Tankers, flatbeds and doubles. Should new drivers get experience with vans first?

Well yeah doubles are prolly the easiest of all the "special" equipment, as long as you have a good head on your shoulders and can stay somewhat focused. That should come out in the road test. Me, I love pulling a set just because of the way they turn (not turn over) on tight corners.

Having said that I still think that most newbs (I just finished a short school refresher program to get my license back - I could not believe the "quality" of some of the folks in the school) would be better off on dry van - K.I.S.S.

............ Jim

 

The funny part is I ran them through Pa winters for 3 years but a dry day down south almost got me..

Laugh if you want dude, but I've pulled 3 and a set will jump up and bite you when you least expect it.. The "turn over" real easy..

 

A person can screw up no matter what kind of trailer they are pulling. I would think a person might want to think about what kind of freight they would be happier with. In other words do you want to bump docks with a van or do you think you would rather go to steel mills and construction sites with a flat. Or run terminal to terminal with a set of doubles and then there are tankers going to refineries and chemical plants. As long as you pay attention and learn all you can from your trainer I think a person can do any type of trucking right from the get go. There are different aspects to think about with different types of freight, I know some people would not want to haul kids around all day but that doesn't seem to have stopped you from doing it. I would pick what type of freight I want to haul and learn all I could from the get go. Some are more complicated than others, but then it's not rocket science either. JMHO

 

I liked pulling flats. Most of our loads were steel though and not very high. So you could see very well when backing, and we had a dump valve on the rear axle, so it was very easy to back up once you learned how. Much easier than a 53' box on the blind or see side. Securement was the name of the game though. Much of the stuff was round stock, so if you lost it your load could slip forward and nothing would stop it from coming into your cab once it got moving.

 

Those people that quit within 2 months of starting a job were never going to be truck drivers anyway. I used to work at a driving school and the turnover rate for first year drivers was over 80%. Thats 80% gone from the industry in the first year. They couldnt handle it for one reason or another. Along with that I have to agree with Taz, some people who come through the schools are naturals. They can drive by the seat of their pants. Trucks just make sense to some people and others have to learn it. And most never will make it. Its not whether its a flat or tanker baffled or box. Its that person being able to interpret what they have hooked onto. If you understand simple physics like gravity and G force you will do fine with whatever you have behind you. If you lack common sense you would probably do best flipping burgers at the local fast food joint. You dont have to be a rocket scientist to drive a truck, but you do need common sense, something that seems to be in very short supply these days. I have pulled doubles,tanks baffled and not, vans and flats. I cant say any one of them was harder to drive than the other. Of course there are things you dont do with some, like you dont pull a set of doubles into a place you cant drive out of. I always could back well so it didnt matter where I was or what I had I could always get it done. I like tanks and flats because you never have to touch the freight. Drag a hose or toss a chain and your done. No lumpers, no big or small wood in the grocery whse no passing out from shrink wrapping pallets etc. Yeah tarping in the rain sucks and sometimes the lines are long at the steel mill, but all in all you can keep the vans.

 

Darn, you hit the nail on the head right there, You could'nt pay me enough to haul kids around all day, yikes.

 

Nah .... not laughin' at all. I've never pulled three and it might make me a little nervous at first.

Usally when anything bites you it's when you least expect it.

I still think that for most average newbies, keeping it as simple a posssible for the first year or so is probably the best route.

............. Jim

 

No doubt about it. Something I missed one time after a complacent hook/pre-trip - that fortunately someone else pointed out to me, taught me the value of a good pre-trip. Last week taught me to stay alert which can be hard at times when you're always on the same roads.

Moral of all these stories - pay attention no matter what you're pulling..

 

Oh I'm sure we've all had our stupid moments from lack of attention or being in a hurry.

Mine was running a 5 yard dump and a skiploader out to a jobsite a few years back.

Showed up at the yard at o-dark thirty pre-tripped the truck ( the yard guys had loaded the skip on its trailer late the day before. So I backed up to the trailer and hit the pintle on the first try (yeah I'm feelin' pretty slick at this point) jumped out of the cab, hooked up the pigtail, kicked the tires, checked the lights and hauled ### outta there.

'Bout ten miles down the road I looked in the mirror and saw a loose chain on the skip. Darn yard guys mus have fouled something up........ got out and fixed the chain...... on my way back to the cab is when I noticed...... I forgot to lock the pintle - it was still wide open! Fortunately nothing ('except I was really sick to my stomach for about ten minutes) happened but it was a heck of learning experience about complacency.



.............. Jim