SOME of those "garage apes" seem to be able to hit the
head, right on the nail, too.
Amazing how they're able to do that.
But they SOMEtimes can, and do.

Question is, will the driver ape listen,
or continue to swing from the vines?

Personally, I make friends with the "garage apes",
and I've NEVER had a Big truck take a dump on me.
But I've known Big truck truck drivers who ignore those "garage apes",
and have had that happen to them
MANY times.
Hmmmmmmmmm

Kinda makes ya wonder.
At least, I think, it should.

__________________
Pontificating Dogmatist

Something about a 2 way street comes to mind......

YuP!
I agree PJW.

It's those ONE-WAY streets that'll get'cha.

If and when I encounter one of those low-brow type mechanics,
I try to inquire about their knowledge status with some of the other
mechanics there.
That often results in head shaking, and/or forehead slapping on their
part, usually followed by comments, such as,
That moron told you WHAT?!
Followed by more correct information, and a recommendation that, from then on, I ask for them, rather than the "garage ape".

I sure appreciate them for doin' that,
and make it a point to learn what their favorite brewski is.
You'd be surprised at what a 6-pack for Joe Mechanic can accomplish.

Now, SOME may ask,
WhY should I spend MY money on brewskis for a mechanic?
To which I reply, "WhY not"?
And ask in return, "How much does it cost to sit for a day, or more"?
(Figuring a 6-pack costs about 12 to 15 miles -- or 10 to 20 minutes,
I'd say that's a bargain at twice the price.)

Remember -----
A rollin' wheel gathers no moss.

__________________
Pontificating Dogmatist

Aftershock, I am aware that there are few companies (none come to mind) that have more then one type of tranny. the straight 10 is the most common. The point was that (in my opinion) any truck driver worth his wait. Who wants to be more then a steering wheel holder. which there are far to many of in todays industry. should be able to jump in any truck and be able to drive it. Make, Model ,Eng. or how many gears the tranny has is beside the point. A drive is hired to drive a truck. How many gears he likes or can handle is of no matter. I have never heard of a company who ask someone how many gears they can handle.


I get tired off people who blame every one and every thing for there problems. The DM did this to me. The Mechanic did that to me. The truck is a pos. It's never "I can't drive and never should be allowed near a truck". To many wanta be's now days. Seen Smokey and the bandit one to many time and think "Hey I can do that, Any one can drive a truck". Then reality hits and they find out that theres more to truck driving the driving.

1st thing any one should do is make friends with your DM and the Mechanics. especial the Shop Mng. These are the people who will keep you rolling. Piss them off and you're screwed. I never had any use for Layton. But I never had any problems with the shop. Course I only had things fixed there that i had to. Most of it waited till I got to Payette.

Well, I've managed to collect over a million mile markers in a Big truck, drivin' 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, and 18 speed conventional transmissions. But I have yet to attempt ANY of the auto-shift transmissions --- nor WOULD I withOUT proper instruction as to their proper operation.

I wouldn't even attempt to just "jump in any truck" with a transmission I wasn't familiar with, and THINK I should/would be able to drive it properly. I would insist on SOME sort of training/instruction before I'd take it out on the highway, alone.

If that makes me a "steering wheel holder" --- at least I can say I'm a safety conscious holder of steering wheels.
NO moving citations in the past 30 years.
NO DOT preventable accidents.
NO damaged equipment or freight.
And specialize in high value, sensitive loads.

I'm confident in my abilities, but not to the point of OVER-confidence. When I'm not familiar with the equipment,
I GET familiarized. I don't just assume that I can drive ANYthing.

__________________
Pontificating Dogmatist

actually i have only been with one other company, worked for a mail carrier for 3 years before they shut down. because of where i live and the economy real hard ta find a job around here.

that was the biggest problem i had, only ever drove 10 speeds, i woulda been ok but the tester wanted me to run through all the gears instead of just runnin 1-9 then right into 13. when i would try and shift i would foget about the side lever and well i am sure ya know the rest

my mechanic tried to tell me i was repsonsabe for the engine running funny, i told him no, he said he would hook up the computer and show me i was wrong, then he hooked up the computer and found out the trucks computer was causing the problems not me. did i love rubbing that in his face

Well I guess thats the differents then. I've driven 7,8,9,10,super 10,13,18, 6 and 10 speed autos. There was only two of them I got any training on. The 10 and the auto 6. The rest of them I was handed the keys and told to go to work. I was hired as a professional drive with the training to do the job. If I had of ask how to shift this thing they would have wanted to know how I could call my self a exsperainced driver. And rightly so.

NO DOT proventable accedents.
NO log book violations.
NO damaged equipment or frieght.
NO late load ever.

Then again I've been told by more then one ol' timer. I was born with diesel in my blood.

ley me ask ya this, if you have only ever drivin 10 speeds, never once sat behind the wheel of a 13 speed, did not know how to operate that tranny, how do you expect anyone to just drive it like it was second nature? just because ya spend 4 weeks in driving school does not mean the moment ya get yer CDL you can drive any truck on the road.