Long hood trucks

Do you long hood drivers run with your fifth wheel forward though? I could imagine would offset a short hood with the fifth wheel all the way back. ??? I swear some of the Bealls, Publix, and other small plaza stores I run im getting passed the roof of buildings by inches in a 630. No idea how you guys do it but big props

 

KW's sit high and narrow. I'm used to newer aero trucks like Volvos and Cascadias, but occasionally I drove a T-800 before they got rid of it. 11R24.5 rubber, stacks right behind the doors and the ergonomics of the seat and pedals felt very awkward at first. Kind of grew on me though once I got used to it. Felt like I was in driving school again first time I tried to get a trailer into a door with it.

 

For the most part it is really easy to drive around. And that emblem is right, if the fog line is on the right edge I am in the middle of the lane, if it is on the left edge of the emblem my tires are just about right on the fog line.

As far as being easy to drive, I have only ever driven a long hood. Started on a 4900 EX and then now W900s. As for not seeing what is right in front of you, not a problem if you are paying attention as you move forward and know your distances.

I can't compare how the long hoods are compared to the trucks with the boot licking hoods though...

 

A lot of that is perception. Different drivers will sit in the seat differently and depending how high up they are, their perspective will be different when using the edges or hood lines to keep themselves inside the lines.

When I was paying my dues after I came back OTR.. I teamed with a few different drivers.

I noticed those with the least experience sat with the seat jacked up taller and used the hood as a visual clue to help orient them in the lane. (Next time you pass a Werner, Swift or Knight truck,.. observe how high up in the seat the driver is). They would become confused when I drove because I run with the seat all the way down,. no air. I recline back in the seat and get comfortable. I dont use the hood at all. In fact I can not see it when I drive. I use a spacial awareness and a mental image of where I should be. My eyes are usually focusing between 500 - 1000ft ahead of me. I notice that drivers who watch the hood are focusing no more than 100ft in front of them and tend to drift from side to side in the lane as they over correct trying to use the hood as a marker.

Not knocking your methodology,.. its a good way for rookies to get comfortable driving. But they also need to learn finesse and spacial awareness.

Hurst

 

I can steer my Pete with one finger. Can't do that with my T800. However with only ~10,000 lbs on the steers, I bet that Pete likes to push through corners in the winter.

 

The only thing that's hard are tight turns, and it's mostly just planning. I was driving a mid-roof Volvo for several years just prior to buying this Kenworth, so I got used to being able to turn extremely sharp. It's like going from one extreme to the other when I got into this truck. Backing into a tight spot on a small location with company pickups and pump trucks all over the place was a lot easier in the Volvo, but still doable in the W9, I just have to work a little harder.

 

I agree. I don't follow the looking down the hood thing especially since we sit left of center .....seems too complicated. Looking further ahead and an occasional glance at my spot mirrors has always kept me straight down the middle of anything.

 

The toughest thing I've had to do in a long truck is pull in a door at arcelor in burns harbor, in. As soon as you barely clear the door there is a concrete pillar that would be about your driver headlight if you kept straight. You can't go far right though because of the wall which has a curb sticking out 2 feet right where you need to aim.
Once you clear the curb it's time to snuggle up to the wall to get the trailer around the pillar. My first try I got my front axle to the pillar and could see it wouldn't work....had to back it clear out and try again. My 2nd try worked but I only cleared the wall with my pass front fender by a few inches and the driver side of the trailer around the pillar by a few inches.
I about gave up and asked if I could back in the exit door. I think that door, 7*** something, was designed for cabovers with a 45ft trailer. I wish I'd taken pictures or gotten a video would've been better. That pillar was badly scarred from many failed attempts to get by.

 

You can probably do that with a van. Hard for a me to do that with a sixty-plus inch bunk and a little 253" wb without getting into the headache rack. Even harder with a step deck or a double drop because of the swing.