Flatbedders can’t back up

Never thought in a million years the industry would get this bad. Thank you clueless foreigner's and mega fleets.

I avoid best I can anywhere the foreigner's and mega fleeters congregate.

 

So glad I don’t do OTR. No way I could stand it. Local saves dealing with a lot of that.

 

Times 2, no disrespect meant for our qualified OTR drivers, but I prefer to come home every night and keep SANCHO away. Yup, she’s a 10 and gets hit on even with me being around.

 

An outrageous lack of parking lot policing contributes to the problem. There are some truck stops (the love's in hazen AR immediately comes to mind) where "can of sardines" is not even an apt metaphor. Half the thruways are so totally blocked that two trucks can't pass each other and someone's gonna have to back up should they happen to meet.

 

I actually backed up a 53' spread axle skateboard better than I back this 53' van. Of course I was pulling the spread with a truck that had a 13 speed manual and now I am pulling the van with a 12 speed auto that I call Jimmy Stewart on a pogo stick because it hops and stutters so bad.

 

Flatbedders can't back up? That's a myth. They just don't back up in spots that don't make sense.

 

Those 12 speed autos are awful. I had to drive one for a bit that had the hold feature. It’s like the brake automatically goes on when you stop until you press that accelerator far enough down, then it takes off like your going to a fire. Try dropping a trailer with that feature. You just better hope you don’t forget to lower your landing gear cause you probably won’t get stopped in time.

 

You guys have just been screwed by bean counters who dont know how to order or program those transmissions properly.

The DT12 has a Creep mode that can be enabled that makes them start moving slowly when you release the brake just like a car. I can inch along in mine with no problems.

 

80% of the time when I am backing a load more than 20k lbs, while it is 'creeping' in creep mode, it will decide to abort creep mode before I get half way into a spot or even get close to bumping a dock.