Profile For Carlos J.

Guys, I was offered position consideration for "Heavy Truck Driver" at Halliburton. Does any one know what a typical day is like? Person on the phone was unable to describe job specifics and online job description is vague. Im coming from refrigerated OTR. Being the oilfield, I understand duties will be more involved (actually what im looking for). Thanks

I've heard that if the mountain grade is icy or too snowy, chain it up. They'll add a lot of traction. .. Youre not supposed to driver over 35 mph with chains to begin with, so you're speed will be considerably slow on the downgrade. If you don't have chains, I wouldn't venture on the mountains!

Now if you can't use your jake because it's raining, I'd say just slowwwww dowwwwm. I had the pleasure of going downhill during my training in rain... was doing about 40 mph and lightly braking. IT seems you can brake if you'reeasy on the pedal. The rain didn't stop the fedex double road train super truckers from flying past me on curves, though!

Anyway don't take my word for it, not sure what's true or not. JUst lassing along info I've gathered hoping to be true :)

Ok, maybe I'm just not understanding, but not using the jake on downgrades worries..no, TERRIFIES me. How do you keep the rig at a safe speed without melting your brakes if the jake is not an option? This will be my first winter and I cannot say I'm looking forward to this part of the learning curve. Is it June yet?

Thanks for the reply, Kemo. IT appears my truck does have an interlock switch :D. I Try to keep my driving during the day hrs, in the winter there seems to be more reason to do so it seems. Wet ice sounds like terrible news. You're not the first to tell me it's not as bad as it all sounds. .. but it all is pretty alien to someone like me lol.

If you have an inter-lock engage it. For starters only engage or disengage when stopped. NEVER engage an inter-lock or lockers while drive tires are spinning, this will cause catastrophic damage. While you can engage lockers while you are moving it is suggested you don't because of the potential damage you can do to your rear end if done when any tire is slipping/spinning. If you do not have the option to stop such as a sudden blizzard with no available turn outs, release the throttle don't put any fuel, coast for a little letting the rpms drop some, engage interlock, give another second or so and continue on. and I would say while going straight only. There is a difference between an inter-lock dif and full lockers, never use full lockers if turning is going to be involved, they will push you right off of the road you won't be able to turn. Most of the switches are labled but if you aren't sure which is which, ask someone to show you :D you can turn fine with just the inter-lock engaged.

I've grown up here in Alaska, now like Sue I can say I've done plenty of driving in the winter in a 4 wheeler. My first winter truck driving? Super apprehensive, scared even. Esp when I thought about some of the 45° hills we have downtown, which if I'm truckin in the winter, I'll be going on those. Luckily most of them aren't too long in distance (some are just not as steep) just for a minute they are suuuuper steep and we are expected to drive up/down them because we ARE the snow removal =/. Probably what freaked me out the most was that going down the same steep grade loaded (I was scared but it was fine no issues) was worst empty (even more scared!)! It made sense when I thought about it. But when I went down empty I went down knowing it was going to be steep/icy and started down about the same speed I did loaded, truck almost immediately completely lost traction and I began to slide accelerate down and skid sideways. I was basically along for the ride, depressed my clutch, tried to do some stab breaking and turn into the skid. (stab breaking is not recommended, your rig likely has ABS on the tractor and trailer which will do this for you in a skid, mine does not) Luckily city snow haul is with a solo end dump so no trailer. So while it was freaky and got the heart pumpin' it was okay. After the grade smoothed out a little to where it wasn't so steep I was able to slow down and regain control. Mind you this was over the course of maybe 6 seconds and 150ft nothing astronomical.

Either way loaded or unloaded, go slower, leave more room, watch out for 4wheelers more than usual as their accident rates increase in winter but their driving abilities don't lol, if you come across any chain up areas stop and pull over into them. Talk to the other drivers that may be there about what is ahead if you haven't been through there before. Many tips the other folk have given are great tips. I am especially weary of the roads when it seems wet and not icy in the day but it is bout 31-36°F, any shaded areas like underneath bridges or behind tall buildings/trees etc are more than likely going to be icy but you might not be able to see/tell until you drive over it, once that sun goes down you can expect any water on the roads to turn back into ice. I always assume it is icy under those conditions even if it appears it isn't. I personally prefer that if the temperatures are hanging out in the mid to low 30's I don't want to drive during or around sunset, wet ice is THE WORST!

As far as people saying "it is better to drive when it's under 30°F" I would say that is ONLY if you are in an area that has been consistently under 30°F for an extended period of time VS an area that has been fluctuating temperatures from above to below freezing regularly. You are more likely to only run into snow whether it is fresh or packed, anything is better than ice and/or wet ice.

When in doubt, pull out......to the closest safe place to stop you can find lol. You'll get a hang of what the weather and road is telling you. I'm sure I just made it seem worst than it really is lol. Really though run of the mill winter driving really isn't that bad.

Awesome, guys! I have been told that I'm stressing too much over it and it's really not that bad. This makes me a bit more confident. I really appreciate the info! Heading out tomorrow won't be back home till Thanksgiving (hopefully on time)... sure to run into some wintry conditions by then.

Excellent input, Errol! I appreciate it. It's true about the cold gear down here... Trainer and I stopped at many stores in northern states and I noticed things for sale I don't see in stex (sleeping bags, trapper hats, thise big gloves with only thumb finger i dont even know what theyre called)

Guys I'm a bit worried. I've lived in south Texas all my life. Honestly, I have never seen snow in my life or experienced weather colder than 35 degrees. Never had a run in with icy roads or bridges. JUst been out of training, driving solo 2 weeks. Winter is around the corner and I'm doing 48 states.

I've been asking around trying to get some insight and there is a lot of conflicting info/opinions. FRom 1. DON'T drive at night/early morning because it's colder and ice more likely to be present 2. DON'T worry about icy roads, they will be pre-treated. 3. Let off throttle on all bridges, don't brake, gas or steer, just let your speed get you across (what about long, curved, ascending bridges??) 4. You CAN gas and steer and brake, just lightly on bridges (what??) 5. NEVER use jake on snowy/icy downgrades. 6. OK to use jake on downgrades just not all cylinders (????) 7. Don't drive when there is snowfall... vs ok to drive after snowing (whats the difderence?) 8. CUt your own path in snow vs drive on pre-cut tracks. (What)

Also... 9. DON'T drive when raining and 34 degrees because rainfall will ice the road quickly (makes sense) 10.Safer to drive in colder weather than 30 degrees.

Im all confused everyone says some different can't decipher the bro science since this is completely new to me... any input??

Myy instructor tells us to only use the svc brakes to brake, then when coming to the complete stop clutch it to avoid stalling. If you clutch first or at the same time you throw the tranny into neutral = bad situation. I would THINK It's the same idea when emergency. Im sure the right somewhere in the book so don't take my word for it...

Yeah not sure if it's correct but in emergency situation I was told to push the clutch in and brake. So you don't risk stalling out. Other than that yeah, 5th gear is usually what my instructor wanted sometimes fourth. But I always failed to downshift to that xD still working on it. I get my trainer in a couple days so I'll get my practice in on downshifting I'm sure the 3 weeks I'm out.

Thanks everyone!

First, a bit of where Im at on the learning curve:

2/4 weeks. 1st week class, 2nd week logbook and observing, last 3 days been out shifting/driving on streets/hwy with instructor. I have the upshifting down for the most part (rough for now). I have the downshifting somewhat down, too, but usually forget what gear I'm on and 'sometimes' whilst on traffic I try to downshift as if I was upshifting (without reving up) due to traffic pressure and trying to process everything my instructor is throwing at me at the same time lol. Haven't backed up or paralleled yet, and getting the hang of making turns.

My questions:

When approaching a right turn with no light or stop sign, my instructor asks me to start downshifting early, which makes sense, progressively from 10 to 5 and then turn. So, is that how it's SUPPOSED to be done? Seems kind of excessive and time consuming. Is it right to skip gears and maybe only shift twice? If so, would this still apply if loaded heavy? How about when approaching a stop sign?

Also, is it right to fully brake with the service brakes w/out downshifting if a traffic situation arises (non-emergency) that doesn't allow a rookie enough time to shift maybe twice?

Bonus: On the book, it says not to use the jakes when icy, especially on a downgrade. If all goes well, it is possible that I'll be getting my experience this winter. So I searched and people on youtube are using jakes on an icy downgrade... Im confused. I know I should ask all these to my instructor but I'll have to wait until monday... lol. Appreciate any input!

I know, got a lot to learn...

Hey Carlos and welcome to TT. You're actually in a better position than you think. Yes you've been working through temp services and such but there's nothing wrong with that because you've been working. Had you been sitting around those past 10 years with nothing to show for employment, even if it was something like primary care provider for a loved one, you'd have a much harder time. If they ask you why the jumping around, it's a simple answer. You were still searching for that one thing you really knew you wanted to do and there's nothing wrong with that. Companies are more concerned about big gaps in employment history and a timeline for what you were doing during that lapse. For all they know, that "time off " for 3 years between employers could have been hanging out in the pokey lol. I think you'll do just fine and you're at the right place to find the answers to any and all questions you might have. Brett has put together an impressive group of resources from study material to links for employers.

Good luck!!

Thank you, Robert. Your input was very helpful... I'm glad I posted here you guys filled me in exactly what I wanted to know