Subsim Truckers

[TarJak]

Do you guys have B-doubles and road trains over there?

[Aktungbby]

CONGRATS ONKEL! My 1977 Midwestern Freightliner with Cummins 290 fuel-squeezer/12 speed Roadranger(photo below); No power steering, no cruise control, no trailer brake(foot valve only) no jake brake and AC sure to die at Gila, Arizona in 120 degree weather! My sheepskin cover air-ride seat was state of the art and I actually had a Whistler radar detector and a CB 'radidio'! Our pumps were governed, sealed units so we used to pull out of Ft Scott, Kansas and pop our own stingered units on-a termination offence. But it was fun: ran everything from copper out of Amarillo, onions out of Marfa, sugar out of Houma, LA, tuna fish, new tires and all US paper products to all 48 states for three years: avg 350 logged days a year and was the company salvage driver...as necessary. Midwestern was so bad safetywise, it had to have its own insurance company! @ Wolfertz: Donner Pass! your forgetting Raton, Cajon, Tejon, Rabbitears and Parley's! All controlled looong descents. @Neal: learn to adjust your own brakes in sequence (trust not the mechanic) and always play randomly with the instrument switches while minding the gauges; if one switch burns your finger tips...you've got a big problem! A metal Jake switch did that to me(dead-short) in DEC/78(cold BBY) on I-80; I had just enough time to pull over, disconnect all Batts and jack up/over the cab to find the melted wire in the main wiring yoke leading to the solenoid cylinder interrupters on the brake compressor-Luckily, I had suitable spare wire for a fast-fix to get me 100 miles into Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is a common cause of so-called random mystery tractor fires. Wear your ear protection always so you don't get tinnitus like I did (50% hearing loss). Especially with those whining Detroits!! Do not pull into little bars in the winter time in Minn.(Moosebar?)...even for a Hamm's or to use the phone even with autos/pickups parked alluringly out front...those could be Ice-fishing bars hauled onto one of the 10,000 ice-covered lakes...one of our guys did and ended up swimming!. The truck and paper loaded trailer were completely under water. < strongly resembles my baby# 8485 & home on the road. My favorite route: NATCH'>

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by TarJak

Do you guys have B-doubles and road trains over there?

We run doubles in some states. No road trains...yet.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Wolferz

Split ten?

I drove a Cascadia in CDL school. Nice tractor.
I drove International Golden Eagles for CRST with the Super Ten grinder box. It was nice making half the shifts with my thumb.

Eaton Fuller 10 speed. I am still pretty terrible at shifting. I can do it pretty well about 90% of the time, but when the Navigo is telling me Right Lane now, cars are swirling around me, I'm trying to get my speed down 10 under the exit ramp speed at the same time--I can have a buffer overflow and forget which gear I'm in, or get the speed/gear wrong. I'm working on it. How long did you drive? Isn't a Cascadia a newer model?

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Nice job Neal. CDL can be hard to obtain. I have been in the industry for 20 years. Only on the others side as dispatching, load planning, management and sales. Currently as an agent for Landstar. Driving the 11 hours is something I just can not do. The folks that drive for me love it and would not change a thing. At Landstar we are all independent contractors. No forced dispatch. Our contractors do well. If this career is something that really works for you think about purchasing your own rig. Contract on with a outfit that suits you.

Thanks, Chris. I'm pretty good for 11 hours, even when I don't get enough rest. I am definitely tuned in to stopping if I am fighting sleep, I won't press on if I cannot do it.

I'm going to drive for Schneider for 1 year,get my OTR experience, then we'll see. It's too early to tell how this will work out, remember I was a teacher for 6 months? O/O is appealing to me, I can take the loads when I choose, as much as I want. For a guy who prizes his free time, that would be nice.

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

CONGRATS ONKEL! My[/SIZE] 1977 Freightliner with Cummins 290 fuel-squeezer/12 speed Roadranger(photo below); No power steering, no cruise control, no trailer brake(foot valve only) no jake brake and AC sure to die at Gila, Arizona in 120 degree weather! My sheepskin cover air-ride seat was state of the art and I actually had a Whistler radar detector and a CB 'radidio'! Our pumps were governed, sealed units so we used to pull out of Ft Scott, Kansas and pop our own stingered units on-a termination offence. But it was fun: ran everything from copper out of Amarillo, onions out of Marfa, sugar out of Houma, LA, tuna fish, new tires and all US paper products to all 48 states for three years: avg 350 logged days a year and was the company salvage driver...as necessary. Midwestern was so bad safetywise, it had to have its own insurance company! @ Wolfertz: Donner Pass! your forgetting Raton, Cajon, Tejon, Rabbitears and Parley's! All controlled looong descents.

@Neal: learn to adjust your own brakes in sequence (trust not the mechanic) and always play randomly with the instrument switches while minding the gauges; if one switch burns your finger tips...you've got a big problem! A metal Jake switch did that to me(dead-short) in DEC/78(cold BBY) on I-80; I had just enough time to pull over, disconnect all Batts and jack up/over the cab to find the melted wire in the main wiring yoke leading to the solenoid cylinder interrupters on the brake compressor-Luckily, I had suitable spare wire for a fast-fix to get me 100 miles into Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is a common cause of so-called random mystery tractor fires.

Wear your ear protection always so you don't get tinnitus like I did (50% hearing loss). Especially with those whining Detroits!! Do not pull into little bars in the winter time in Minn.(Moosebar?)...even for a Hamm's or to use the phone even with autos/pickups parked alluringly out front...those could be Ice-fishing bars hauled onto one of the 10,000 ice-covered lakes...one of our guys did and ended up swimming!. The truck and paper loaded trailer were completely under water.

Aktungbby, you sound like you're an old school trucker with worlds of experience!

[Aktungbby]

Not quite! they do triple Pups in Oregan and they used to do it in Nevada from Reno to Salt Lake Utah with Garrett. Saw one on I-80, completely circled up like a wagon train, that had gone off the roadway in a blizzard-kinda' cured me right there and then; back in the day! Oregon's three 27' "pups" currently as seen on I-5(two single axle con-gears). And a 'Turnpike-double' :two standard 45' trailers with double axle con-gear-restricted use and very long and hard to pass in all cases.turnpike double- Pennsylvania

[swamprat69er]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

no bullcrap to put up with...just me, a big truck and the road.

And don't forget all the 4 wheeler drivers that never, ever give a truck any consideration at all.
Every cop with a bone to pick will pick on truck drivers. The DOT are the same way.
You get into an accident with a 4 wheeler, 9 times out of 10 you will get charged. Now you gotta go to court to prove your innocence and take a lawyer with you. (Lots of money out of your pocket between lost time, lost loads, travel time and don't forget you gotta pay the lawyer, too. And that is no guarantee that you wont be found guilty anyway.)
Now there are the idiots that want to play suicide by truck. Not even to mention the 'not too smart people' that like to drop big rocks off overpasses, just for fun.

Originally Posted by Red October1984

However, doesn't that get boring after a while? The guys who do it for years and years and years?
What did you guys do to stay entertained out on the road all the time? Was it worth it?

Sirius Satellite radio and my CB are my best friends. It IS worth it, every minute of it is worth it.

[THE_MASK]

Hey , i am one of those 4wders

[swamprat69er]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

I discovered that parking in a Wal-Mart can be risky--I woke up one morning surrounded by 4 wheelers!

Any advise or stories you want to share, would be welcome.

NEVER, ever park in supermarket parking lots.
Truck stops are safer than rest areas.
New this year B-train

That piece of doggie do-do on the front of those trains is NOT mine!

[em2nought]

Operating two fracking flat beds out in Oklahoma, just shy of two years with the Peterbilt, and six months with the Volvo. I'm in FL doing the other jobs that help fund buying the old trucks. They move other stuff too when the time permits. Next we need to buy some trailers.

What kind of mileage does that Cascadia get?

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

Sirius Satellite radio and my CB are my best friends. It IS worth it, every minute of it is worth it.

Good answer.

It sounds like something I could like. I hear there's a lot of paperwork with the job though. I'm not a paperwork kind of person...

Originally Posted by sober

Hey , i am one of those 4wders

Me too.

4WD REPRESENT.

[swamprat69er]

Delivery times are usually marked on the bill of lading.
Log books are the only paperwork I do other than the company time sheet (I get paid to do my time sheets up because I do them while I am unloading).

Don't forget, Red, you gotta answer to a dispatcher too. It is not all wine and roses. Most of the time you get a 100mph dispatcher that you gotta keep happy while you drive a 60mph truck. (Mine does 65 unless at the bottom of a big hill on the down hill side).

Truck driving is like baseball.
You've got three strikes against you before you start.....there are only three strikes in the game.

[swamprat69er]

In 27 years with this company I have grossed 1.25 million $'s.
You might think I am a cynical old fart, you might be right. I've got 1.25 million reasons to stick with this company and they are all dollars.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

Don't forget, Red, you gotta answer to a dispatcher too. It is not all wine and roses. Most of the time you get a 100mph dispatcher that you gotta keep happy while you drive a 60mph truck. (Mine does 65 unless at the bottom of a big hill on the down hill side).

Exactly. It's not wine and roses...which might be why it sounds cool to me.

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

In 27 years with this company I have grossed 1.25 million $'s.
You might think I am a cynical old fart, you might be right. I've got 1.25 million reasons to stick with this company and they are all dollars.

Fair enough.

[Jimbuna]

Never been a trucker but I used to assemble and test 74 ton All Terrain Verhicles and Mobile Cranes for US company called Grove.

My forte with trucks used to be pulling em over for speeding, unsafe loads etc.

[Wolferz]

Knight of the road is a noble profession, Red. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until you turn 21 if you want to take up the career.
Something to think about if you survive your flying career.

Now all you guys know why Wolferz, Swamprat, Privateer and Aktungbby are nutz!

When you're out there running fast with 40 tons under your butt and impatient four wheelers are running amok around you, you tend to go a bit nutz. Then there's all the Billy Bob truckers to contend with too.
Next time you're in a truckstop, Neal, pick up a copy of The interstate Exit guide. It'll tell you what's near each exit in the way of places to park. Don't sleep on ramps or in Wal-Mart parking lots. If you want to rest yourself at a truck stop, be in there before 3:00 PM or you won't find a parking spot. Then you have to hope and pray that some reefer driver doesn't park his donkey next to your sleeper.
______________________________________________

I was running west through Gallup New Mexico one sunny afternoon when some wild man came flying past me in a K-womper (Kenworth). It was a bit windy with 30 MPH gusts. A gust hit this guy's empty trailer on the port side and next thing you know he's crossing all the lanes right in front of me. He went all the way to the break down lane and then crossed back all the way to the jersey barrier before he finally regained control of it.
I tried to raise him on the CB to deride his idiocy of running balls to the wall with an empty trailer in the wind. He ignored me or didn't have a CB radio. I figured that I would see him stopped down the road to clean the crap out of his britches.