Truck Drivers And Their Non Truck Driving (like Cars)
Topic 24100 | Page 2
So when I start driving for Swift, (once I finally get a mentor), what am I supposed to do with my left foot? There's only two pedals! Someone forgot the third pedal. And the gear shift. I guess I could pretend this is a reality show and wing it. Lol
I find myself double clutching my BMW 6-speed sometimes. Especially from first to second. And checking my mirrors a lot. My son road with me when we were going to the store once lately and said why are constantly checking the mirrors. I told him it was a habit from driving the big rigs. I know I don't like it when others drive. They drive to close to other cars, and wait to last minute to put on the brakes. They don't use turn indicators. The list goes on.
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Double Clutching:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Raptor you'll stomp the floor a couple times and almost fall out of your seat reaching for the stick. Nine months in an auto and every once in a while I still reach for the stick. Especially climbing grades.
Oh my gosh.. I'm not reaching for the non-existent shifter as often. My last awesome trainee (and the first one I picked up the day I moved into it) would laugh and say he was going to get me a fake shifter to put in this truck. I went one further with it and joked I was just going to stick a toilet plunger to the floor.
So who (admit it) when in CDL school practiced shifting at home with a toilet plunger? I didn't, but had friends who did lol.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
I’ve reached for the column shifter as if it were my engine brake lever.
Oh my gosh.. I'm not reaching for the non-existent shifter as often. My last awesome trainee (and the first one I picked up the day I moved into it) would laugh and say he was going to get me a fake shifter to put in this truck. I went one further with it and joked I was just going to stick a toilet plunger to the floor.
So who (admit it) when in CDL school practiced shifting at home with a toilet plunger? I didn't, but had friends who did lol.
Sage School in Rome NY has a truck shifter mounted on a plunger, mounted to a box, LOL.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Susan-
I hope I can get that pic out of my mind! A toilet plunger? A non-used one right?
Maybe I'll be lucky and my trainer will still have a stick in his.
I pretty much follow the same safety habits as inside the truck but prefer to be in the truck to be honest. One of the daily drivers is a six speed and the wifes car is an automatic but neither get driven much. When I do get the chance to go racing, that's a completely different story though lol. I'm hoping to do a bit more of it next season but it's hard to say what will happen.
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All of this! Especially taking turns or curves in road wide. Have almost done the weigh station. I have the bar habit of going through yellow lights that my truck wouldn't be able to stop for. Also, use the cruise a lot more.