Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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:D good to hear that your family won the fight and all is well now. I know we (dirt haulers) are typically the most hated I would imagine, because other truckers & regular commuters get stuck in construction zones. And by stuck ofc I mean delayed oh noes! And I be like....but....but....you no like pretty new road and/or sidewalk when done? Look it - pot holes & ruts are no more : (. It's mostly road work I do anyway sometimes sidewalks. Whether that's putting a new one in, or repairing/repaving an old one or maybe they have to redo storm drains underneath them...it's just generally what jobs I end up hauling on. Sometimes it's schools, this year we did a school parking lot, a running track and a playground area. (all different public schools). I get a real sense of accomplishment getting to enjoy something I took part in. I look at the pretty, smooth new road with fresh paint lines and think to myself with a smile...yeah....I helped with that. I mean I didn't make it smooth and pretty, but I hauled out the old road and am part of the process in making the new road pretty /gasp.
Honestly if the truck still going by your place is an owner operator or his company allows riders and friendly, he might let u ride with him into the pit and drop you back off on his way back out. OFC there are such thing as weirdos and stranger danger out there!! so not like I am recommending it per say, but if you did I'd have a family member or friend stand right there to watch you get in and be there for you to get back out. I have people stop me all the time to ask me questions, most of the time I'm pretty sure it happens to me more often because I am a woman. They see this, and generally figure I am more likely to be friendly and non threatening. Sigh, isn't it great how if this we're a conversation between men, we wouldn't bring up stranger danger? Meh it is what it is...not that guys can't get hurt from stranger danger too buttttttt... you know.
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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From Teaching to Trucking - My Journey So Far
Very entertaining and suspenseful read :D I know I look forward to your next entry.
You will find that truckers come from all walks of life. There's even a thread in general forum for it like, "what did you do before", something like that.
Next weeks entry: "The Teacher Prepares...to become the student."
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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Lyght's Journey To Become A Truck Driver
O.o! your taking your permit test today :D. You had to make an appointment to take your permit test?
Relax, review, relax.
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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(Driving question) what would you do if...?
Ever hear a semi go "duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh" hahaha it is literally the only way I can think of to put it in text! Thats a semi using it's jake brake. It releases air from the cylinders to make the engine slow down which helps you slow down. Not sure when you will get to use one for the first time might be after school.
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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Well ofc, the company I worked for at the time was a dirt haul company. So depending on how busy it is, one driver will be in the truck in the day and the other at night and if the truck does have a sleeper, it is typically not used unless the company gets a job that is far enough out of town where a driver will consider staying in the vehicle instead of commuting (it happens but most dirt jobs are local). Or one driver could be assigned to a truck for the majority of the season due to only day shifts running and then a night shift will pop up or vice versa and then a different driver would jump in that truck for the opposing shift. I think in this particular instance the driver who was letting their dog poo in the truck had some sort of fall out with the company. I think he quit. So when the next guy took over his rig that's when that story started.
More often then not, we really don't use our sleepers but they are good to have in case we need them. Some drivers even if their assigned truck has a sleeper will bring up campers, rvs or travel trailers to out of town jobs to stay in. Odds are if a dirt job is far enough out to consider it, either there is a "man camp" or there are no showers, bathrooms or hotels/motels/inns available. Most of the time even if there are hotels available drivers wont stay in them, it's an extra $75 bucks (typically) a day in the drivers pockets if they don't for per dium.
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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(Driving question) what would you do if...?
Revision: if you are in traffic that is moving fairly constant but is still snail speed, of course leave room for "oh ****" situations, but if jakes are allowed and the truck you are in you can use the jakes in the lower gears you can just be in probably 2nd gear and play with the jakes on and off to control speed. Saying this now I'm thinking of our KW T800s. Jakes only activate if you press the brake pedal. Which is convenient in some cases but in a case like this would not be. Ofc this goes under, know your truck.There are going to be a lot of situations that you won't really learn until they happen. Like most jobs, school and training prepares you but it can't teach you everything.
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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(Driving question) what would you do if...?
If your thinking about bumper to bumper traffic as I think you are (stop and go traffic or snail speed traffic <5mph) you more than likely won't even be able to use an engine retarder (aka jakebrake) even on a fairly steep grade. Most trucks jakes will shut off under a certain rpm and some do not activate in your lower gears. Older trucks will but if they aren't shut off before the rpms drop to low it is not good for the engine and it can stall the engine.
Typically in the scenario I am imagining in your question you won't have to worry about jaking, what you'll really need to worry about are your knees and leg muscles because there is going to be a lot of clutch work! Let the vehicle in front of you gain some distance, how to take off on hills up or down you will learn later. I wouldn't bother shifting I would just let the vehicle crawl, controlling speed with service (foot) brake as needed. And stop again. rinse repeat. This is still primarily relying on the engine stopping power of the truck (no jakes). Picking the correct gear to be in is the first thing to do, can you use jakes or are they are prohibited for the area you are in needs to be considered. Know the truck you are in, what gears do the jakes work in, what rpm do they kick out. I would never assume that my jakes are going to work, they can malfunction (rare but true). It's like this, in any vehicle when you get off the accelerator, whether you brake or not they slow down. This is what engine stopping power is.
This is reminding me of rotor milling. It's like being stuck in stop and go traffic, except it's just you and the grinder. Uphill/downhill they do both (uphill is worst). All I know is at the end of the day my clutch leg hates me.
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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Two questions I got confused on...
I've always loathed the triangle placement questions ha ha. Honestly in my opinion it doesn't really matter which one you choose for the undivided 2 lane road w/ traffic both directions, so long as you are on the right side of the road I would put my 10' triangle on the rear corner unless for some reason like maybe some lighting or some sort of obstruction blocked oncoming traffics view from seeing me there like, a large sign or maybe the lighting behind me is better like if I was facing away from a sunset or sunrise? Then I'd say front. Really for now just remember it's either or not both and the 100' in front and behind.
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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Two questions I got confused on...
Your actual commercial written exams may vary per state. While the training materials here are the most useful I have found, there can potentially and probably will be questions on the actual state exams that were not covered here. I took the gen knowledge, airbrakes, combination and passenger written exams yesterday (in Alaska) and you can bet each test had questions that weren't in the pretests available here on TT. They are a great tool to gauge where you are at and help to fine tune your knowledge. But of course always reference/read your states CDL Manual. I would advise leafing through the state cdl manual one more time prior to taking your tests and reciting to yourself a couple of things you may have had trouble remembering.
Lag distance = reaction distance for sues description. same thing :D
I'm not sure where the 290ft is coming from, I'm honestly trying to find it :( From the CDL Manual: Perception distance. The distance your vehicle travels, in ideal conditions; from the time your eyes see a hazard until your brain recognizes it. Keep in mind certain mental and physical conditions can affect your perception distance. It can be affected greatly depending on visibility and the hazard itself. The average perception time for an alert driver is 1¾ seconds. At 55 mph this accounts for 142 feet traveled.
Reaction distance. The distance you will continue to travel, in ideal conditions; before you physically hit the brakes, in response to a hazard seen ahead. The average driver has a reaction time of ¾ second to 1 second. At 55 mph this accounts for 61 feet traveled.
Braking distance. The distance your vehicle will travel, in ideal conditions; while you are braking. At 55 mph on dry pavement with good brakes, it can take about 216 feet.
Total stopping distance. The total minimum distance your vehicle has traveled, in ideal conditions; with everything considered, including perception distance, reaction distance and braking distance, until you can bring your vehicle to a complete stop. At 55 mph, your vehicle will travel a minimum of 419 feet. (142+61+216)
Posted: 7 years, 4 months ago
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The training diary of Kemo - the longest road.
Some entries went over here /gasp
General Forum: Road Test Failed