old school only ..how did you learn how to drive ?

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by bzinger, Jan 8, 2015.

  1. bzinger

    bzinger Road Train Member

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    an old friend of mine back in the mid 80s that was leased to dart started taking me with him on short runs out to western north dakota where he taught me how to shift and herd his 1977 white road comander down the road ( 290 cummins , 10 sp , no ps, dead of winter and i had only a minn . class c license ).
    after doing this for a few rounds with no fatalities or grinding the tranny into a pile of dust he decided i was suitable for further training as we departed fargo in a snowstorm bound for st.louis mo .
    dan drove from fargo to cannon falls mn where it was still snowing and late at nite and said as he jumped in the sleeper and handed me crumpled piece of paper that described us 63 218 and 294 into iowa and mo ...with the reassureance that shes hilly , curvy, narrow and rough but other than that shes a good road .
    how dan slept il never know but i was gung ho and st.lou bound come hell or high water .
    about sunrise i woke dan up at st.francisville mo cause i didnt have a doller to pay the toll and the road was so dam icy i had slid away from the toll booth on to the shoulder .
    dan flew outa that bunk in poor humor and chewed my ### to a bloody rag for drivin on ice but after his bp went down he laughed and told me i was a born driver .
    the rest is boring history lol.
     
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  3. MJ1657

    MJ1657 Road Train Member

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    That's a cool story!
     
    bzinger Thanks this.
  4. G.Anthony

    G.Anthony Road Train Member

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    I learned the old fashion way as well. I went to a trucking school, back in the day, they were not mills. Other students would help each other, and the instructors actually worked with you, no one had cell phones stuck to thier ears, nor any texting while learning.
    Sorry, but that's how I had to do it.
     
  5. o/otony

    o/otony Light Load Member

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    youtube.........
     
  6. Numb

    Numb Crusty Curmudgeon

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    was a class B, straight truck driver and we needed a bigger one.

    we were leasing from UPS truck leasing, (yup,same company,lol).

    they let me play in their yard untill I got it and went and took the test at a Charlotte driving school. passed.
     
  7. Flybynight041

    Flybynight041 Medium Load Member

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  8. reefer101

    reefer101 Medium Load Member

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    my pickup and jetski behind, and backing it in to garage and then just magnifying it in my head 10x.
     
  9. marmonman

    marmonman Road Train Member

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    I rode in a old Kenworth with my friends dad when I was a kid and I was hooked !!!

    I went into Marines and as soon as I got out I bought a 1972 Brockway .
    I learned to shift it on the way home .
    The next day I called a local sand and rock place and asked if they were hiring .
    The guy told me to come on over the next day and we could talk .
    I drove it over and the guy asked if I had ever pulled a dump trailer I told him that I had not but that I was sure I could figure it out .
    I never mentioned to him that I had never pulled any kind of trailer LMAO !!!

    I hooked to the wagon and found my way to the quarry and then to the job site without killing anyone or hitting anything .
    I didn't even know how the PTO worked but after a couple of tries I got that figured out .

    I raised the bed and nothing came out !!!
    The job boss came over calling me everything but a human and told me I had to open the blankety blank blank tailgate !!!
    I just pushed the PTO knobs down and 20 tons of rock came down at a rapid rate and about threw me out of the truck !!
    That really set the guy off and he lost his mind LOL I got the tail gate opened and dumped the load and went back for another one .

    Well that was 34 years ago and I am still trucking and still love it as much today as I did that first day !!
    That is just the first day of a life full of great trucking memories .
     
  10. bzinger

    bzinger Road Train Member

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    now thats a good story !!! lmao
     
  11. milkdud

    milkdud Road Train Member

    Went to a Truck School in 1984 to get my CDL, which meant Chauffeur's Driving License back then. Years later they were changed to Commercial Driving License, which is the current name. I had to master double-clutching, which was easy for me, to graduate, which some schools still require. My first driving job after I graduated was driving a two axle GMC tractor with a god-awful two-stroke Detroit Diesel that was gutless and sounded like it was going to fly apart at any moment. If I remember right it had a blower which it had to have to function as a two-stroke. They were sure noisy. Fond memories!
     
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