Subsim Truckers

[swamprat69er]

Originally Posted by Wolferz

Then you have to hope and pray that some reefer driver doesn't park his donkey next to your sleeper.

Or worse a bull/hog hauler. I don't mind the smell, it is the noise. A running reefer doesn't bother me. The stomping cattle do.
On hot days, I usually fire up my genset after I get parked and go into the truck stop for a shower and meal, when I come out the bunk is cold. Just right for sleeping.

[Wolferz]

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

Or worse a bull/hog hauler. I don't mind the smell, it is the noise. A running reefer doesn't bother me. The stomping cattle do.
On hot days, I usually fire up my genset after I get parked and go into the truck stop for a shower and meal, when I come out the bunk is cold. Just right for sleeping.

I hope that Neal has a good trainer who can show him how to jam gears without the clutch. There's no feeling like it.
It's ok Neal. Gears are just numbers. All you have to do is remember which number you're running in at any given moment.
And not to pull boners like driving around and around Atlanta for eight hours. No, I didn't do that, but heard the story of a trainee who did.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Wolferz

I hope that Neal has a good trainer who can show him how to jam gears without the clutch. There's no feeling like it.

Do you want to tell me that of all countries you guys in the country of "What is the third pedal for? I only know how to use two!" still run manualy shifted trucks?

[swamprat69er]

Originally Posted by Wolferz

I hope that Neal has a good trainer who can show him how to jam gears without the clutch. There's no feeling like it.
It's ok Neal. Gears are just numbers. All you have to do is remember which number you're running in at any given moment.
And not to pull boners like driving around and around Atlanta for eight hours. No, I didn't do that, but heard the story of a trainee who did.

If you can count to 20, you've got it made. And you ya lucky bugga only need to count to 10 or so.

Shifting without the clutch is a skill that is self taught. Just don't try to do it going up a long hard climb where you gotta downshift to catch up with the lack of momentum in a hurry.

[swamprat69er]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Do you want to tell me that of all countries you guys in the country of "What is the third pedal for? I only know how to use two!" still run manualy shifted trucks?

I have driven a few automatics and I am here to tell you, I DO NOT LIKE THEM! I wont drive an automatic if I have any say in the matter, especially hauling liquid loads.

[Mr Quatro]

Originally Posted by Wolferz

I hope that Neal has a good trainer who can show him how to jam gears without the clutch. There's no feeling like it.
It's ok Neal. Gears are just numbers. All you have to do is remember which number you're running in at any given moment.
And not to pull boners like driving around and around Atlanta for eight hours. No, I didn't do that, but heard the story of a trainee who did.

Don't they have little blue screens on the dash now that tell you what gear your in ... ?

my it's been a long time for me since I drove for the DOT back in 95 delivering for USPS between post offices. I know it was a milk run, but it paid the bills lol

Lets do give Neal some advice that he can use ...

I have one: make your own coffee and use bottled water. You can get a new cup every time you stop and poor it out replacing it with your own home brew or cab brew I should say. The fancy creams make me want to poo, but you do whatever you think is right. You drive alone, right? lol

Why? Because some truck stops coffee makes me go to the bathroom after consuming it and there ain't no bathrooms on highway five going 65 and if there was it was cost the gas to stop and go.

Speaking of bathrooms use one for number two only ... Amazon has SS ones you can use in the cab or pay the $150 fine like my friend had to pay for relieving himself alongside the highway. The puddle gave him away lol

Watch out for train tracks ... trucks do get stuck sometimes on them, especially pulling something as precious as you are and having a little up hill battle to get started.

Speaking of up hill battles don't take speed bumps lightly.

Plan your exit from gas stations before you park it. You do deliver to gas stations, right?

Good luck have those numbers handy for tow trucks and insurance calls I hope you never have to make

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

You might think I am a cynical old fart, you might be right.

Cynical old fart is redundant!

Originally Posted by Wolferz

I hope that Neal has a good trainer who can show him how to jam gears without the clutch. There's no feeling like it.
It's ok Neal. Gears are just numbers. All you have to do is remember which number you're running in at any given moment.

I just PM'd ONKEL about 'floating the gears' on the tack and engine sounds 'till it becomes a subconscious thing; leaves ya free to worry about important stuff! Had to retrain all my just out-of-driver-school co-drivers not to use the double-clutch method except in first or reverse to save popping the clutch which leads to repair$.

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Do you want to tell me that of all countries you guys in the country of "What is the third pedal for? I only know how to use two!" still run manualy shifted trucks?

Absolutely! All my cars are still stick too, and I had to teach my daughter and a few of the young ladies too; just so they can escape in a bad date's ol' pick-up if they gotta! You put it to them 'that way' and they do want to know-plus the 'Lady' roadsters (BMW Z3's, Alphas, Miatas) are just more fun in stick here in CA! Plus on the great passes, going downhill fully freighted was more about downshifting and ballet-style brake-pad temperature control in a 40 mile descent with 6-10% grade as on Donner than any thing else(no compressor brake) and is meticulously choreographed, with brakes adjusted, with road signs to advise the big-rigs. I used to talk the novices through it on the CB if I saw they were badly over-tapping their brakes for instance. I preferred slushy winter descents-kept every thing very COOL!

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

I have driven a few automatics and I am here to tell you, I DO NOT LIKE THEM! I wont drive an automatic if I have any say in the matter, especially hauling liquid loads.

I'm not saying anything against that I just found it odd that in the country in which most private people drive an automatic car stick shift trucks are still going strong while here in Europe where most private people have stick shifts we have mostly trucks with automatic gearboxes (at least of the 50 something trucks the company I used to work for had about 45 were automatic and the rest some rather old trucks with more than a million km on the odometer).

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Mr Quatro

Don't they have little blue screens on the dash now that tell you what gear your in ... ?

my it's been a long time for me since I drove for the DOT back in 95 delivering for USPS between post offices. I know it was a milk run, but it paid the bills lol

Lets do give Neal some advice that he can use ...

I have one: make your own coffee and use bottled water. You can get a new cup every time you stop and poor it out replacing it with your own home brew or cab brew I should say. The fancy creams make me want to poo, but you do whatever you think is right. You drive alone, right? lol

Why? Because some truck stops coffee makes me go to the bathroom after consuming it and there ain't no bathrooms on highway five going 65 and if there was it was cost the gas to stop and go.

Speaking of bathrooms use one for number two only ... Amazon has SS ones you can use in the cab or pay the $150 fine like my friend had to pay for relieving himself alongside the highway. The puddle gave him away lol

Watch out for train tracks ... trucks do get stuck sometimes on them, especially pulling something as precious as you are and having a little up hill battle to get started.

Speaking of up hill battles don't take speed bumps lightly.

Plan your exit from gas stations before you park it. You do deliver to gas stations, right?

Good luck have those numbers handy for tow trucks and insurance calls I hope you never have to make

Good stuff, thanks.

How do I make my own coffee in the truck? I looked up 12v coffee makers but they don't sound like they work very well.

As fas a bathrooms go, I have a bladder the size of a football, I can go all day if needed

No, I'm mostly delivering chemicals to plants, no gas stations.

[Wolferz]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

I'm not saying anything against that I just found it odd that in the country in which most private people drive an automatic car stick shift trucks are still going strong while here in Europe where most private people have stick shifts we have mostly trucks with automatic gearboxes (at least of the 50 something trucks the company I used to work for had about 45 were automatic and the rest some rather old trucks with more than a million km on the odometer).

It's a torque thang. Only pussies drive an automatic transmission in a big rig.
As for that third pedal, it's only used when you stop and start. Other than that, you can float 'em with the tachometer and like Swampy says, never do it going up a hill. Once you've lost your peak torque at 7,000 RPMs, you'll have to stop and start over. I only did that once and it was enough to learn me. With a button shift on a super ten, you might occasionally need to give the clutch a little tap to ease the shift into the next gear. Other than that, you just need to prep your shift by applying pressure to the stick, back off the hammer slightly and jam 'er quickly into the next gear. You only need to insure that the shift is made with the tach reading 7k RPM.
I used to have drag races from light to light against portable parking lots.

Going down a steep grade is another reason I liked the Super Ten transmission. You could drop a gear very easily without worrying about engine over speed and loss of any possibility of making a downshift to slow it down. I swear by the Jake Brake too. Dropping off the mountain into Sacramento California was always a pain in the butt because they had signs prohibiting the use of your engine retarder, due to Billy Bob truckers running straight stacks with no mufflers and flipping on their Jakes in the middle of the night and waking up those sensitive golden state government types.
I still used mine because it had good mufflers and you could barely hear it.

[swamprat69er]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Good stuff, thanks.

How do I make my own coffee in the truck? I looked up 12v coffee makers but they don't sound like they work very well.

As fas a bathrooms go, I have a bladder the size of a football, I can go all day if needed

NOT for long.

Originally Posted by Wolferz

I swear by the Jake Brake too.
I still used mine because it had good mufflers and you could barely hear it.

I always use my Jake, unless the road is slippery or wet. IF the sign posted just outside of town says "NO Jake Brakes", I use it through town.....Why would I be so obstinate you ask? 'Jake Brake' is a registered trade mark of the Jacobs Engine Brake Company and if there is no little 'R' in a circle after the JB it is copyright infringement and that makes the sign illegal there fore the law illegal. Besides, my exhaust is pretty quiet.

[Wolferz]

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

NOT for long.


I always use my Jake, unless the road is slippery or wet. IF the sign posted just outside of town says "NO Jake Brakes", I use it through town.....Why would I be so obstinate you ask? 'Jake Brake' is a registered trade mark of the Jacobs Engine Brake Company and if there is no little 'R' in a circle after the JB it is copyright infringement and that makes the sign illegal there fore the law illegal. Besides, my exhaust is pretty quiet.

The signs coming down the mountain into Sacramento read; "NO ENGINE RETARDER USE" Then there was the other arse hattery of them having a scale installed half way down on one side and half way up on the other.
Only in the communist state of Californication. Plus, the inspection station on the Cali/ New Mexico state line where you were stopped and asked what was in your trailer. Kind of like taking a load across the Canadian border.

[les green01]

wtg Neal on the cdl in truck driving school they had us double clutching within a week shifting like a pro and you found out you can rest your foot on the clutch,several times I be driving with the girlfriend in a 4wheeler see the sign chicken coup was open and go in with the car she be like honey what are you doing

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

NOT for long.

Precisely! The plumbing goes first from a' rockin' all day in the front office!

Originally Posted by Wolferz

"NO ENGINE RETARDER USE"

"I'm so sorry officer...I AM the engine Retard...er!" All this sage advice sounds pretty 'jake' to me! ONKEL take note: Swamprat, Wolfertz, Quatro and I are still with it; nearly a century of combined head-on-a swivel-mind-yer-six 'combat driving'. Welcome to the true conning tower of the open road; no one gets born with a shifter in hand, so ask away! Perhaps this thread should go sticky. I still wake up at night thinking I'm in the sleeper and the truck is moving! A little theme tune BBY

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Do you want to tell me that of all countries you guys in the country of "What is the third pedal for? I only know how to use two!" still run manualy shifted trucks?

The US would be a much better place if everybody drove stick shift.

Originally Posted by swamprat69er

I have driven a few automatics and I am here to tell you, I DO NOT LIKE THEM! I wont drive an automatic if I have any say in the matter, especially hauling liquid loads.

I have no experience driving big trucks....but I know already just from my time in the Ford Focus, friend's Jeep and another friend's Mustang that stick shift is very much superior to automatic.

I HATE driving autos.

Paddle shifters...or slapstick as some people call it....is just as bad.