Ride alongs in Vancouver/Lower Mainland?

Im sure i could take you for a ride along... Prob wouldnt be able to drive though unless my boss agreed... This is what i do for work.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...s-photo-shack-art-gallery/147867-my-work.html

 

try to look for a job...i started at SYSCO, not much driving, but I definitely learned how to hook-up trailer fast and back-up into many....tight spaces. They run all automatics and 10 sp. Lot of city driving.

 

You don't want to be on automatic (or semi auto) when you first start out.... I mean if you get a job with a company that only has auto's then you have no choice I guess unless you keep looking.... Problem is that your new at driving and getting into an automatic right away is not a good way to get proficient on the standard transmission...

Let says you go to a company... They put you on a automatic right away.... Then one day the truck breaks down and you are given a standard transmission your not gonna have the experience and might be grinding gears all day or missing gears... Whatever the case is..

Just my .02

 

Autos wouldn't be bad for traffic I think... I have never driven an auto in a tractor trailer (but I use to drive a automatic garbage truck and dump truck).... They are pretty sweet for stop and go (especially the garbage truck house to house)... We are getting another batch of trucks at my company and they are suppose to be getting automatics this time around (in the past year we have gotten 14 new trucks and we have 10 more sitting in our fleet department which some (or all) are automatics).. Since I work a Government Union job the trucks will go in order of seniority which I should be able to make the cut but I am not sure.. We use to get the Frightener FLD but now we order the Coronado SD... I would probably take an automatic because I am a city driver for the most part hauling recycling and I usually only do about 80km/day (or less).... The only part I am not sure about is when I do go further (no more then 160km) we haul the yardwaste which we usually gross out at 125-128 tons...So I am just wondering if that amount of weight would be ok with the automatic when going up and downhill... Right now I operate a 18speed and it's nice to have the gears and downshift/upshift at my desire...

Like I said tho.. For traffic I would take an auto any day of the week... I work for The City of Toronto.. So if you know of Toronto at all the highways here are always plugged up... This is the worst stretch of the highways anywhere in Ontario.. The 401/DVP/Gardner etc.... So for the reason on traffic and moron drivers who can't drive and cut me off everyday it would be nice to just hit break and gas pedal....

 

I cannot complain about automatics at all. Every day i was driving a different truck, they were 10 speed direct, or automatics or automated. All behave differently, so I was grinding the gears anyway for first few miles. While driving for Sysco Vancouver I never did more than 100 km a day, but all in traffic in city driving. Sometimes a had not even 1 kilometer from customer to customer, but you have to do 3 runs around a block till you find a space to park. Try that at rush hour in dummtown Vancouver.Than lot of backing , and automatics do quite a good job. But Sysco most of the times has light loads and pop-trailers, so the load is barely over 20 000 pounds. In city driving I would go definitely for an automatic, but for highway definitely for a stick...13 or 18, depense on the load.

Other hand, my buddy is driving 2011 volvo with i -shift, pulling superB tankers, and he loves automatic tranny, but he still shifts in manual mode.

 

Somedays i would love an automatic for hauling around vancouver but i love shifting gears. One thing that would piss me off though would be switching trucks everyday. Im glad my trucks assigned and no one else drives it ever. Taking my stuff out of the truck everyday would be a pain. Anyways you have my PM.

I think pepsi was hiring recently?

 

I found autos to be a pain in the ### around Vancouver with Arnold Bros and same with haulling b-trains of milk around Frasier Valley with Vedder.

 

Ive never driven an automatic so im sure they have there quirks from what ive been told. i like my 18spd in traffic. splitting the lower gears is great.