Is making turns the same as in a 4 wheeler or do you come to a "dead" stop?

Yes. You must stop completely and count to 10 Mississippi.

 

Depends if you're a good shifter or not.
Cruising at 45 then come up to a turn, downshift to fifth then turn.
When I first started that was kind of difficult for me.

Unless "no turn on red" or it isn't safe, ya shouldn't have to come to a stop to turn.

 

If it's a red light you need to stop, always. If turn on red is allowed you can turn after you stop.

 

Yeah, you won't get away with making an intersection turn at 25mph.

 

I suggest you attend the swift school of truck driving where they will teach you what S.W.I.F.T is an acronym for. After that they teach you appropriate speed for negotiating turns.

 

turning. it comes with practice and experience. and those things take time to learn.

 

Be sure to accelerate and turn the wheel very quickly through your turns.

 

It's not painful but just a different type of driving. Just like any type of equipment operator you learn your machine. You are dragging a 53' trailer behind you. You have to take your turns wider to allow for the trailer tracking or you run over all kinds of stuff. Then you have to consider your freight as it will increase your center of gravity. You don't want to be throwing excess sideward G's or you lay her over. So you take a turn at a safe speed for what you are driving. A short heavy truck like a cement mixer or a roll off with a compactor will flip quicker than anything because the weight is high and concentrated.

It's nothing to be scared of. You get taught, learn and execute. The first thing you do is forget about how you hotdog in a 4 wheeler. An 18 wheeler is not a toy. It's your tool to make money. You develop new good habits to remain safe. Play with bad habits and eventually it catches up with you.

 

S.W.I.F.T SWING WIDE ITS A FREAKING TRAILER, lol