Mountain Driving with 53' trailer and tandem positioning

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by baby, Aug 3, 2014.

  1. STexan

    STexan Road Train Member

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    I hope you look for other opinions on all aspects of trucking. This trainer has led you dangerously astray.
     
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  3. jsprocket

    jsprocket Heavy Load Member

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    Haha try having a 53 split running thru big horns on 14. Fun times.
     
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  4. tow614

    tow614 Road Train Member

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    If you are in interstates it is not an issue but some state route it can be but i honestly never considered it that much.
     
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  5. baby

    baby Light Load Member

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    Feb 27, 2014
    Charleston, WV
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    im not the rookie STexan! thats what a rookie was telling me his trainer told him! i asked safety to steer him th right eay..and yes..it is a serious consideration here bcause much of the driving is in pnnsylvania and west virginia off interstate. oh! ive ive pulled 53' splits jsprocket! i used to flatbed...i never yad a problem with them except backing into tight spots at truckstops!
     
  6. baby

    baby Light Load Member

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    Feb 27, 2014
    Charleston, WV
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    not sure if ive ever been in 14. wheres that???
     
  7. baby

    baby Light Load Member

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    Feb 27, 2014
    Charleston, WV
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    my stupid smartphone keyboard! sorry for the typos again!!!!!
     
  8. cnsper

    cnsper Road Train Member

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    Feb 28, 2014
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    What are tandems? LOL Trips or better for the win... oh and they do not slide and they are all the way back at the tail end of the trailer....

    Now I did have a fun corner a month ago with a triple axle RGN. Basically I was going down hill and came to a right hand blind switchback. Well I needed the whole road so I slowed her way down, layed on the air horn and kept going. There was no way I was going to back up that hill. It was a 2 lane road. There were a few other tight corners down the road but they were 90° left turns. Still needed the opposite lane for the trailer but they could see me coming on those corners.

    I have yet to meet a mountain road where the cliff was close enough to worry about tail swing. And unless you are spinning the trailer on the tandems then the swing is really minimal.
     
  9. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    I agree.

    Let me state that I am not saying that a person can't be a solid driver 6 months in, BTW. But a trainer can only teach what they know. Don't teach what you were taught, teach the regs, teach company policy, and you have to be able to explain it in a way that makes sense to your student. A difficult thing to do, a serious responsibility for a 6 month driver, wouldn't you say?

    (To Trainers)

    In the flatbed world, you have only two types of drivers, one knows the regs and the other does what he was taught. With the CSA crap going on nowadays, if you were a company owner, which driver would you want to hire?

    The he goal isn't to have a job, it is to be good at what you do. If you are going to be a trainer, the goal is to train a student to be a solid driver. Don't worry about the money, the quality of your work will pull a trainer to the top. The money will come.
     
  10. okiedokie

    okiedokie Road Train Member

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    When your green you don't even know your doing it wrong.
     
  11. jbee

    jbee Medium Load Member

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    NC
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    Out west - Wyoming.
     
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