posted 05-20-2006 01:51 PM                    

quote:

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And Tim Reed...maybe we will cross paths one of these days!!

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posted 05-21-2006 02:25 AM                      

quote: John Eickhof

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It takes a great deal of knowlege and skill to safely roll along the road in an 80,000 lb + vehicle!

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Amen, brother, amen. More than people realize. The stopping distances, air brake reaction time, huge blind spots, countersteering obstacles and rollover avoidance, height and width clearances, manuvering city streets in a 75ft. long vehicle.. It was more than I realized, too, before I got in this line of work.

Btw..I'm drivin' a 2006 version of this:

quote: Steve Guttag

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You mean you don't just "thread and push start" on those big rigs? I mean, pretty soon, won't the shipping managers be driving the trucks in addition to what they are supposed to be managing?

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ROFL! Steve, that's hilarious!

John, one of these days I'm going to start a thread and call it "Stupid 4-wheeler Tricks" just to chronicle some of the outrageous things some people do around big trucks. For instance, one thing I see in NYC a lot... cars passing you on the left (that's the proper side to pass, btw) will flash their high beams at you while they're coming up alongside you, as if to say, "Hey, notice me! I'm over here." Well, a lot of truckers take that action as a signal that it's okay to change lanes! If a (truck) driver is wanting to change lanes and has his attention focused up ahead or on his blind side, seeing those high beams come on may be the cue he's waiting for to move over... and ONTO the car! But, you say, it would be the truck driver's fault. Yes, but most-likely the truck driver will walk away from that wreck. There's a very good chance the 4-wheeler driver will not.

So, whenever someone does that to me, I always throw on my turn signal, just to make them think.

posted 05-26-2006 05:38 AM                      

quote: Jon Miller

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are automatic transmissions now available on truck tractors?

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Yes, they are more-accurately called "autoshifts", since the transmission is fundamentally the same one used in the standard versions, only with a box on top that does the shifting for you. They've been around for at least 10 years.

Until recently, autoshifts had a driver clutch pedal for starting and stopping only; going down the road, it shifts the gears for you. Now, there are "fully-automatics" which have no clutch pedal. All 6,000 trucks in the US Xpress fleet are autoshifts. Mine has an Eaton-Fuller Ultrashift (fully automatic) 10-speed. More and more companies are going to autoshifts because they are very reliable (you never have to worry about losing a gear going downgrade!). I doubt very seriously I'd still be on the road if I had to shift gears all day. That's a lot of work. But, like John says, some guys enjoy it.

quote: Paul Konen

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What exactly is the proper signals to provide while overtaking or being overtaken?

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Overtaking, none. Overtaken: headlights off and on. Since most cars have DRLs now, it's evolved into highbeams on/off. And NEVER while you're still alongside the truck! It's really from the days of 2-lane roads, when a truck had to get back over asap because of oncoming traffic, but it's stuck today. Most drivers can tell when they're cleared, but it does help to get the signal when it's raining or traffic is closing in tight.

quote: Lyle Romer

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Nothing drives me more nuts than when I'm cruising along on cruise control in the fast lane and a truck in the right lane decides to pass. Instead of waiting 5 seconds for me

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I can tell you exactly why that happens. It's because the drivers of most cars will speed up when you throw your turn signal on and/or come up and hang right on your trailer tandems where you can't change lanes. Besides, if a trucker needs to get around someone, he has to jump out in the hammer lane at some point...

FWIW, we feel the same way when a four-wheeler comes down an on-ramp and slows down... when, if he'd just keep going, he'd smoothly merge in front of your truck... and after you change lanes for him, he stomps on it. That pees me off more than anything. It's like, why didn't you DO THAT when you were on the ramp! Those acceleration lanes are there for you to match your speed with traffic. I've gotten where I just throw on my turn signal when they come out and making them think I'm moving over for them makes them stand on it (heaven forbid they should get behind a truck!)

Oh, yes, I forgot to add, if a car comes on in front of you, he will go slow. If he comes on behind you, he can't get around you fast enough! Happens 98% of the time.