Comments By Mistelle

I had heck with gears when I started. I couldn't (and still can't) feel my feet very well, or on some days, not at all. It was hard learning to shift (using double clutching) and coordinating my hand with my feet.

Nine months into this and I have no problem shifting anymore. I float up and down gears and only have problems when I am in the very low gears going down. Still haven't quite mastered those.

After a while it gets kind of fun, trying to shift the truck without grinding (first challenge), then trying to see which gear you can take off in (changes a lot based on weights), and then you can thoroughly mess with your co driver. I won't go into the details but I can make my husband sit in whichever direction I wish him to go.

On a slightly different subject, I seem to have issues with the topic part. I am on my laptop and when I click on topic it allows me to have the cursor there but I can't see the words. They are there, I just can't see them.

I like the new mobile set up. It's easier and I don't zoom in or out accidentally while bouncing around in the back of the truck.

Sounds cool. Will have to try that sometime, will it attract bees?

As long as you rinse it thoroughly enough, it shouldn't. And not having the insides of every bug for a 500 mile radius on your windows will definitely lessen the numbers of yellowjackets you'll attract.

Thanks! I will give it a try later on today. I had noticed the yellow jackets but I didn't know why they were all over the truck. Wish our company let us wash the truck more than twice a year.

May 24th 2011 fmcsa changed a few definitions to the type of portal tanks a flat bed could haul before requiring a Tanker endorsement.

Hey GuyJax, is that typo? Did you mean to type, "May 24th, 2014"? I hope so, because a regulation that changed over three years ago, shouldn't have snuck up on anyone!

Either way, great info, and goes to show how we ALL need to keep abreast of what's going on in the industry, especially where our gooberment is involved!

LittleJoe

Nope. I meant 2011. This is the exact point. People SHOULD know by now but not everyone does.

Just like everyone knows we have a 3 day safety blitz every year that is announced month in advance with the exact days and you know what? Thousands of drivers are placed Out of Service during these times for mainly 2 violations. 1) Brakes out of adjustment and 2) logbooks.

These are 2 things that are critical to our jobs yet many still get busted every year because of it.

They were going at it hard. I was waved through two check stations because they were so full of out of service trucks that they didn't have anymore room to even inspect other trucks. Thankfully we were good and had everything in order before hand. CRST was paying for things they normally would have made you wait months for. Got that chip repaired in my windshield that I had been griping about for a month or so. I saw other CRST drivers getting seat belts replaced, qual comm wires replaced. New fire extinguishers. New permit books. Companies really take that three day blitz seriously.

A good way to eat through the bug glue is Coke. I'm sure any other carbonated beverage would work, but Coke is what I grew up using. Dump it all over your windshield, then use a squeegee and windshield washer to scrub the gunk away. Little trick I learned from my dad on our many many road trips together when I was a wee sprout.

Sounds cool. Will have to try that sometime, will it attract bees?

We broke down again. This time it was in the Mohave desert.

My husband was driving when he thought he saw fog. Which was odd out in the desert. He slowed down. He thought he was seeing maybe a mist on the windshield so he turned the wipers on and it smeared.

At about that same time he smelled kerosene. He was trying to locate the smell when he saw thicker fog. He pulled over to try to sort it out. When he hit the brakes, the whole front of the truck was enveloped with smoke. Thick, heavy smoke.

I was asleep when all this happened so I missed out on all the details. I was awakened and was being dragged out of the truck before I was even half awake. I sat there on the sand blinking at our smoking truck and was ill. I gathered enough brain functioning to dial 911 and get the cops out there because we couldn't get all the way out of the road.

Once the fire department got there and discovered the source of all the smoke we were happy there wasn't a fire. Diesel doesn't burn very easily and that likely saved our lives. Had it been gasoline we would have been toast.

Hours later we find out from the mechanic that in the freightliner factory there was a mistake made. The fuel lines were tightened down too tight and that weakened the connections. Ours blew off and threw diesel all over the inside of our engine compartment, on the windshield, the windows, on TOP of the truck, and all the way to the back of the trailer.

We are fine and the truck is fixed. But that is the second factory defect we have found in the 2014 freightliner.

I got a topic! Though I have no clue what it means.

Okay, so no topic for me.

Just thought I would update everyone. We are still out here working along.

Some things I have learned.

1. You would think you would spend some time with your co driver but it seems like if everything is running smoothly I see him for about two, maybe three hours a day.

2. The CB is interesting and useful-ish. Most of the time people just yakking around, sometimes a gem sparkles through and I get to laugh for a while. Got to hear an account of a haz mat fire on the I80. Glad I wasn't going in that direction. Squelch is a hard dance. A little this way, a little that way, and you get to hear someone or static. Don't hit bumps while adjusting it, btw.

3. The TA in Colorado must have something wrong there. We got sick there, again.

4. I like the roads a WHOLE lot better without ice. But I had forgot about the cement and superglue infused bugs. Does anyone have tricks for getting those buggers off the windshield?

There are a couple of options that I can think of. You can try going to the workforce place. Sometimes they have programs for people who are unemployed. They will get you into a school and likely a job.

Another one (the one I used for my spotty history) you can use is self employed. Did you do any work for anyone for money? If so get a receipt. If you get enough receipts together they can see that you were self employed and not unemployed.

Another one, if you don't mind waiting to start driving a truck, is get a job and gather up some employment history.

The apple cider vinegar is key for keeping your bladder and kidneys healthy and clean....but the orange juice is not your friend...try to use cranberry or a mix. but hi citric juices burn the lining of the kidneys, and tend to irritate the bladder...thats why they are always pushing apple juice in your face when your in the hospital...lol

I didn't know that. We do drink cranberry juice but that's because it tastes good. I didn't know why they always tried to get me to drink apple juice. That does make sense but I can't stand the stuff. My mom forced it down me EVERY time I got sick. Now I smell apple juice and feel sick.