Can you back up and hit the dock?
Still in School with CDL
them they told me they wanted one year experience.
I said, well, I'll put you on my list because I don't have any experience.
I am graduating from Truck Driving School this Friday.
He then asked if I knew how to drive a 10 speed.
I said we drove one of those in school and it was in a Freightliner.
Then he asked if I could back up and hit the dock?
I said I was pretty sure I could and that I had to do something like that to
get my CDL.
Then he asked if I could couple and uncouple a trailer.
I said, sure, I know how to do that.
So, I was given a job application, and then he mentioned that he will want
to check my MVR.
Oh, Richard, I guess you were right about "Welcome to trucking son, it's
only a test." It looks like this is the second company that wants to test
my backing skills before I ever haul anything.
For another quick story.
One of the people in class failed his skills test on Friday. He wasn't
given very far to pull up before going into a simulated dock. Since he is
the only one that doesn't have his CDL yet, when we were on the course
today, we let him practice over and over and over.
I asked him if I could have one go at it. I managed to do it, on the first
try, with the mirrors only. I hope it is that easy for me when I try that
with the prospective employer.
Stay tuned for the latest news on this story or just add me to your kill
file.
Thanx
Richard
> For another quick story.
> Thanx
The 2nd company I went to work for the guy had me take a road test.
At that point I had 1 week's experience on the road.
Did just fine. Got into the yard, man said to park it between the two
trailers.
I knew it would be better to take my time and do it without hitting
anything, than to rush into it.
So I set it up and began backing in, pulled up to straighten up 3 times
before I backed in.
The guy said he'd rather have me do it that way than to hit something and be
sorry later.
Got the job and taught myself how to back with more confidence.
From now on, you'll be continously learning on the job.
Enjoy yourself.
Mike Robinson
Holy shit you must be a loser
"Richard" <anom@anom> wrote in message news:bkofr...@enews3.newsguy.com...
Richard
> Two jobs in one week
> Holy shit you must be a loser
You are one ignorant moron who has no reading and comprehension skills.
I worked for a flatbed company for two weeks, one week local, one OTR, and
didn't like it.
Then went to work for a major trucking company.
Which happens to be normal for a rookie.
I've seen drivers go through orientation, work a few days and quit.
I've seen drivers go home during orientation.
I've known drivers who have gone through a dozen companies in a year's time.
All part of getting settled in to the business as a rookie.
Still in School with CDL
> Mike wrote:
>
> > Two jobs in one week
>> Holy shit you must be a loser
>
>didn't like it.
>Then went to work for a major trucking company.
>Which happens to be normal for a rookie.
>I've seen drivers go through orientation, work a few days and quit.
>I've seen drivers go home during orientation.
>I've known drivers who have gone through a dozen companies in a year's
time.
>All part of getting settled in to the business as a rookie.
I've heard stories about people quitting a few hundred miles away from home.
They called the dispatcher, told them what rest area the truck is at and
where to find the keys for it. Does that make it right?
One of the places I called, looking for work, said they do not want anybody
that did not stay at their first truck driving job one year. Can you blame
them?
Also, the third place I applied for work has offered me a position today,
but I still want to try the local company later today.
thanx
Zeke
"Still in School with CDL" <NotARealEm...@sorry.org> wrote in message
news:%N%bb.155913$3o3.11...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> One of the places I called, looking for work, said they do not want
anybody
> that did not stay at their first truck driving job one year. Can you
blame
> them?
You should ignore advice from Richard as it is flat out wrong.
Don't jump into a job too quickly. Make sure that is at least somewhat
right for you.
After getting out of driving school in 1988 I went to work hauling reefers
and stayed with that company for 8 years.
At that point I had almost any driving job I wished.
Make the right choice (if possible) and stick with them for a year or two,
then many opportunities will present themselves.
Still in School with CDL
I guess I won't know until Monday now.
I went back down to the local terminal and turned in my application and then
talked to a guy for a while. He just asked if I could back up this time. I
said, sure I could and that we have practiced backing up to docks, etc....
I then mentioned that he could call my instructor, at the school, and ask
him about me.
Then he said for me to call him on Monday and "We well see what we can do
for you."
I do not know what that means, only that I will not commit myself to any
company until next week. I know that whatever I decide I should stay with
them at least one year just because of how it looks to other employers. I
think I've heard somewhere that people like to see someone stay at a job for
at least 5 years, but maybe that is different for a truck driver.
thanx
tscottme
>
> I do not know what that means, only that I will not commit myself to
any
> company until next week. I know that whatever I decide I should stay
with
> them at least one year just because of how it looks to other
employers. I
> think I've heard somewhere that people like to see someone stay at a
job for
> at least 5 years, but maybe that is different for a truck driver.
>
> thanx
Setting aside the stories of "I new a guy that worked at 6 places in one
year and then won the lottery..." most employers want to see that you
stayed at your first job for a year. There are some companies that
happy if you stay at company 1 for 6 months, but they're a minority.
The better trucking companies don't like to see "job hoppers" so it
really pays to carefully evaluate a trucking company before hiring on.
However, many drivers seem to just try it out and see what happens,
which is a good way to work at multiple companies in a year.
The single worst thing you can do as a driver is have an accident and
injure or kill someone. The next worst thing you can do is abandon a
truck/load and quit. Once you know you don't like your current company
you should convince them you are trying for employee of the year and
work out a 2 week notice. Some companies will find a reason to fire you
once you give notice if you are a trouble-maker, so always keep your
temper under control. The trucking company can really screw with your
life if you tick them off.
--
Scott
--------
"the Arabs should remember that they invaded and occupied important
parts of Europe hundreds of years before the Crusades wars. "
Zuheir Abdallah-columnist for the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD55103
Still in School with CDL
>Setting aside the stories of "I new a guy that worked at 6 places in one
>year and then won the lottery..." most employers want to see that you
>stayed at your first job for a year. There are some companies that
>happy if you stay at company 1 for 6 months, but they're a minority.
>The better trucking companies don't like to see "job hoppers" so it
>really pays to carefully evaluate a trucking company before hiring on.
>However, many drivers seem to just try it out and see what happens,
>which is a good way to work at multiple companies in a year.
>
>The single worst thing you can do as a driver is have an accident and
>injure or kill someone. The next worst thing you can do is abandon a
>truck/load and quit. Once you know you don't like your current company
>you should convince them you are trying for employee of the year and
>work out a 2 week notice. Some companies will find a reason to fire you
>once you give notice if you are a trouble-maker, so always keep your
>temper under control. The trucking company can really screw with your
>life if you tick them off.
Thanks for the advise Scott.
I am concerned about things in my new line of work and I might check into
one more local terminal before I decide on which company I want to go with.
US Express has told me they would put me through their orientation. I
really like the onboard radar, but I'd like to get some experience with a
stick shift before I go to an automatic.
I have another quick story.
I had one previous job listed on the job application today.
The person said something about "Where are all the others?" I said, "I
could probably fill that whole page in, but it says right at the top, it
only wants the last 3 years and I was there 7 years."
thanx.
John Kelly
<NotARealEm...@sorry.org> wrote:
>I'd like to get some experience with a stick shift before I go to an
>automatic.
I wonder why some companies put automatic transmissions in trucks.
With enough experience floating the gears, you can shift almost as
fast an automatic transmission anyway.
Still in School with CDL
>I wonder why some companies put automatic transmissions in trucks.
>
>With enough experience floating the gears, you can shift almost as
>fast an automatic transmission anyway.
It is when a few gears have to be missed that people run into problems.
Like when they have to shift from 8th to 4th.
I've seen too many people, in my class, have to come to a complete stop
before they can get it in gear. I even have a name for action when they do
that.
On of the guys ended up stopping, on an up hill, was so used to starting out
in 3rd that he rolled backwards trying to get started. I doubt if the
automatic transmission would forget that there was a first and second gear
to make it easier to start up on steep hills.
The same guy would try using 3rd when he was stuck in a long line of
traffic. He had to ride the clutch to slow it down instead of just picking
a lower gear to start with.
I can see why an automatic transmission would help some people.
thanx
tscottme
having the accident if you drive like many drivers and signal as you are
already changing lanes. Any particular details or features about the
truck you drive will be so insignificant compared to the 1,000 and 1
other things the trucking company does that I wouldn't waste my time
worrying about the make of the truck or the transmission. It wouldn't
matter if the truck had the world's most difficult to use transmission,
after a few hours, days, weeks, it will be like breathing. All of us
have missed shifts and probably almost all of us have had to stop the
truck and start over due to brain lock while shifting.
I'd be careful about US Express, their reputation is pretty good for
teams and kind lousy for solo drivers.
--
Scott
--------
"the Arabs should remember that they invaded and occupied important
parts of Europe hundreds of years before the Crusades wars. "
Zuheir Abdallah-columnist for the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD55103
Still in School with CDL <NotARealEm...@sorry.org> wrote in
message
news:tw6cb.156441$3o3.11...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
John Kelly
wrote:
>probably almost all of us have had to stop the truck and start over
>due to brain lock while shifting.
An experienced driver should never need to stop the truck back to get
it back in gear.
Choose the gear that matches your road speed, tap the throttle, wait
just until the rpms begin to fall, and then slip it into that gear,
while the truck is rolling. It takes some experience to understand
which gear matches your road speed, but it's not hard to do.
Floating the gears is similar. No one explained the technique to me,
so I had to learn by trial and error. Glad it wasn't my truck that I
learned on.
The hardest thing to learn is how to float the low gears, especially
with a heavy load, because when you try to pull the stick out of gear,
it feels like it's stuck and does not want to come out of gear. You
must never try to force it out of gear. That can cause damage.
The key to floating the gears (while upshifting) is:
As you reach the peak rpms for the gear you are in, start applying
pressure to the stick, getting ready to pull it out of gear. At the
instant you release the throttle, apply more pressure to the stick; as
soon as the rpms begin to fall, it will slide out of the gear it was
in, and then when the rpms fall a little more, it will slide into the
next higher gear.
When rolling downhill, adjust the technique, because if the hill is
steep enough to pull the truck at the same speed or faster even though
the throttle has been released, the rpms will not fall, and it will
refuse to come out of gear. So when rolling downhill, don't wait to
reach peak rpms before shifting. Try to shift sooner, so that the
rpms can fall when you release the throttle. And if that fails, then
use the clutch to get it out of gear.
Once you learn how to float while upshifting, you can eventually learn
how to float while downshifting too.
tscottme
news:su93nvkjbarbgvtqh...@4ax.com...
>
> An experienced driver should never need to stop the truck back to get
> it back in gear.
>
Experienced walkers shouldn't trip and fall, but they do on rare
occassions.
John Kelly
wrote:
>> An experienced driver should never need to stop the truck to get
>> it back in gear.
>Experienced walkers shouldn't trip and fall, but they do on rare
>occassions.
Maybe if you are going up a steep hill, with a heavy load, at a slow
speed already, and you just totally forgot what gear you were in.
But in most cases, an experienced driver should be able to find a gear
without stopping the truck.
Alex Cain
>
> Oh, Richard, I guess you were right about "[SNIP]
Richard Bullis is never right about anything. Ever.
And probaly never will be either.
Alex Cain
"Mike Robinson" <robins...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:LfQbb.1713$PT3.2...@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Two jobs in one week
> Holy shit you must be a loser
SUBSCRIBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Neill
least expect it . . reckon that if you can drive our rattly, underpowered
old beast, you can drive almost anything . . .
Cheers.
"John Kelly" <j...@sevenkings.net> wrote in message
news:6l74nvscjm0lfgaq0...@4ax.com...
Still in School with CDL
>I'd be careful about US Express, their reputation is pretty good for
>teams and kind lousy for solo drivers.
>
>--
>
>Scott
Thanks for the info on US Express. Of the computer companies I've been
with, I liked the smaller ones better than the larger ones.
Oh shit. Richard was wrong about one more thing. In another thread, he
said: "All companies will." when he answered my question about "companies
that help out a non-smoker?"
I've done a bit more checking on the particular local company that looks
like they are willing to let me drive for them. Two people that work for
companies not too far away from this one said to stay away from that
particular company and said to try another one instead.
The problem is, the local company I was looking at might not assign me a
truck. If I get stuck with a "Fleet" truck, or never the same one twice, I
am sure I'll get stuck driving a truck that smells like an ashtray sooner or
later. I guess I'll accept one of the other places that have offered me my
own truck.
Damn, people were right when they said not to listen to Richard, but I wish
they would have also told me not all companies will assign you to one truck.
thanx.
Still in School with CDL
Thanx for the info. It sounds like shifting a motorcycle without the
clutch, where you have to figure where the RPMs will be in the next gear.
I've had to teach other bike riders how to shift without a clut,ch because
I'm not the only one that has had a clutch cable break. The major
difference is, there is no clutch at all when the cable breaks, so you have
to push the bike before you throw it into first gear.
Two days left of school and I've seen my certificate and grades already.
Bob & Patty
> John Kelly wrote in message ...
> >On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 06:08:43 -0500, "tscottme" <blah...@blah.net>
> >wrote:
> >
> >>probably almost all of us have had to stop the truck and start over
> >>due to brain lock while shifting.
> >
> >An experienced driver should never need to stop the truck back to get
> >it back in gear.
Grind me a pound too wouldya?
Next year, they're gonna make 'em outa rubber.
Still in School with CDL
September 16th.
I think I'll go with that company, provided I can pass their driving test.
This morning, in the last day of driving at my school, I was hoping, I would
get one chance to parallel park. Instead we drove a tractor with a super 10
and then practiced hitting docks. One of the docks was on our blind side
and another one was about 6 feet away from a wall.
Can anyone tell me an easy way to parallel park?
Thanx
tscottme
tractor inline with the trailer or at a 90 degree angle to the trailer?
If that's what you mean, I didn't sweat it on my test. You probably
won't do it in real life, about 99% of your parking in life will be what
we called "alley docking", as in backing into one door at a warehouse
with trailers on either side. Do well enough in the rest of the test so
the points deducted by parallel parking don't fail you.
--
Scott
--------
"Interestingly, we started to lose this war only after the embedded
reporters pulled out. Back when we got the news directly from Iraq,
there was victory and optimism. Now that the news is filtered through
the mainstream media here in America, all we hear is death and
destruction and quagmire..." Ann Coulter
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2003/091703.htm
Still in School with CDL <NotARealEm...@sorry.org> wrote in
message
news:MNIcb.158453$3o3.11...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Still in School with CDL
>tractor inline with the trailer or at a 90 degree angle to the trailer?
>If that's what you mean, I didn't sweat it on my test. You probably
>won't do it in real life, about 99% of your parking in life will be what
>we called "alley docking", as in backing into one door at a warehouse
>with trailers on either side. Do well enough in the rest of the test so
>the points deducted by parallel parking don't fail you.
That bit about "Do well enough in the rest of the test" sounds familiar.
When I took my skills test, for my CDL, I'm sure my right turn and my 100
foot backup made up for my less than perfect backup to a simulated dock.
After I jumped out of the tractor to look at the the simulated dock, even
before I saw where I was, she said, I could backup further, or if I left it
like that, I would still pass. I said I'd leave it like that.
If you have ever seen some of the rest areas in Nebraska. Some of the
tractor/trailers had to parallel park, because they were all lined up behind
the one in front of them.
In other words, I might only need to know how to parallel park if I drive
through Nebraska. I'd still like to know if there is anything to remember
about it other than the start the turn, follow trailer, then straighten up
stuff.
thanx
tscottme
like an Italian lawyer or a chalk board. I try to start the trailer
wheels backing into the space at about the middle or 3/4 toward the back
of the parking spot. When the trailer wheels nearest the curb are about
2 feet from the curb, crank the tractor to start the nose of the trailer
toward curb, and then almost immediately turn the steering wheel back
the opposite direction to "get back under the trailer". If you find you
keep getting parked too far away from the curb, lessen that 2 foot
distance and increase the severity of the backing turn. Just do
everything at idle speed. I only give the truck fuel when backing if
I'm going uphill. The thing that helps me is to imagine being already
parked in the spot and then driving out of that spot as if leaving. In
both the inline parallel park and the 90 degree version, it took me a
while to realize that the trailer wheels need to be pushed almost to
their final position *before* doing much with the steering. That was
the hardest skill for me to accomplish, to the extent I did. I knew I
would do well enough on all the other parts I could do, that I just took
the points after one honest try and have been laughing all the way to
the bank ever since. ;-)
If the space to parallel park in is nearly a truck length and no more, I
don't even try it. The truth is when you see trucks nose to tail at
those types of rest areas or on the ramps to the interstate, most of
them drove straight into the position you see them. Your first visit to
a truck stop will convince you that many working drivers would rather
eat their shoe than attempt to park.
--
Scott
--------
"Interestingly, we started to lose this war only after the embedded
reporters pulled out. Back when we got the news directly from Iraq,
there was victory and optimism. Now that the news is filtered through
the mainstream media here in America, all we hear is death and
destruction and quagmire..." Ann Coulter
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2003/091703.htm
Still in School with CDL <NotARealEm...@sorry.org> wrote in
message
news:z_Ucb.159453$3o3.11...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Still in School with CDL
Thank you for the pointer. I really didn't want to be one of the people
that just kept driving because I could not parallel park.
I managed to backup to a few docks yesterday before we graduated and, yes,
it seems you need about 2 feet to play with before your trailer responds to
your tractor. Well, depending on much you have over corrected.
I plan to start a new thread on graduation day, which was today.
thanx
d8...@webtv.net
get a gear. Pump the clutch fast and try to get the gear on the second
pump. I float the gears, but this trick will keep a new driver from
having to stop and start over.
Still in School not
<25721-3F7...@storefull-2192.public.lawson.webtv.net>...
Well, I am a new driver and with our normal 13 speed, I never had to stop to
get it into gear. I knew, based on the speedometer, about how many RPMs to
double clutch at.
We drove a super 10 on the very last day of class and I broke my perfect
record. I had no idea what the maximum speed was for 3rd or 4th gear and
had to bite the dust and come to a complete stop.
I've seen other new drivers have trouble getting it into gear and sometimes
it was a minor mistake, like leaving the hi-low selector on high, or trying
to go into 4th at 25mph when the maximum speed for 4th was 20 mph. Meaning,
a fast double clutch will not save you if there is something else wrong.
thanx
Still in School not
take a road test with one of their drivers.
To make a long story short, as much as I'd love to go on the road test, and
I was looking forward to it earlier, I think I'll try to get a job with the
other places that has shown an interest in me.
thanx
mueller
Doesn't everyone learn this?
"Still in School not" <NotARealEm...@sorry.org> wrote in message
news:2uMdb.156949$0v4.11...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Still in School not
can't even ask them about it now.
mueller wrote in message ...
mueller
That is where it will have to be to get back into that gear at the top RPM
Example
25 MPH @ 1500 RPM = 7th gear in a ten spd
This will be different for each transmission.
Still in School not
On the Mack we drove most the time, with a 13 speed, I knew that top speed
in 5th was 25mph and top speed in 4th was 20mph. It helped out a lot when I
had to downshift from 8th to 4th around a corner.
The problem I had was when I tried to drive a Super 10 in the morning and
the light for the tachometer was burned out. I never learned what the
maximum speeds were for any of the gears and ended up stopping to get it
into gear.
I had a little problem downshifting without the tachometer, I would rev it a
bit and if it didn't go into gear, I would just rev it a bit harder the next
time, but I just couldn't get that to work on the very last downshift of the
day.
If I thought I'd be driving that transmission a second time, I would have
made an effort to learn the maximum speeds in at least those two gears.
thanx
mueller
just look at the speedometer.
On the super ten you just need to remember the sound when you upshift and
note the road speed.
If you are wrong let out the clutch and adjust the engine speed.
When you are right it will drop in.
You may grind some at first but with practice you will be as smooth as an
automatic.
If the grinding gets slower when you increase engine speed you were too
slow.
Keep trying and you will master floating the gears then only double clutch
when you have to.
I used to drive my instuctors crazy by half floating when I shifted.
If the clutch pedal didn't squeak they would have never noticed.
Still in School not
Funny, I mean our primary tractor also had a clutch that squeaked and it
made it very easy to tell when someone was shifting, or not shifting, from
across a parking lot.
As for the engine speed and tach, well, I didn't bother learning it for that
tractor, because it was the very last day of class. If we had driven that
tractor earlier and I thought we might drive it again, I certainly would
have spent some time remembering certain shift points.
I am still waiting to hear from the place I just took a pre-employment drug
test for on Monday. It should be OK, but I wonder when I'll be scheduled
for the next part.
thanx
Steve Carras
Maybe there should be by the shift pattern diagram decal a chart
showing such information. (like on my favorite, the 10-speed
Roadranger.)
SJC
who ain't a trucker but has been allowed inside them at exhibits and
who has read pretty much about 'em
Zeke
> I was checking with some local companies for a driving job today and one of
> them they told me they wanted one year experience.
>
> I am graduating from Truck Driving School this Friday.
>
> He then asked if I knew how to drive a 10 speed.
>
> I said we drove one of those in school and it was in a Freightliner.
>
> Then he asked if I could back up and hit the dock?
>
> I said I was pretty sure I could and that I had to do something like that to
> get my CDL.
>
> Then he asked if I could couple and uncouple a trailer.
>
> I said, sure, I know how to do that.
>
> So, I was given a job application, and then he mentioned that he will want
> to check my MVR.
>
>
> Oh, Richard, I guess you were right about "Welcome to trucking son, it's
> only a test." It looks like this is the second company that wants to test
> my backing skills before I ever haul anything.
>
>
> For another quick story.
>
> One of the people in class failed his skills test on Friday. He wasn't
> given very far to pull up before going into a simulated dock. Since he is
> the only one that doesn't have his CDL yet, when we were on the course
> today, we let him practice over and over and over.
>
> I asked him if I could have one go at it. I managed to do it, on the first
> try, with the mirrors only. I hope it is that easy for me when I try that
> with the prospective employer.
>
> Stay tuned for the latest news on this story or just add me to your kill
> file.
>
> Thanx
>
>
STFU retard.
richard
practice what you preach rocky.