First time driving a big rig today

that blue valve is a tractor spring brake release that has its own air tank..or is it a lot lizard eject button ..cant remember..

 

Yup! That's it! The second one!

Was originally thinking the first you mentioned but now I know it's the second!

 

You press in the blue valve and passenger door opens, the seat turns 45° and the lizard gets ejected with enough force the stick to the truck parked next to you !!

 

And after going through a lot, she probably would stick...

 

Ewwwwee...and you want her out of there as quickly as possible..😅😅😅

 

you will get it no time, I found myself around the fifth hour or so on the road, not even looking at the tach or the speedo anymore....

 

Ah yes, the FIRST time. You start off, not quite believing you are actually driving a big truck, even though it is only on a parking lot. It is quite a feeling, isn't it?

Where I got completely and totally hooked on it, was the first time I used the jake, coming down the Black Ridge north of St. George! I've always loved the sound of the jake, and even though it was muffled, I could still here it. I couldn't help but smile, thinking I'm making that happen. The instructor even commented on the look on my face!

Some day, when you are maneuvering in city traffic at rush hour, trying to get to that stop to keep your appointment, you will think back to this thought. And you will realize that it is now completely second nature to you, and you will laugh!

Um ineedajob, don't be disappointed or upset if you don't get it quite as quickly as Leather Helmet did. Most of us need lots and lots of practice to be able to shift smoothly, without grinding gears. And believe me, once in a while EVERYBODY grinds the gears. In fact, if you go right into a road job, it can delay your learning to shift smoothly! Happened to me. It took several months to get really comfortable with it. But it took local driving of an overweight dump and pup to make me fully proficient with shifting. Everybody is different, and has a different learning curve for different things.

 

what is hard for me now is to try and help a new driver about how to drive the truck. did it for so long without thinking that now its hard for me to tell a new driver the proper way, that may seem odd but have to think about it awhile before it comes to me b safe out there

 

I hear that. Some stuff is almost instinct now, could not begin to explain.

 

Down shifting is opposite to your 4 wheeler, in a 4 wheeler you can down shift to slow down, in a truck you slow down first then down shift.

This may help.