Comments By Voyager

Im currently driving an international Prostar, unsure of the year...possibly 2017. It's an automatic, which is fine. But backing into a dock on a climbing incline is challenging. I tend to roll forward then back and roll forward again, not a smooth motion. Any advice on backing an auto? Thanks

P.S. There is no creep mode on the truck and im the lowest reverse gear

gosh darn it! i'm late to the party once again. thanks lol

Voyager, you are sure to enjoy This Thread On Our Former Lives.

Check it out. It's a good read.

I always find it interesting to hear about what people were doing before getting into the truck industry and how they got the itch to drive, as well as hobbies that is outside of trucking. so yeah... what were you guys and gals up to before you started trucking and what are your current hobbies when you're not on the clock( or during your 10hr)?

I was in the tech support field for multiple companies for 7 years and got tired of sitting at a desk and looking at a screen all day. I always loved driving and thought why not turn it into a career and then boom,here i am. My hobbies is astrophysics, learning to code, marksmanship and computer science.

i definitely learned that lesson when i was with swift, luckily i learned with my mentor in the truck and was able to help me get out of a sticky situation.

Never ever rely on the QC/Omnitrac. That will shave miles and send you down roads not designed for a truck. Never blindly follow any electronic device. Look up the route and see where it is taking you, Use a Rand CMV Atlas and look up the route. When I was at werner their qualcom was notorious for routing you down the shortest narrowest road including residential neighborhoods and over bridges with restrictive weight limits.

Yeah, i gotta really stop procrastinating and get one. Ive been using google maps to plot my course before driving. I work for Emerson Express and they use co pilot in there trucks aswell. But i see almost every driver there use a gps unit outside of the qualcomm. Kinda made me wonder if they route more effectively than the qualcomm.

Use every possible tool available to you. A Rand Mcnally atlas, should be the first thing you buy. After that, a Rand GPS, or a Garmin. Personally, I use an app called Co-Pilot Truck, on my phone. The GPS program we use at Don Hummer, is Co-Pilot 9. Navistar, I think, is the primary gps program that companies put on their devices. But definitely grab an atlas.

I had the privilege of using the qualcomm mcp200 and the omnitracs mcp50 navigation application. is there really a huge benefit of purchasing a truck gps, such as the ones from Rand Mcnally? Or is the qualcomm navigation just as good? Any input would be appreciated.

Gladhand

Glow plug

So I've had 3 opportunities to back; 1st one was a straight line for about 100'. Pure luck I wound up where I was supposed to be. The other 2 times, not so good. I know this is one of those things that I just have to figure out. My problem is chasing/getting under the trailer. I'm always to late. Generally speaking, should the counter-steer be greater than the steer. Say I turn wheel 1/2 turn to the left, waitbfor tandems to react. Should the counter steering be more than 1/2 turn past wheel center to the right or am I just waiting too long to start counter-steering?

HI Villain, Generally if you turn the wheel 1/2 to the left and you want to straighten out(like in a parallel park situation) you would normally turn the opposite direction the same amount, depending if you caught it in time. but if the issue you are having is chasing the trailer, you might be reacting to slow or to fast. by any chance are you referring to parallel parking?

I've never heard of this type of payment option. Might be okay if the stops are close together, but what about if it's several hundred miles between deliveries?

yeah i was thinking that, i spoke with the hiring manager again today in regards to the delivery distances. exact words were " your typical 200-500 mile runs". to me that's not really close together in my opinion. i figured that i could make at least a grand a week if i'm doing 5 stops a week. i dont think that's bad starting out i guess, have to start somewhere.

Good morning/afternoon/evening

Just spoke with a carrier called Key logistics, they don't pay by miles, but by stops. $200 Dollars per stop, its all northeast regional work. I've never heard of a pay system like that before, but i'm still green in this industry. Is that a common pay system? any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance