Driving a Hood

you drive it like any other truck you've been driving...


you stop behind the vehicle in front of you so that you see that vehicles tires touching the ground.....

you make your right turns like you''re supposed to, the 'button hook" way.....

once you've driven a "hood", they are all basically the same....
"you get used to it".....

by your BIO, you've been driving for 4 years now.......you should be able to handle this.....i find it hard to believe a truck scares you.

 

The simple key is....be patient! (like we all should be) If you're not sure...then don't do it. If you think you need a little more space...then go wide. If cars are blocking your way...wait. And if you get stuck in a situation...reverse and try again. I've gotten stuck in a few hellish parking lots that did not have a way through just because one car that is in the worst possible spot. So I've had to get out of the parking lot and out onto the street going in reverse. Did it take forever? Yes! Did I damage the truck or any other person/vehicle? No!

Btw, I drive the aero ones too so I can't directly relate but I still say patience is the key in this business no matter what truck you're driving. GL

 

It just takes a couple of days of driving to get used to it. If you cannot (in a reasonable time) get the awareness of your steers and truck squared away maybe something like a classic truck is not for you. It's no different than any other truck, just need to pay attention as always.

I started on a Mack with 35* steers, terrible turning radius. Moved to a Freightshaker with 50* steers. You could turn the tires off the darn trailer with that thing. Took a couple of days to get used to the difference in visibility and styling. Not at all too hard.

Take it slow and drive it around in a parking lot a bit first to get the hang of things.

 

if you can get the tractor out take it to a empty parking lot and practice , also backing is going to make it a little more interesting too as the trailer will take a little more time to respond to your actions . always familiarize yourself with your equipment before taking it out on a trip .

 

I went from a small daycab international to a long hood 379. It only took a day or 2 for me to really get used to it. The only thing I'll say that was good about the daycab was gettin around the back country roads to hog farms in the winter. It's a ###### to get those steer tires on the long hood to get going where you want on pure ice. I never chain though so that could help probably