Comments By Bingo

They don't have an ootion to keep the gps hooked up to a power supply?

Built in. It comes up on the center screen in the middle of the gauges.

I'm not sure what the system name is. Glad I won't be driving it through the winter, think they are most likely to stick a newbie in an older rig when they go solo.

My coach doesn't know why it happens, and I am working on theories, but I am wondering if it happens to others. The issue is this: the sensor that tells you how far a vehicle is in front of you and how fast they are traveling is quite frequently saying that there is a vehicle 0 ft in front with 0 secs following distance going the same speed you are. It pops up the yellow warning message and makes a beep, covering the little information display and annoying the heck out of you because it is doing it so much. I have had it in a constant state of fault for hours on end, beeping and showing the message every 15-20 seconds. To top this off, it also sometimes sets off the collision alert when there is nobody in front of you and if you are just starting to pull forward, it will lock the brakes on you and you have to start again and again until it stops and you can get moving. It also once had a collision alert when I was going over 50mph and automatically did a hard brake for a second or two (very dangerous).

I keep the sensor cover well cleaned and I have noticed it tends to act up most in more populated areas. Driving I-5 through California is when it is the worst. I have wondered about possible signal interference? Are bumps shaking things loose? Is anyone else having this issue? (Coach's truck is a 2020 cascadia btw.)

I was doing some light research and it looks like getting a gps tablet with a built-in dashcam is about the same price or cheaper than getting the cam seperately and a cheaper gps. Does anyone have experience with these that want to chime in?

I've seen how some drivers are around big rigs and want to make sure my ass is covered with a dashcam in case something does happen.

For students . . . . The ONE maneuver that you are the worst at is the one you will get. AND, expect a full truck pre-trip.

Just sayin . . .

Yeah, I got the full pretrip, but I did it perfectly. You should know it all though and not gamble on getting one or another area.

Do they only test for one random maneuver where you tested?

With a load like that, I wouldn't haul it without a headache rack on the front of the trailer. Any redneck worth his pickup knows that you always have something sturdy enough between you and what you are hauling to catch what you are hauling.

Sooo many varied jobs. But in the year leading up to getting my CDL, I worked for a door factory (boring as hell and payed very little), a foundation repair and waterproofing company, and then driving seed trucks for my brother-in-law's farm while I waited for school to start.

Being ex-military, and having worked a great variety of different jobs, I can say that for up-rooting your life and changing your lifestyle, OTR trucking is second only to joining the armed services in my experience. Military experience definitely made things much easier for me than others I have seen going through the company-sponsored training, but from what I have seen, it always looks harder and more intimidating from the start than what it ends up being when you look back on it.

Stick with it and keep focused on the benefits. Be optimistic about how you can make this be an improvement to your life, and in a few months, the "enormity" won't seem like such a big deal.

Most importantly: have fun exploring new places and seeing new things!

Have hope! I heard from a long time Jim Palmer driver that when Wilson logistics took over, things actually got better. You'll just have to wait and see, not much use in speculating and worrying.