and Ronnie Maxie
rvnpapa@gmail.com
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi Dell and Ronnie,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Go to the Workkamper.com site and they have a new posting on an opening for gate guard in south Texas which was posted today.
 
Top