Profile For ambrose_johnson

Cars and trucks someday might have trolley poles to pick up electric current going down the highway. These poles will operate robotically and automatically to switch overhead power lines to change lanes and exit/enter roadways. A minimum reserve of power will be on board as a smaller battery so operation of the car's power will be seamless while changing routes. Another possible way is to have slots in metal rails enbedded flush in the asphalt like steetcar tracks with robotic under-body electrical pickup contacts riding in them to draw current out of them to the vehicle.

Have the traveling automobile or truck pick up current like electric trains and trolley buses somehow.

Designing safe and efficient battery technology for EV's seems very troublesome.

My my. There are some hostile folks here. This thread of mine started about RR grade crossings. Somebody here mentioned my weight or obesity. So this thread got out of hand and gravatated toward food issues. Who in the devil here is to judge me as to what I will do and never do here? Nobody here knows anybody here personally. There is a lot more to the motor freight trade than driving anyway. I might become a telework logiositics manager someday. I might become a diesel mechanic. Does one need a CDL to become a diesel mechanic?

It's not hard to eat healthy out of a truck.

I am not making 5-star gourmet meals, but I am not eating junk food, either.

Not dumping on any person's occupation, I am just wondering and asking questions. That is all. I'm asking about having slow cookers and such reusable culinary stuff on board the rig. What does one do to wash kitchenware, pots and pans, for sanitary reasons? I can see using disposable food serving items as plastic cups, paper plates, napkins and plastic silverware that is disposable while eating out of a vehicle. I can see complete frozen microwavable meals. TV dinners. Preparing hot meals by using durable/reusable utensils without sinks, hot water, soap and/or a dishwashing machine seems not feasible to me. Does your truck have an automatic dishwasher on board? I doubt it. A navy ship or cruise ship has a galley for this purpose. Trains have kitchen cars or dining cars with all these provisions. On a commercial airliner, frozen or refrigerated complete meals that are commercially packaged are simply warmed up by the stewardess in some sort of oven. I believe the commercial airplane even has a sink and running water in the food prep area or galley. Space astronauts drink Tang through a tube on flights.

I can see and appreciate that life on the road as a driver has special logistical concerns. If one is strictly a local driver, then a brown bag lunch or a personal cooler and a thermos might suffice for the shift. I see the future of motor freight as having autonomous driving for long distance and perhaps reserving human drivers for short distance. Robots don't need sleepers, food, water, toilets, beds or showers. Railroads in some parts of the world are already doing this. Have human hands involved within the first few and last few miles of the long freight trip.

I'm a practical person and like practicality. I'm an analytical and logical person.

And no, this motor freight occupation like any other, is not for the masses. Being a librarian might not be for you if extreme quiet drives you crazy.

On my truck, I have a crockpot, microwave, a Bullet blender for smoothies, and an ice maker for smoothies. Just as Rob described, I start out my day by putting veggies and some manner of protein in the crockpot. I keep beef and chicken bullion cubes for flavoring. It takes about 20 minutes to put everything in the crockpot and turn it on. I set for 10-hour cooking. On my 30 minute break, I use fresh fruit and ice to make myself a smoothie. Anything that I buy out of the store, aside from fresh fruit, is zero sugar.

A local driver in a day cab, like Rob described, is going to have a bit of a challenge to eat healthy. But, it's not a challenge that can't be overcome. It takes a desire to do it and thinking things through. Todd, the way you are talking, it's like there is no possibility for a truck driver to eat healthy, no matter how bad a driver may want it.

It just seems awkard to me to try to make a "house" or a "kitchen" out of a truck. The sleeper unit is not a travel trailer or a motor home for sheer spaciousness. I prefer to have a sink, a cupboard, sewage, running water, a dishwasher, a stovetop, a range oven, a microwave, an LP grill outside and counter space for serious meal preparation. The only way I have lived out of a vehicle was by renting motel rooms along the way and having coolers full of cold stuff for sandwiches. I would have throw-away picnic supplies. The rented motel rooms often would have a microwave and a small fridge as well as tables, chairs and counter space. Not to mention a big bed, a shower, a bathroom sink and a commode.

I gather decades ago, say 1980's and earlier on, many drivers frequented roadside diners for their meals regularly. Some were branded choke n pukes. The likes of Mel's seemed a typical hangout for gear-jammers and double-clutchin' coffee-drinking nuts. Alice looks like a fine waitress. Mel was too cheap to hire a competent chef though. The service from the lovely waitresses was nice but the food stunk, supposedly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezC1X-45uWA

It seems as a number of drivers are obese. Some claim the nature of the job itself engenders such poor health condition. I'm trying to figure out where or how somebody here got the notion that I was obese though. I can't ever recall having posting that information about myself here since joining.

Yes many drivers are obese. It isn't because of our job. It's your choices of diet and exercise just like people with other jobs. This career makes it far easier to make those poor choices with how sedentary it is but it's not the job itself that causes it. Sugary drinks, nonstop snacking, fast food or roller dogs in truck stops are the biggest culprits. Those unhealthy foods don't provide nutrients you need so many drivers end up climbing back from the seat and going straight to the sleeper to watch TV. The same people that blame the career as the sole reason for being overweight are the same kind of people that sue McDonald's for making them fat. Our society in general no longer holds people responsible for their own actions.

We have many posts on here that talk about them losing weight while on the road. Kearsey shared a few weeks ago that she's down 45 pounds while driving. I've met Packrat, Old School and Chief Brody. All 3 of those guys are far from obese but that's because they make choices to allow them to stay at a healthy weight.

It is going to be rather tough to find three paid prepared hot meals a day from any roadside restaurants that are very nutritionally-sound. It seems that driving over America's highway system, having a healthy diet of commercially-prepared meals readlly avaiable has low feasibility. I know this from having driven across America in personal automobiles and rented trucks. The OTR food can often be crappy-tasting in some parts and some joints along the highways are dumpy-looking. I generally have a cooler full of deli sandwich-making materials for a long car trip. We can't live for years on a steady diet of delicatessen though. I have heard that the bulk of roadside eateries serve crap to customers because that is what is popular. At one mega travel center in Colorado, I once got fried chicken and it seemed dried-out and overdone. Typical buffet quality junk. Another time I ordered something in Winnemucca, Nevada and what they were serving as "mashed potatoes and gravy" tasted more like mint toothpaste to me.

That's why many drivers don't eat at truck stops. Meal prep, refrigerate/freeze, and microwave/hot plate. Those three steps take care of the issue of not eating healthy.

Lots of extra work and time consumption for drivers on the go. In the Army we had mess kitchens in the field. The cooks and mess sergeants took care of the chow for soldiers. Sometimes, we had those handy-dandy MRE's though. Any drivers here do the MRE thing over the road? You are more or less "living in the field".

It seems as a number of drivers are obese. Some claim the nature of the job itself engenders such poor health condition. I'm trying to figure out where or how somebody here got the notion that I was obese though. I can't ever recall having posting that information about myself here since joining.

Yes many drivers are obese. It isn't because of our job. It's your choices of diet and exercise just like people with other jobs. This career makes it far easier to make those poor choices with how sedentary it is but it's not the job itself that causes it. Sugary drinks, nonstop snacking, fast food or roller dogs in truck stops are the biggest culprits. Those unhealthy foods don't provide nutrients you need so many drivers end up climbing back from the seat and going straight to the sleeper to watch TV. The same people that blame the career as the sole reason for being overweight are the same kind of people that sue McDonald's for making them fat. Our society in general no longer holds people responsible for their own actions.

We have many posts on here that talk about them losing weight while on the road. Kearsey shared a few weeks ago that she's down 45 pounds while driving. I've met Packrat, Old School and Chief Brody. All 3 of those guys are far from obese but that's because they make choices to allow them to stay at a healthy weight.

It is going to be rather tough to find three paid prepared hot meals a day from any roadside restaurants that are very nutritionally-sound. It seems that driving over America's highway system, having a healthy diet of commercially-prepared meals readlly avaiable has low feasibility. I know this from having driven across America in personal automobiles and rented trucks. The OTR food can often be crappy-tasting in some parts and some joints along the highways are dumpy-looking. I generally have a cooler full of deli sandwich-making materials for a long car trip. We can't live for years on a steady diet of delicatessen though. I have heard that the bulk of roadside eateries serve crap to customers because that is what is popular. At one mega travel center in Colorado, I once got fried chicken and it seemed dried-out and overdone. Typical buffet quality junk. Another time I ordered something in Winnemucca, Nevada and what they were serving as "mashed potatoes and gravy" tasted more like mint toothpaste to me.

It seems as a number of drivers are obese. Some claim the nature of the job itself engenders such poor health condition. I'm trying to figure out where or how somebody here got the notion that I was obese though. I can't ever recall having posting that information about myself here since joining.

Classic example of a trailer trying to go over tracks when it's ill-advised. Drivers of these trucks are typically trained to avoid crossing tracks for exactly this reason. Just as it has already been pointed out, trip-planning avoids this. But, it's not just an issue for a lowboy trailer. A driver with A Hazmat load has to follow a precise route to avoid roads that forbid Hazmat. Not all Hazmat is equal. Some roads, especially tunnels, have restrictions on certain types of Hazmat. Oversize and over-dimension loads have to follow precise routes to avoid getting caught in a compromising situation. A situation like that truck getting stuck on the tracks can happen when a driver decides to follow GPS routing without checking the route for potential issues. It can happen when a driver misses a turn for the pre-planned route and decides to follow GPS for rerouting without stopping to find a reroute that doesn't lead to the vehicle and load being compromised. Trip-planning is not optional. It's not simply a way to see where the good places to fuel and park are located. Trip-planning is an essential part of the job in order to make sure that the destination is reached safely and without unnecessary delay.

You post comments and questions that create good conversations, but sometimes I wonder what your real aim is.

My real aim on the gun range or archery range is to always hit bullseye, of course. Going hunting, I aim to harvest game lawfully, safely and ethically for the freezer but I never thought of a social media site such as this one as a target range for taking aim at something. But I digress.

I'm just here for fun and to talk some old-fashioned American shop. I'm not here to make enemies. One of my hobbies is to study things and learn things. I thought the truck's getting hung up on the tracks was a serious matter and that it might interest some here. I ran into that video purely by accident while searching for something else altogether.

Speaking of my "large frame" as some have commented here, I'm glad to say at least I don't smoke, drink or do dope. I have a perfect driving record, no felonies and an honorable discharge for military service. I'm not perfect. I'm just human. The more you get to know me, you might find I'm not all that bad.

The driver in that video looked like a young pup. Perhaps not seasoned enough to try handling lowboys. Maybe?? My experience has been driving large Army diesel trucks and repairing them as a mechanic/service tech by MOS. Never any lowboy driving experience.

This is a classic case of structural gauge and loading gauge not fitting one another like a glove. The railroad industry designs railroad infrastructure and rail vehicles to fit one another precisely. The motor freight transportation industry and the civil engineers of America don't all seem to be on the same page: to make trucks, trailers and roads all fit one another in perfect harmony. The railroads experience the joy of having both the roads and the trains in house: all under one roof. The rail carriers own both the trains and the tracks. There is good order where there are uniform standards.