Comments By ambrose_johnson

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.

What is the best way to avoid this situation? What is the best action to take should you end up in this situation? In the video, it looks like the forward drive axle is not even engaged observing the smoke coming off only the rear tires of the truck tractor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nx4JimRFKY

Please stay winter safe over the road. Jack Frost is really chillin' Middle America right now. It's not global warming; it's a new ice age. -6 F in Sioux Falls, SD

Duck walking under a rig might be a deal-breaker for some considering this gig. It's certainly something an Uber driver doesn't have to do. Only you know your own body better than any company doctor giving you a physical. Before considering driving a truck, do some work bending, squatting, stooping and crouching to see how your own body fares as a personal home test. Rotate your own automobile tires at home using a car jack, wheel chocks and jack stands to see what your level of endurance is. Torquing down the lug nuts by hand can be strenuous enough to make you short-winded or have a racing heart. The exertion situation is much worse during extreme hot or cold weather. Squat down, don't kneel, to weed your yard by hand. Squat down to clean your home's toilet and baseboards around your walls. See how your joints and bones and muscles feel. Do you get short-winded after standing up from a prolonged squatting position? Does your heart beat fast or do you feel dizzy upon standing back up? Try duck walking as an exercise to see if your heart palpitates, you feel dizzy or short winded. Truck driving might not be ideal for chronic arthritis sufferers or those with certain orthopedic, cardiovascular or respiratory issues.

Out of curiosity, I did a Google search to study the PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS of truck drivers and found out this according to the DOT:

Physical Requirements of the Job.​ As regulated by the Department of Transportation and other government agencies, truck drivers must be able to perform the following to prove adequate health and fitness: Pass a Department of Transportation physical and drug test. Be able to walk 20 minutes a day without exertion. Enter and exit equipment by stepping and kneeling. Lift 40 lbs. from your waist to your shoulders. Lift 30 lbs. from the floor to your head. Crouch and squat for pre- and post-trip inspections. Push 80 lbs. and pull 100 lbs. horizontally. Repeat the actions shown in the exercise videos below.

Squatting and crouching might prove troublesome for me knowing my own body. Often being in a prolonged squat or a crouch, I will feel light-headed, dizzy, short of breath and/or heart feel heart palpitations esepcially when recovering from this position. When doing work down low, I have an easier time on my hands and knees, or sitting in a chair, sitting on the edge of the bathtub to clean the toilet, lying on a mechanic's creeper, laying on my side on the floor or laying on my stomach. When I put air in the tires of my car, I need to use a folding chair.