Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Old school truck drivers here?

Triplex.....ever drive a 4x4 or a 5x4. When I got a 13 RR, I thought I had gone to heaven. One stick and a splitter, man that made it easy. Drove a 10 speed some, both kinds and once drove a Mack with a 5 speed, but I didn't like it.

Now they tell me lots of the trucks have automatic transmissions.

Well I have been pushing a rig for about 35 years, and the last six up in Silicon Valley. Trucks have now become targets of abuse to be cut in on. People will see a rig and at least two or three per exit will run up the right, and horn in on the truck, they actually form a mini-line waiting for their turn to horn in on the truck.
Only once did I reach the point of fed-up and actually tag a car on purpose..luckily for me, he had no insurance and took off and took his dented quarter panel with him.

No, that’s is American History. Now days driving a stick is old school, now haul around 60k in an automatic because the company only buys automatics. Half the drivers we hire now can’t drive a stick, never mind a Brownie! 😂😂

Wow.

Allow me to expand.

A lot of trucks have all sorts of electronic gadgetry now. Many are limited at 63, but more commonly 65, or 70 mph. There's getting to be more with radar that will not allow them to approach vehicles ahead, auto braking chit. Roll stability.... Truck I was driving had satellite link up that controlled the shift points and adaptive cruise control. It's not always possible to tell which truck will pull a grade, or conversely who is limited on their downhill speed. Some might creep up a hill but can go like hell down. But, other's might face termination for exceeding 70, 75, 80.... A little damned car can readily accelerate. A big truck pulling a fully loaded trailer can not. A truck having to slow down a few miles an hour might take several minutes to get back up to speed. The number of people that think they are being unfairly screwed over by a truck is wayy high. Especial urban asswipes.

There are a lot of [bleep], immigrants, city fuggers, and plain regular old dickheads. Not always getting in the right hand lane can make excellent sense at times. Trying to maneuver through all the dickheads merging and exiting is extremely dangerous with the [bleep] cutting right in front of the big rigs like they have a damned death wish. Generally stay the F-uc-k outa the way is good advice. If you see a big truck in the right lane catching up fast with another, then get the hell out of the way so they can change lanes. If a truck has the turn signal on , by god don't pull up along side, stay the F back and give more than 10' so they can see they are safe to change because they fing need to! Generally it's you in your little fuggin rig that is going to fair worse. Stay the hell out of the way. Don't cut in front.

OK

Easier for the illegals and women.

Everything about driving truck today is different.

First, everything the driver does is monitored and controlled. Many trucks have driver facing cameras, most have dash cams or even 4 way cams (mine does). Most trucks are speed limited (governed). Most trucks have nanny lane departure prevention systems, brake automatically if you follow too close (or if a cow's to close to the road.....). Most trucks will transmit any hard braking event immediately to the company, complete with video of the cameras (driver facing and dash).

Then there is electronic log books. Used to be, we stopped for dinner to avoid rush hour or a setting sun for an hour or two, and then make the log book "look right" later. Used to be, when we got tired, we pulled over and took a nap. Make the book look right later. Can't do that. Drivers are continually up against either their drive clock or their day clock. Once you start, nothing stops your clock and when the clock runs out, you have to stop -- no grace. If you get no flexibility, its hard to give flexibility....

Used to be, drivers were independent. The company sent them out, and they would call in a couple of times in a week to update folks, but they were on their own. If they needed a repair or a fix of some kind, they fixed it or found a place to get it fixed. The old time driver was half mechanic, could read a map, and could deal with just about any problem the road threw at him. Today, drivers are given "fuel solutions" and "route planning", where there are told turn by turn what route to take and where to fuel, and how much. Many don't even have a CB in the truck.

Because of that level of control, the new driver is an urban youngster with no mechanical or life experience. They are tossed in a truck with a "trainer" for a month, and let loose on the road..... but not given any control of anything.

I'd go stark raving mad if I had to drive for one of these control freak mega-carriers of today.....

I broke in on an old Kenworth with a 5 and a 4 tranny in the mountains with a logging truck...Loaded, going up a very steep grade,left no room for error in shifting the main box down..Those were the fun days..These new 13/15/18 etc speed tranny's,a little old woman could drive....That 5/4 could be a biitch ..Not everyone could master them.

LOL. You gonna get it now!

Musta been a rental.

When a driver doesn't abide by the rules himself, they've got no room for complaining about others! Nearly 50 years of pushing big rigs of every kind and make including the large cranes and oversize machinery. Driver knowledge and etiquette started going down the tubes with deregulation, most drivers today don't even know the laws of their home state much less the other various states. On the other side I don't care for over regulation, todays computerized, trucks with GPS tracking, and electronic logs I've got no use for. Never cared for trucks with power steering, air-conditioning, and those little stubby shifters. Or trucks taking up half their load capacity with sleepers made out like motor homes. Hell drivers today, most can't even back up a rig.

Phil

Yah, no stupid people from Texas...

Phucqkoff Phil you piece of dog chit.

Haha!

It starts with the labor pool of prospective drivers.
30+ years ago you got your drivers from farm, logging, blue collar
backgrounds. They were a different person than many drivers today.

I grew up running everything from the pushmower to 150hp tractors and
logging forwarders. Driving long haul was a big deal to me at 21.
A goal, a chance. I did go to a driving school, 1991.
My compatriots were all at least 10 years older than me, and not
guys chomping at the bit to be truck drivers. Simply people that
needed an income. Good people, but absolutely no passion to be a good
trucker. They just needed to be able to go A to B, without crashing.

The company I worked for ran the school, and wanted competent drivers.
To pass, you had to demonstrate mechanical ability. Changing bulbs, fuses,
flasher units, fuel filters, throttle springs, bypass fuel/water separator, air dryer, fuel shutoff, adjust brakes...no big deal. The simple 10 minute thing that gets you moving, not calling a service truck. We were also issued all
parts, and responsible to have everything needed.

I talk to guys today and ask then about a light kit , or a spare filter.
They have no clue, not allowed to do that.
No way I would want to operate like that.

Damned outfit I was previously under actually said drivers should not check tire pressure! Fugging ridiculous!

Yup..Very few over the road truckers made it as a logging truck driver..They either wrecked or quit..A very few did though..Sliding down an old logging road out of control with chains on everything including one front, just doesn't appeal to everyone..hahaha

As for over the road,I was an owner/operator and could pick what I hauled or to where..I doubt I could work long haul for someone else..Every truck has to make so much each day or week and I just went from there...$500 a day was my number.

We had to fix our own flats when I started, and I don't remember ever having a tubeless back then. Don't think any of the drivers today would even know how to break down a tire and rim on the side of the road and fix, or even just change their own tire. Most today can't even change their own damn fuel filter. Most don't even know, or ignore doing a pre-trip inspection. When I retired, I think one of the most common driver [bleep]-ups was those so accustomed to using the Jakes, finding out too late that they had weak or no trailer brakes.

Phil

I have heard that theory Boomer.
They claim drivers checking air pressure on a trailer
multiple times a week causes more low pressure tires than
letting them go.

Just like for big outfits, not putting
gearbox/turbo pyros on. Maintaing them costs more than the
occasional burnt up box. I agree for the overall population.
But the front drive pyro running high was my first hint of a blown pinion
seal. Running team, we might well have fried it before the next morning.
Quick, cheap repair instead.

Pour me another cup of coffee, Put another nickel in the jukebox, and Play that Truck Driving Man.

More importantly..How many know how to adjust there brakes and how often do they...