Profile For John S.

Ernie, was a joke. We're all just kidding around here.

Guyjax, you went 125mph in a truck? Woah!

Back then it was not an uncommon sight. Desert in the middle of the night and no four wheelers. "Put'er in the big hole and gough on it..."

Like I said back in the day freight got to where it was going super fast. East coast/west coast turn around was very common back then even with solo drivers that used paper logs. Started on west coast drove across country and the next time you slept was back on the west coast.

You guys must have had a pair of cannonballs running at those speeds!

Honestly Daniel, that rig looks good. I'm sure she's easy to spot regardless of where ya park her!

Honestly, I'm looking to go into a reefer division. Worst comes to worst, PT mat and about 30 minutes a day should have me set. Thanks for the heads up about flatbedding and modding a truck.

Thanks Thomas. Most of what I have dealt with as a tech are Freightliners and Internationals. A volvo doesn't sound too bad at all!

Ernie, I have kind of a left field question for ya. I know we can modify the interior of these trucks to a certain point (i.e. installing Sat radio, a fridge, etc.), but what about the exterior? I feel I should ask this as whatever rig I'm assigned will be my daily driver for the next year or so, and I'd like to make it stand out a little.

A paraphernalia charge would be incredibly tough to work around as it is viewed as a massive risk to the company. You don't have your location listed, but I am assuming that it is in FL (from what I've read, already a tough place to get hired from). Have you tried any of the smaller mom and pop companies, or maybe an oilfield company?

Thanks for the advice guys. I just hadn't had the chance to familiarize myself with Volvo's trucks. It looks like I need to make the rounds at the local truck stops and see if I can find a Raider driver to talk to, as well as getting more info from Prime drivers. I will look into getting a set of the resistance bands as well Brett!

I quit lurking too lmao. Charles can have my cookie from Highway Grunt (DFAC food... never again lol)

Congrats on the new rig, shes a beauty! Hope flatbedding works out for ya!

Refrigerated box trailer. (Ya can't smoke it, but you can see your breath )

I have been on here reading and gathering information (and giving some of mine where i can), and I feel like I should introduce myself. My name is John. I am 25, and looking to change my career path. From '07 until April '12, I was an automotive and diesel technician in a variety of shops (as well as the US Army, but that is a story for another time). I have spent the remainder of this time in the adult entertainment industry working at several clubs in the DFW as a poker dealer and promoter. I like the freedom that a life on the road can provide, and since I have no spouse or other financial obligations, I can stay out as long as necessary to get the loads run. I have narrowed down the list of companies that I want to train with to five:

1. Prime (seems to be the best fit, but I have to travel to MO for school)
2. Swift (Not quite as well of a fit and idk about volvo's trucks)
3. Raider Express (Local, but I haven't heard much either way about them)
4. Stevens (the first company I talked to, seems decent)
and waaaay down the list is...
5. PAM (heard about forced team driving and pulling miles from solo drivers at a local truck stop)

My questions are:

Has anybody on here dealt with Raider Express?

How do you exercise on the road?

What are your thoughts on volvo's trucks?

It was originally a trade name for the Jacobs brand of engine brakes. The name kinda just stuck.

For some more knowledge on the subject:

Wikipedia article on Jake Brakes

As far as the maximum RPM you want to turn that engine with the Jake Brakes on, I'll let you guys ask your mechanics about that so I don't get a bill for $10k from a blown engine. My rule of thumb was to keep it about 100-200 RPM below the maximum governed RPM. So if the engine would rev to 1900 I would use the Jake up to about 1700.

But every engine & Jake Brake combination can be different so it's best to find out from your company's mechanics what the safe ranges are for that kind of stuff.

You are right on the money Brett (no surprise there lol). As long as you keep it at least 100 rpm off the governor on the way down, you should be fine. Just remember not all engine and Jake combinations will react the same!

Lastly- this is my personal advice as a diesel tech, your company's policies should ALWAYS be followed, and I'm not responsible if you grenade your engine/ tranny.

There is a system called a clutch brake that activates when you fully depress the clutch in a rig. It's purpose is to stop the rotation of the input shaft assembly so that the driver can smoothly shift the truck into either first or reverse. Fully depressing the clutch while shifting a rig can wreak some nasty havoc on that clutch brake.

Hope that helps answer your question!

Congrats!!!

Thanks again Brett.

As you may or may not know, I am an army combat veteran looking to transition into truck driving. I stumbled upon this program, and I am curious to know whether or not anyone here has dealt with them.

Troops 2 Truckers

LMK your opinion please!

-John