Watkins shepard

About the dinner, lets upgrade to Subway - if they have one in that town.

And yes, I was joking about running out of gas! The brake peddle is that thing by my right foot or is it my left? Guess if the truck speeds up when I push it I will know I have the wrong one.

As far as the 10-day program being all business - I would hope so.

I start school on Monday here in Denver. I am looking forward to it. During the week we have one-on-one driving training for 4-hours every other day. Weekends we can check out the Trucks for additional practice on the driving range, so I think I will be able to figure out the stopping thing. I plan on working on the backing thing as well. My assumption is that backing will different from pulling the hay/tractor trailers, but the basics will be similar - small gradual turns. Putting the tractor trailer in our barn is a feat - only three inches on either side through the door. Good news is it is only a 30' trailer. There will be a learning curve with a 48+ foot trailer, I am sure.

As far as being spoiled: I have my grandfathers 1st truck that he bought for his construction business - 1936 Ford. No air condition, not even hydraulic brakes. And power steering is in the arms of the one driving it. Shocks were an after thought. The worst is no radio. And my grandmother told stories of them being so broke that they could not afford to replace the brake shoes in her Model A, so stopping was using an upgrade or a log in front of the house, or so she said.

 

subway!?!?!?theres enough of that crap on the road...

what kind of cond' is the truck in, the ford? thats cool you still have it,
and you dont have to worry about afford brake shoes here, the shop takes care of it hahaha, or the runaway ramps haha, speakin of which, has anyone seen the one on the northbound side of the grapevine, in the middle?? if ur going to fast and go through all the mounds, your a dead man!

 

You should have learned all the skills in whatever driving school you went to. The 10 day program is to learn policy and procedures of the company and to unlearn a few things that are taught in most driving schools that are not completely true, like it is possible and recommended to shift on hills if needed. The 10 day program allows you to practice your backing, shifting and close quarters driving. Take advantage of it while you are there. Just as stated above, if they don't think you have the mind set or skills they won't hire you. I thought the 10 days was great idea when I first started, then when out on the road I got way scared, but that kept me from doing anything stupid. After a few loads I was feeling much better and was very happy that I didn't have a trainer looking over my shoulder all the time, if they did anything to help at all. If you read this forum more you will see that there are a lot of new drivers saying the trainers they are stuck with don't help a whole lot. Granted there are a few that do, but it’s the luck of the draw. You will be prepared to leave the yard once you finish the 10 day, if not then it’s a bus pass back home.

 

Had almost forgot about the cabovers. Freightliner, money for the co., rough on the driver. Keep the seatbelt tight so it wouldnt throw you into the roof and break your neck and in the winter time insulated boots and socks so your feet wouldn't freeze. First time I saw a nice pete cabover it was like looking inside a spaceship. OTH seems the rougher the truck the better the job most times.

 

just another add-on here, while in missoula for the 10 day, you have access to the training trucks that you can/**should** use on your off time to practice shifting and backing, thats something that i would would encourage you, and others to use,
while your first few loads are going to be rather scary but remember your not alone out here, we have cb's in all our trucks you can jump on and ask for help, and ull meet people to exhange #'s with for help as well. and youll see a lot of wksh yards where their is usually a driver or 2 sitting around to ask for help.

 

Thank you again s2b for all thew support how long you beeen w/ wksh

 

S2B - The truck has undergone all mechanical and electrical about 10 years ago. My next step is to do the body work (it was a construction truck and looks like it went to hell and back). The fenders are the only things banged up. But it is really hard to find an old timer that can work with metal. Most of the newer guys want to bondo it. Can't have that! I am also (still) looking for a rim. It is missing the spare tire and the mount on the passenger side. Will probably end up having one custom made. It is a fun little straight six - and super easy to work on. Top speed is about 68 mph going down hill (6% or better). And it weights almost 7K, but most of that is because Gramps modified the frame and put a piece of steal I-beam on it for the back bumper.


Thanks to the rest of you for the feedback.

It is nice to hear that I can practice more in the shop - I will take advantage of that. It will be nice to practice with a live yard verse the driving range.

 

I all ways questioned the shifting gears going down hill. Seems stupid not to shift gears to either slow down or gain speed. I have not yet found a mountain road that I did not use different gears for different grades between the top and bottom. I am glad you mentioned it, because I just assumed it had something to do with the momentum of the truck on a grade and all that weight. Thanks

 

Common myths and rumours spread by State and Federal DOT handbooks.

#1. Use high beams to indicate a driver can come back into the lane, after passing you.

#2. Go down the hill, one gear lower than you went up the hill.

#3. Never coast aka knock it out of gear.

#4. Never shift while crossing a RR track, or entering an intersection.

#5. You only get 3 attempts/pull ups when backing.

#6. Double Clutching is the only acceptable method of shifting.

#7. Right hand turns can be made without ever touching a curb, regardless of the street width.

The number one lie customers will tell you.

They do it all the time.

The scariest 6 words you'll ever hear on the CB, in a truck stop.

Come on back, you got it.

 

LMAO!!! "C'mon back! C'mon back!"

Mountain: I had my doubts about you in your first post, but subsequently it sounds like you'll do allright.
Your fear of backing are totally unfounded. I went the other way: backed rigs up for ten years, then got into construction, and found that backing the shorter construction trailers is WAAAAAAY harder than a long wagon.
Figure it this way: you make a 2" wheel error and your wagon goes astray in about ten feet. Short trailer, you make a 2" wheel error and it's immediately in the neighbor's yard.