New To Trucking Tricks of the Trade

Injun

Rabid Squaw
Premium
This thread is where we can post little tip tricks that can prevent stupid mishaps or just make your life easier.

There is a ton of experience on this forum. We can offer it to our new members here.

(there might have been a similar thread somewhere, but I can't find it)
 
"Free-Bees" keep your eyes "peeled" they out there if ya know where 2 look..

 
View attachment 46804Mega carrier's 40' marks on trailers are often inaccurate if any exist at all. Also total length and height is always good to know

Keep copies of all paperwork you fill out. Anything to do with maintenance and inspections for as long as your driving that particular company truck, anything given to you by dispatcher/safety to sign as long as work for them, and bols for at least 90 days. These things may haunt you in the long run if you dont keep them.

Never trust a customer's scale unless they give you paperwork saying you scaled with them.

Plan your route and schedule before accepting load. No load is forced dispatch if you have a solid reason not to take said load even the aholiest dispatcher won't force you
Only California is "anal" about that 40 law...

Found if I roll outta Kingman Petro by about Midnight the 15 scale into Ontario is "Closed". ...

At the State Line is Agriculture Check though being Dry Van some guys asks what ya got...

Tell him "whatever" I have and reach the dash grab my clipboard with papers....

8 out 10 times they "Wave" ya on...

The "rest" gonna try to give ya the "Buisness" cause "Poorly" trained . or gonna let thy "Prestige" of being a Gate Guard get to they're freaking skull..

In that case just KEEP your COOL and worst case "Demand" a SUPERVISOR
 
Which is why when you hook in the yard you need to verify all axles are rolling

Had one guy flatspot then blow two tires on the same axle

Hit the pin and roll. What’s a pretrip
:cautious:
On the 294 Tollway hauling "Guts" or SCRAPS for processing into Dog Food we had old 80s "Junk" trailers for Guts and Bone hauls . .

Blew one out in Gurnee by Gr8 America ..pulled shoulder and the other blew

Mustang pulled up behind me looking at his front end..

I said eh Pal don't ya be following too "close" and that wouldn't HAPPEN ...

Nothing came of it although I let my "Safety Maanager" know about it as a "Heads Up" just INCASE
 
When somebody's passing though only slightly faster than your Governor just back off the throttle afew mph and flash em in then let them get safe distance ahead and reset your cruise to Max...

Should they pass then go slower watch ahead and when ya see a slower Mega Carrier truck before them get over first and Take em and by the time they get around England, Prime or Swift you'll have put afew miles ahead of that jackwad..

Better yet set that cruise about 64 and avoid the "Turtle Races" alot less "Stressful" that way and only adds roughly extra 10/15 minuest to the day.

Sorry @r3gulator3 cause I know ya enjoy Turtle Races
 
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When somebody's passing though only slightly faster than your Governor just back off the throttle afew mph and flash em in then let them get safe distance ahead and reset your cruise to Max...

Should they pass then go slower watch ahead and when ya see a slower Mega Carrier truck before them get over first and Take em and by the time they get around England, Prime or Swift you'll have put afew miles ahead of that jackwad..

Better yet set that cruise about 64 and avoid the "Turtle Races" alot less "Stressful" that way and only adds roughly extra 10/15 minuest to the day.

Sorry @r3gulator3 cause I know ya enjoy Turtle Races
That's about what I do. They got the dumbass and dangerous 105 km/h (65mph) limiter law here and most comply. Most run right up against the governor and I avoid the drag races by setting mine at 100 or 102.

Somebody comes by passing too slow give the clutch a little tap let em go and hit resume. Come up on one of them idiot can haulers doing 90 or 95 for no reason I still got some pedal.

Let all the turbans run wall to wall bumper to bumper like they're in NASCAR. I'll keep my space.
 
That's about what I do. They got the dumbass and dangerous 105 km/h (65mph) limiter law here and most comply. Most run right up against the governor and I avoid the drag races by setting mine at 100 or 102.

Somebody comes by passing too slow give the clutch a little tap let em go and hit resume. Come up on one of them idiot can haulers doing 90 or 95 for no reason I still got some pedal.

Let all the turbans run wall to wall bumper to bumper like they're in NASCAR. I'll keep my space.

Even at home in my 4 wheeler I always try to coast Red-Lights $ave$ me on brakes and usually green so I'm already 10)15 mph and throttle ahead

Always some retard will burn rubber to get to the Red Light and fry his brakes then look over they "Disgusted"

I kindly Wave and coast by thinking like ya you "DumbAss"
 
Those were the days.

Of all the vids on youtube. I found the CDL college vids to be most helpful. They give you excellent easy to understand examples with diagrams that are quite helpful.



Some of the responders who watched this.....

"These videos have helped so much more than the school I’m paying for. It sucks! Thank you "

"I just started offset backing Thursday at my school, and for someone who has never driven a combination vehicle, it was whooping my ass lol. But I've been watching a lot of videos such as this and have a better understanding of where I was going wrong. So come Tuesday when I go in, I'm feeling pretty confident that I'm going to knock it out. Thanks for posting."

"Atom, wish you were my instructor. I'm so confused, and having a really tough time. You make this look easy and your directions are sooo clear. "

"Great information and I like the graphics. I sure wish they would have shown this at my Roadmaster class BEFORE I started trying to this maneuver in the truck. "

good luck!


That video was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing! It made it much more simplistic, and cleared a lot of the jumbled up confusing info in my head go away. It was great to hear it in such an easily spoken, clear manner. Thanks again for sharing!
 
Just saw this FB post from Lolly R. Symbol, who is less than a year out of driving school. She drives a gas tanker between Point Mackenzie (by Wasilla AK) and Fairbanks (350 miles each way) for Big State Logistics. Others and I now see that she has experience with radios in crappy conditions. The lesson is: The biggest, baddest radio, preferably a 2 meter radio helps insure safety. One has to hope your fellow truckers have one also. (The CB that you see is good for weigh stations and a few other things but not much else.) Here's the post:

"Drove home in a whiteout last night & now today I am on the road before road maintenance.
Currently, I’m sitting halfway down Little Honolulu on a straight stretch waiting for the doubles that are spun out heading up Honolulu just ahead of me.
Thank the Lord for the big radio"

Going down Little Honolulu (a hill) is generally no big deal. Going up Honolulu on white roads has enriched tow truck operators.

Lolly was heading north with a load of gas to Fairbanks from Point MacKenzie. But on a 2-lane highway, yesterday at whatever time it was, she was not going any further until the spun-out doubles rig was cleared -- clearing such a deal can take hours as that hill is several hours away from the big tow trucks stationed in Fairbanks and Anchorage.

BTW, I never burned out on that hill; however, on one trip I had a last minute substitute tractor (a KW that had good power but a rough-riding sucker). I chained up on top of Little Honolulu but on the climb up Honolulu, the chains broke and I ended up on the shoulder but didn't roll the set. That was not one of my finer days. I didn't impede traffic until the tow truck came and hauled me out of the snow, ice, sand, and mud. While waiting for the tow truck a set (of tanks) was heading down the hill. It was going too slow -- the tail trailer was wandering. I grabbed the big radio and yelled to the driver to speed up. He didn't, spun out, and blocked the highway.

The lesson for the tanker yanker or any other vehicle operator was and remains: On ice or any slick surface, one must match tire speed with vehicle speed. Doing so doesn't guarantee that one doesn't slide but minimizes the chances of a slide in which you screw up your own rig, impede traffic, incur a tow bill, and like stuff.

Here's a pic that Lolly posted of the problem she encountered.
LollyLittle Honolulu.jpg

Lolly getting ready to warn others on Arrow 1. Arrow 1 is an assigned frequency; it's like a marine VHF hailing channel to Alaska truckers).
LollysRadio.jpg

Lolly hanging with her younger son.
LollySonNYE2020.jpg
 
You wouldn't have a list of those frequencies would you? I do happen to have my ham radio license and a couple of 2 meter radios as well as 440s
 
Lolly posted this 6 minutes ago on Facebook

"Trucking along a dark & curvy spot of the highway headed south. To my right is miles of guardrail with a bunch of nothing on the other side of it. To my left is the mountain side.

After rounding a curve, about the 120, a car with 1 headlight appears on the north bound side, parked off the road. Didn’t think too much of it, until I was maybe 50’ away and a young man jumped out of the car & started waving his arms. Scared the bleepers out of me.
Then 75ish feet behind his car was the moose he hit. Of course I’m in a tanker so can’t just stop. No place to turn around on this stretch & no cell service, so I started radioing. First to answer was a north bound Carlile driver, named Jason.
I proceeded up the road to cell service so I could contact authorities, while Jason went to check on the boy. Thank you to the Carlile driver who stopped and helped the young man. From what I hear on the radio, you stayed with him for quite some time."


When Lolly writes, "The 120," she just means around milepost 120 (if there is one) of the George Parks Highway.

As mentioned in other posts. Once you're out on the highway, the color of your rig or the name on its side means little. If you are in a position to help, you help.

Those big radios assure communication. In my experience, the most common warning is about a moose near or on the roadway.
 
Another post from Lolly. Judge for yourself if it's a "trick of the trade."

She wrote:
"Nope! Not doing it! Total white out & no tracks from those ahead of me so having to break trail.  I am not interested in doing the Honolulu hills when I cannot see. 
Found a pull out and going to sleep. Jessica Brewster I’ll be waiting for ya! Get that plow moving girl!"


I don't know if parking and crawling into the sleeper can be considered a "trick of the trade" by most skinners who inhabit this site. But I think it is.

All I can say that I've cut the trail from (Sunshine -- more a fuel stop than a truckstop) at about mile 100 to a turnoff at mile 147 (the Parks Highway Vets Memorial, Alaska Veteran's Memorial) a couple of times; it's exhausting.

So I'd bet that Lolly did the right thing in waiting for the DOT crew. I don't recall Jessica Brewster (I assume she's a plow driver for the state or is otherwise employed to plow the highway -- she should be on the employee list otherwise searchable). Most of the guys who run the 720 miles up to Fairbanks and back quickly get to know by name the folks who keep the highway, especially the hills, dirty. They do a tough job. I've never heard one gripe out of any of them. Hats off to the DOT folk or whoever keeps those hills drivable.
 
Another post from Lolly. Judge for yourself if it's a "trick of the trade."

She wrote:
"Nope! Not doing it! Total white out & no tracks from those ahead of me so having to break trail.  I am not interested in doing the Honolulu hills when I cannot see. 
Found a pull out and going to sleep. Jessica Brewster I’ll be waiting for ya! Get that plow moving girl!"


I don't know if parking and crawling into the sleeper can be considered a "trick of the trade" by most skinners who inhabit this site. But I think it is.

All I can say that I've cut the trail from (Sunshine -- more a fuel stop than a truckstop) at about mile 100 to a turnoff at mile 147 (the Parks Highway Vets Memorial, Alaska Veteran's Memorial) a couple of times; it's exhausting.

So I'd bet that Lolly did the right thing in waiting for the DOT crew. I don't recall Jessica Brewster (I assume she's a plow driver for the state or is otherwise employed to plow the highway -- she should be on the employee list otherwise searchable). Most of the guys who run the 720 miles up to Fairbanks and back quickly get to know by name the folks who keep the highway, especially the hills, dirty. They do a tough job. I've never heard one gripe out of any of them. Hats off to the DOT folk or whoever keeps those hills drivable.
I would agree. Knowing when to say when and shut it down is a trick of the trade.
 

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