Truck info for NYC.

I was using co-pilot 11 to try and get to a customer. It was set for 53',etc etc and it tried to get me to turn down a road with a 11' clearance. The first part of my bad experience.

The second part of my bad experience. I did get caught (not under it thankfully) by another low - clearance. An off-duty driver helped me get turned around and while I was trying to get directions from the company (the same ones that co-pilot 11 gave me), or the customer a motor carrier enforcement officer showed up. Somehow a very bad air leak had developed in one of our air tanks. In the end, wound up with 13 tickets. The truck and the trlr got put out of service.

 

New York is discussing outlawing NON-TRUCKING GPS units. I suspect that a few other states may follow suit this year if that goes through in NY.

 

My NYC Truck Route maps that someone put a link to earlier just came in.

Almost useless! NO overpasses are put on it and NO railroad tracks like Rand McNalley has on their paper maps! Just vauge information on routes. AND, apparently, only 6 wheelers are allowed in NYC as half of the routes show anything over 33' are not allowed especially on Manhattan! LOL

Now they make a "fair" street map but still the tracks are very helpful.

Now the map does show "Authorized Routes" but it's still confusing even to me a "seasoned" NYC driver! LOL. They are in colors but theguide doesn't have the red route in it!

Me,I'll stick with my usual maps!

Now that post about using a GPS. Yep, they are nice for those 4 wheelers but a truck driver still needs that paper map! The paper map won't break, loose power or route you under a low bridge.

I think American Maps could make a killing if they did the same thing for NYC as they did for Chicago!

 

dle do you drive a Pumkin? Got stuck up in Inwood? (North Manhattan) Might have been me backing you up. Sorry you got nailed on your way out if it was you.

Rollover the best maps for NYC are Hagstroms. As for overpasses, 90% of them are subways (or the LI railroad), so if you have a subway map, you should be able to break the boro's down to quadrants.

I'm not as familiar with Brooklyn and Queens, but in a nutshell, don't attempt to go east-west across the Bronx. White Plains Rd, Jerome, the parkways and Southern Blvd are probably not good for trucks.

 

Oh, I know all the ways around the 5! Been doing it for 32 years! If they want to go that route of cross indexing the maps they can go to MTA.com and print out the subway map. It just doesn't show if it's an over head or underground rail! Yes the Hagstrom is a great map book but for rookies and the inexperienced to use it and have to do the page turning back and forth following their route,that makes it a PINA! And something I don't recommend for them to do until they get the experience needed to multi task that job! I have one but it's been in my desk drawer here at home for years! And looking at it now for out on the island, it's missing quite a few new roads! LOL

 

This is exactly why i have a car GPS. Why waste the money on a truck GPS if its still going to do the same things it claims it doesnt...

But you seriously used the GPS as your only source of routing information? your company, your customer didnt provide routing? Or is it that they also told you a bad way to get there?

 

At the time I drove for swift.

I got directions from Swift, and when I used co-pilot 11 and tomtom they all agreed on the route. The customer never responded to my calls.

 

Swift...the same company that used to route drivers onto the tail of the dragon. I see now. But OK, so it wasn't your fault then. Maybe it was a new bridge. Heard a story about that once, out west somewhere, this guy was going to a customer, had actually called the customer, and got there...and he coudl seeee the customer from where he was, and the bridge was in the way. BUT trucks go under it all the time! he stood there and watched 5 trucks go under it.....empty flatbeds with flat top tractors......it was like a 13-0 bridge. Brand new....had to drive miles out of route to get around it...

 

I took that Alantic exit.... cuz it says all trucks 13.6 must exit! Now you are in Downtown Brooklyn.... lost and dont know where to go! Then a cop told me YOU LEFT NOW! that dumped me into China town in Lower Manhatten.... Thank God for my Dispatcher.... he knows the area, from canel street to manhatten bridge not quite sure of the side street I had to take to get on the manhatten bridge but he told me to put the whole truck and whatever will fit of your trailer onto the sidewalk to make that right hand turn... I have a flatbed spread axle.

Found out thats an old sign that NYC hasn't taken down! Also on the BQE stayout of the right hand lane! Its 12.6 other truckers wont let you over they rather see you take off the right corner of your cab and trailer!

Another place for low bridge is Huntington Station Long Island NYC. Think its 12.7 in the right hand lane and its marked 12.7. But doesn't tell you that the center in 13 something. I am parked called the customer he's telling me to go under it.... our trucks fit! Am still not moving! His trucks are how tall? Then I seen another OTR truck 13.3 or so go under it in the center lane. hate driving NYC, Northern NJ.

 

advice rookie? look at the trucks around you, if it's got a sleeper and an air foil he's probably max-height. anything he can clear you probably can. But watch out for low-top dumps & flats, or the local daycabs, some of them are only 12'6" (and can run under the subways) don't use them as a guide.

I know you can fit a 13'6" under the Brooklyn Bridge though even though sign says you can't. that's what screws up most out of town guys.