Not a good idea to idle the lightweight trucks since the exhaust comes out under the truck. You might not wake up!
I think I know the trick you are thinking of (involving trailer brakes?), and I bet you've never put it to practical use. It only buys you a little more time. Imagine waking up to an outside temp of -15 degrees, to a non-working bunk heater. While using the "trick" you will have to use it at least twice to get the inside temp up to a reasonable level. I would estimate maybe 15 minutes... 20 minutes tops per use. Opti idle controls work, but even in this situation it wont over-ride the computer. So I guess that if the weather was Hot and the truck has no shade on it... once you get the truck to a reasonable level of cool, you'd probably fry again within the hour.
I guess everyone in a small truck is hoping Prime figures out what they are going to do to keep them cool. I mean spring isn't too far off and it'll probably take a little bit to get APU's on all the trucks that don't have them.
Well they included the Kohler info sheet in the 2010 Fuel book... so maybe they are going with the Kohler APU I saw on a lightweight. Mechanic said it was a test truck when I saw it back in Nov.
I was approved at Prime and looking at a start date of March 16th. I live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was wondering if I would be allowed to bring my truck to my house on my off time and park it here or would I have to park it somewhere else around my area? Also for you Prime drivers, do you get through Iowa very often or not? I live right off I-380 if that helps. Thanks.
They find you a load that get's you close to home; you drop the empty trailer at a location they give you, then bobtail home. You can park the tractor at your house if its legal to do so, and your neighbors don't mind. During training, if you choose to slow things down by taking home time, your trainer will drop you off. If you're between training segments at Springfield and you choose to go home, there may be a Greyhound involved. Plenty. We pull Sams Club/Wal Mart loads over that way, there's a couple of packing houses out that way, and probably quite a few places I'm not remembering or aware of. I80 is a major east/west artery; I get there too often this time of year - I don't appreciate the ice storms.
Thanks Ironpony. I don't have any control over the ice storms either (wish I did). I've lived here my whole life so I'm plenty aware of I-80, been on it many times just not as far as you guys of course. I'm used to driving on it in the winter, so I know all about slow and steady but shouldn't have to worry about that for a while.
Good luck to you CRT. I was in Springfield attending C-1. We went over to Prime for our written tests. They seem to have a nice terminal there. Good luck to you!
Good luck! Soak in as much info as you can during orientation and then from your instructor and trainer and you will do well. Also, ask as many questions as you can on here... there are plenty of us that are willing to help. Oh. If you haven't done so already, I would advise that you go ahead and get your permit before you arrive. It makes things alot easier once you get to Springfield.
One quick question I do have. I am currently a Class B CDL License holder, so what test do I need to take to get the proper permit for my training? Do I take the general knowlege test again? My recruiter told me not to worry about taking the endorsement tests yet because if I do, I'll lose them and have to take them again anyways. Correct info or not? My Class B CDL does have airbrakes on it too, so will I have to retake that endorsement test? Thanks for the info.
