Cabover Driving pointers???

Stay off the fog line.
HUG the center line.

Put your left foot "in line" over (on top of) the center line and stay there.

Some of these customs drive like a International cabover, and some are even WIDER than the old cabovers.

If you don't hug that center line, you WILL run off the edge of the road.
And you do NOT want to do that, especially if returning to station with low water in tank.

 

Around here you definitely need a CDL B to operate a truck like that.

 

it takes a little getting used to, especially how tight they can turn. i've driven a lot of cab overs, one of the trucks i've drive at my job is a cab over. you just have to get used to turning later then a regular nose truck.

 

Your complaint is hugging a line.
It's a cab over but the seating is almost the same in the cab as it is in a hooded truck trailer. You do have better field of vision so you need to look at where you are looking forward with a visual check in the mirrors.
First park the unit safely in a 2 way street with lines and get out and walk to the front and look at:
1) where the mirror hangs in relation to the center line.
2) where the tire is in relation to the centerline
3) where the top of the steering wheel is in relation to the travel marks on the street. [This is where most people ride their vehicles and is darker than the surface next to the line BUT not as dark as the oil line in the center.]

If the mirror is at or over the center line you have identified problem 1. Get back in the truck and drive several blocks looking at where the tire marks are to your position in the seat. You must get that tire which is under your left hip into that grove.
Have you gotten it there yet? Stop at the next light or stop sign or where it is safe to do so and get out and go back to the front of the truck and look at your mirror location. Is it back across the line on YOUR side of the line?
Is that tire in the center of the grove?
Now go look at the shoulder line. Where is the tire in relation to the line? On it or inside it as that is where it should be.

It satisfy your curiosity measure the width of your paved streets with lines from inside of white line to the other one then measure the width of your wheel base from outside of the steer tires. It should be less than the line measurements!

It sounds like you had a problem with snow covered gravel roads.
When on a non paved road and size here really didn't matter it is a depth perception thing. You need to have BOTH in the front seat "driving" or the passenger needs to be looking DOWN at the road surface when it's covered with snow.
The main problem you had was you were following the ruts made by CARS or vehicles with narrower wheel bases than you had so you fell into a difference of your situational awareness to where the truck was. In that cab on dirt or narrow roads you need to do more downward looking to be sure you are on the high section of where the grave will get pushed out of the rut. We all know how gravel and dirt roads become after the county does their monthly scraping! Ruts where the most traffic rides.
You are now "working" harder with driving the truck and not guiding it as on a paved surface.
Because of the nature of your job speed is of essence BUT safety and getting there are too.
In this case of off road driving with a large truck it will take 2 people to manage the steering and if additional personnel are in the cab they can do the looking for target and addresses or hazards further down the road.

Your job is to have both hands on the wheel and to keep that pressure to the left to keep the tire on top of the swell but to be ready to go right if the surface collapses pulling you to the left. If this happens do NOT stand on a brake! It's the same if you have a flat on a steer. Brakes will pull the truck towards the side that went off the road or went flat. maintain fuel until you have total control of the truck then slow dow if you have to. Just remember when you slow down you lose needed momentum that you need to get back to where you need to be.

You as the driver needs to focus more on the 50 feet in your field vision on this type of road and the passenger does more down the road looking and watching his tire and ditch line.
You are a team in that truck so you all need to learn to work as a team on those roads off the beaten track!

Question: Is there a farmer with an old cabover that still runs in your district? Ask him if you can use his truck for practice while off time and offer to fill his tank. The cabover will be about the same as your equipment while going forward but way different in the curves but you'll still learn how to "ride the top" of that gravel. You need to get driving on rough roads down then work on the curves and turns! They do come easy!

Hope this gave you a little better insight on off roading in a truck. I do have a little time doing concrete trucks on fresh dug roads, s little snow removal and a lot of mountain driving on both 2 lane 1 lane and dirt!
Stay safe and safe a life! Thanks guys for your dedication to your jobs!

 

I don't think its an issue with the truck. Most newbies have trouble centering a truck at first. One good thing about a cabover is your knees will be the first to the scene of an accident! (sorry trucker cabover joke) Personally I love to drive them, they are fun! They have really good maneuverability! Good luck to you its just going to take some time being behind the wheel.

 

Hang on so you don't bounce out of the cab...