Comments By Bklyn Dreams

Sorry, ramps from 87. I was scared that I'd be detoured again if I tried 90w.

Of course, from the way you described. 787 n would have brought you right up to where you could have just hopped on 90 West.

Troopers had I-90 ramps closed. Wish I had known about 7 earlier. Rand McNally rerouted me that way I described.

You're allowed to use I-87 which is a toll road

The section of I-87 Andrey is talking about is north from Albany, and there is no toll on that section all the way to Canada. It's called the Adirondack Northway.

As many times (Ben & Jerry's) as I've been up that way, I hadn't noticed that. 😳 Do you know if we can stay on NY-7 between I-890 & Rotterdam?

Both Regent & Gladstone are correct. I guess it just depends on where each sculpture is located. Here's what Google says, "The Enchanted Highway is a collection of the world's largest scrap metal sculptures constructed at intervals along a 32-mile stretch of two-lane highway in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of North Dakota." "The Enchanted Highway begins at Exit 72 on I-94 near Gladstone and terminates 32 miles down the road in the small town of Regent."

Don't remember seeing the sculptures but I don't get out that way much.

I'm confused. You're allowed to use I-87 which is a toll road but not I-90 for maybe 10 miles to get to I-88? Going local in that area sucks big time!!

I had to do it cause the ramp for I-90 from I-87 was closed. It sucked! I-87 South to I-787 N to NY-7 west to I-890 to I-90 to I-88. Not sure if you can legally bypass I-90 by staying on NY-7. Good luck.

Mikey, I think we have our signals crossed. The title of the thread is "How do I best use the automatic on hills in winter conditions?". Thats why I mentioned the hills & the speed limits on them.

Yes, doing 15 in a 70 in normal weather is not only reckless but illegal. Unless you have an emergency situation, of course. I had to do 45 in a 70 because I lost half of the tread on my steer. If I went any faster, it shook like a washer on the rinse cycle.

To NaeNae, Prime has an autoshift transmission class at all 3 terminals. Positing the schedule below:

There's also training videos in the app that shows how to chain up, should the need arise. One winter, I had to throw my chains on 2x to get out of parking lots that were frozen over. Both times I was in Michigan.

Remember to use your flashers at this low speed

Haha, yes, use the flashers so other trucks know you are backing into a parking spot. Under 20 mph you have absolutely no business on the highways and byways.

Totally agree on the backing point but what about this scenario when it comes to 20 mph?

The speed limit on some steep grades are determined by how heavy your load is. For example, cabbage has a 20 mph speed limit on trucks that weigh from 70K to 80K. I think Monteagle, TN is another hill that has this but I can't remember the other places where these speed limits are in effect. What is a rookie supposed to do in those situations?

Expungements only apply to state & local jurisdictions. Federal records are never expunged (at least that's what I was told). Trucking companies, being federally regulated, will have access to those records. You mentioned a speeding 1 yr old speeding ticket. Hopefully you've made Wilson aware of that. They may have an issue with it depending on how much over the limit you were going.

Having federal jurisdiction does not mean that the convictions fall under federal law. Only violations of federal law that lead to convictions would be applicable to what you are stating. Basically, what you are proposing is called reverse engineering.

But, as I already stated, trucking companies have the means to access expunged records when doing their digging.

My statement of fact, not proposing anything, is based on my conversation with the criminal defense attorney that represented me many moons ago. They're also based on my interaction & conversation with the ex-law enforcement security person on staff at Prime that I had to present all of my criminal history along with their disposition with the court seal for each municipality in which I had a criminal record, including one that was sealed. That was from 1981 & I went thru orientation in 2018.

Where does the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) & the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) figure in your assumption that only federal "crimes" fall into federal jurisdiction? The records in those databases don't go away with Expungements.

Sorry for the late response Gregg. Prime will require you to pass the DOT physical at their facility while you're at orientation. Subsequently, this is what they sent me when I had to renew mine last month. "Reminder - your D.O.T. Physical needs to be done with either the Doctor on Site at the Springfield Terminal or any Concentra Medical Facility." The company van took me & picked me up from the doctor used by the Pittston terminal. Good luck!

I don’t know a percentage but majority of the local companies where I’m at have manuals in their fleet. I’m not overthinking anything

I have more appliances that those listed and never had an APU, so scratch that idea.

As for manual vs automated, 95% of the large carriers (500 or more trucks) operate auto transmission, so what does this tell you?

You're overthinking things with your research. Pick a large carrier that trains, and jump in with both feet. Stop placing the cart before the horse.

JD, there's a distinction that getting lost in your comments. You asked about OTR & manuals but referenced *local* as your source for companies that have lots of manuals. Most local companies do have manuals but they don't run OTR. Pick up and delivery mostly. As mentioned earlier, most large OTR companies, that offer paid training, have converted their fleets to autoshift.