Comments By Kenneth L.

I think for us to give you accurate advice, we need to know more about you. As in, married, girlfriend, family intents, what do you want out of life? that sort of thing. This job might be out of align for what your situation will allow. Also, what did you do while in the military might be of some help. What are you goals?

IMO (note, I'm still new too, less than 4 months driving), don't worry about doing the perfect jake brake slow downs for off ramps. If you're cruising up to your off ramp, just disengage the cruise control at about a half mile from it. Let the truck start slowing and if it's going down a slight grade put the jake on. Use the normal brakes to get slow enough for the posted speed. If you're heavily loaded, slow another 10 lower than the posted ramp speed.

The main thing for the Jake brake is to use it on grades to keep your speed down. You don't want to heat up your brakes. You want to keep your brakes cool for "just in case". But going into a ramp means you are going to slow down and probably stop. That is not a continuous use of your brakes. Yea they'll get warm by the time you come to a stop, but that's not going to hurt them. As a new driver it is more important to be safe than perform a perfect Jake brake assisted slow down.

Later on, as you get used to your truck, you can start practicing that perfect downshift and Jake slowdown for off ramps. I've done a few myself, but can't do it perfect every time, YET.

A perfect downshift and slowdown with the Jake is done like this. Going 65 (my cruise speed) turn off cruise and engage Jake. Slow till RPM is 1200 (note, I use the RPM gage, not the speedometer). Then press accelerator just a bit to release pressure from the gears and shift out. Then floor accelerator till max RPM of 1600. Then shift in and let off accelerator, the Jake is still on and re-engages to slow the truck. When RPM gets back down to 1200, repeat process until you are going nice and slow and the traffic behind you thinks your tail lights are not working because they never saw them come on while you were slowing down.

Now I can't always do that without missing a timing sometimes because my truck is not always loaded heavy. And using the Jake like that when empty is just not called for. You can only practice the high gears when empty and even then it's really not needed.

Remember the Jake's number one use is to keep the brakes cool during descents on long grades. Aannd to keep you from crossing that speed limit barrier that gets that cop on the shoulder to come and chase you down. In my truck, on cruise control, if the Jake is on, cruise control makes use of it at 5 mph over set speed. This keeps the truck from going too fast down those short grades or long shallow grades. For those posted 5% or more grades, you need manual control and a lower gear.

Anyway, that's how I do it. Someone might explain how I'm doing it all wrong and any improvements or correction are welcome.

Since the thread has been necro'd, thought I'd share what I experienced.

I've driven various standard vehicles since driving age (about 10 years old). Thought I'd have no problems since, I have driven a cement mixer truck (they called it bulk trucks) and a trash compactor truck sometimes when I worked for a boat manufacturer. Those all had standard transmissions and were no problem to me all.

First day behind the wheel on the semi and out on the shifting area, I COULD NOT EVEN GET INTO 3rd gear and we started in second!!!

You literally do have to forget all you have learned about shifting and relearn it. The instructor had told us all that people that have never driven a standard transmission at all would learn the fastest at shifting a semi. He was right.

So, what we had to do was go home and get a broom or mop handle and sit down in a kitchen chair and pretend we were shifting (with motor sounds and all) to get the rhythm down. You have to train your muscles to do it correctly. Also, we were told to wear regular shoes (not boots), so that we could feel the clutch better. These things helped tremendously. Yeah I know, the neighbors thought I'd finally lost all of my mind when they looked in my windows and saw me shifting a mop handle in the middle of the kitchen.

Think 1 one-thousand 2 one-thousand. That is about the timing you will need. Shift out, and shift in. Clutch in and out, clutch in and SLOWLY out. Those at about the speed in which you say them.

Downshifting is quite a bit different. You have to rev up the engine before you shift into the lower gear first.

Oh and don't fret it, it's just to pass the CDL driving test. Once you get working, you will need to float the gears anyway. And for that, you have to forget all that double clutching and learn how all over again from your trainer.

Most important, don't think you know it all. LISTEN to your trainer/teacher. Try to remember and put into practice what he/she is telling you. Try to forget all that you THINK should work.

Hope it helps.

Well I'm not going to re-iterate what every body else said, so I'll just add what I did as a statistic point.

I have an older brother that drove some years ago and "informed me" as to what was the best course of action should I go against his advise and get into the trucking business anyway.

Under his advise "Plan B" (Plan A was to find a job that does not involve trucks), was to pay for the schooling out of my own pocket. Then I wouldn't be under obligation to a hiring company. I could pick and choose from a wider range of carriers.

The school cost me $5900 just for tuition. But all in all, the plan worked. I'm solo driving and making about 50K+ a year. I haven't been here a year yet, so,.. You get the idea. I can quit at any time, for there is no time contract. However, my plan is to stick with this company for at least a year. Some drivers here have been here for MANY years, so this could be my last job till retirement.

I wish there was a video cable within the trailer electrical line. It hooks into a video camera in the trailer to a small in cab monitor so we could watch the unloading/loading process for a feel of how long we're going to be sitting. Meh.....

I think it's an excellent idea. Sometimes you wonder, "Just what the hell are you guys doing back there? AND HOW COME IT"S TAKING SO LONG?"

That's like when you're on the computer, the kitty will come and flop down right on the keyboard, wanting some attention.

So getting on the dash in front while you are driving sounds about right.

Yea, you're going to need an antenna and coax cable with connectors if your truck doesn't already have them installed. Both my trucks already had them installed and I only need to provide the CB radio. The max range on a barefoot CB is only about 4 miles max. Most times you will only hear about 1 mile or so because you will tend to increase the squelch till it takes a strong signal to overcome. The red connector is the positive voltage and the black is the ground. Look around for the coax (thick black wire) with a connector on it. Look on the outside of your truck for antenna(s). If you don't have an antenna and coax, then you might want to check with your shop for solutions.

There is a video from the dash cam of one of the cops....the driver was swerving back and forth trying to get that bolder out...and he dragged it a good long ways...

So what was his plan? Leave it on the highway?

His best plan would have been, pull over, call police to help with traffic and do a tight turn (Uey) to release the rock.

I've been out here for 3 months now. In my opinion, forget the gaming. I brought a few games with me on this laptop and have yet to play a single one for more than a few minutes. And that was just to see if the game was going to run well enough to play.

At first I thought, 34 hours will provide some time for gaming. But I've only had 1 34 hour reset in 3 months that was not at home.

It seems that once the 70 is about gone, they just give you shorter loads or loads that have more time to deliver and use the recycled time from days falling off the log.

I also find it pretty hard to get comfortable enough in the truck to play games. Reading, posting, tending business, things of that nature, the comfort level is fine. But gaming requires a proper command seat that won't leave you fatigued. Good internet is a must. Music and movies are also very welcome entertainment in the truck. The only problem with music, is they don't put high enough quality in sound systems in trucks. You'll need a good set of headphones if you want hi-fidelity. Only problem is you can't use them while driving, and that's where you're gonna hear most of your tunes. Audio books are another big plus. Movies, I tend to watch from my portable hard drive that I've ripped to. Although you can keep a DVD/CD book to compactly store your movie collection that you want to bring. But I also find watching movies is not quite so easy. I tend to fall asleep when watching movies. Any time I shut down and try to watch a movie, my body is trained to get some sleep during shut downs. Which by the way, IS GOOD THING, as you will need it.

I've never been on Donner's in a semi. We don't go past I-35.

You didn't mention the grade. Assuming it's 6%. 75K gross in this truck I'd say 30 to 35 mph max. Maybe slower depending on traffic. The key is knowing your jake brake. A strong brake allows you more leeway in tiny errors. You do not want to be on the air brake much. If you're having to use the regular brakes to keep your speed down you need to slow down to the next gear and even slower so you can downshift into it. Use 4 way when going slow (40 mph or slower).