Deuce And A Half

Although it doesn't require a CDL , I got my first "trucking" job today! Get to drive an ex-military deuce and a half with a custom smoker for my job at a restaurant. I'm pretty excited about it! My manager told me to get in & we'll see how I handle it. He was pleased and said I did much better than most of the guys he's put in it that also work at the place. I'll be getting a few lessons in it by either him or the other driver and then I'll be catering or advertising and driving it around. Maybe both. It has no power steering/braking but is automatic transmission. I had a blast and am totally ecstatic right now! Any tips/tricks/advice for this? I'm a 17yo female, getting my CDL in the fall when I'm 18 (yes, I've put tons of thought into this). Already drive a truck & horse trailer now so I know about wide turns, stopping distance, space, lane usage, and mirrors mirrors mirrors. Anything else?

Mission BBQ??

I neither confirm nor deny that I may probably be acquainted with said franchise

Ah the old deuce and 1/2. I put many miles on them when I was in the Army back in the 80s. Drive slow and steady and you should be ok. You can roll them over so no sharp turns at speed.(common sense really) As far as no power steering, the front wheels will be much easier to turn when you are moving slowly as opposed to when you are stopped. Best of luck.

Thank you! Yeah the thing has a higher center of gravity anyway with the smoker and stuff on top. And yep figured out the steering pretty quick! Have to make a near-90-degree turn right off the bat, so I'm thinking backing even just 3 feet would make the starting turn a lot better so I can get myself moving. Plus I'll be getting used to handling it at low speeds and as I build more strength I imagine it will turn "easier" am I correct?

The Deuces we had back then had some kind of hard plastic like cover on the steering wheel. It was kind of slick and difficult to grip. Maybe a modern steering wheel cover might make things easier to hold. Yeah, as you get stronger, and used to handling it turning will be easier. Best of luck in your future driving adventures.

I know about wide turns, stopping distance, space, lane usage, and mirrors mirrors mirrors. Anything else?

Backing, parallel park both blind side and sight side 90 degree alley dock offset left offset right

Off setting is pulling straight ahead from your spot and placing the trailer to the left or right of your spot it's fun :-P

Straight line backing is easy but you gotta do it about 100 feet that's fun! and you gotta do it all the way through the cones keeping it straight until your front bumper is past the last set of cones.

Oh and yes...

PRETRIP PRETRIP PRETRIP!

Everything in the pretrip portion of the test is in the pretrip chapter of the CDL Book! Touch explain what you are looking for, gotta go deep! NJ just changed their tests to conform to US standards and according to the NJ MVC it's supposed to be uniform across all states. *shrug*