Evening brother truckers,
Am I crazy or are there a few trucks out here on the road that have gear shifters that are completely messed up?
If I have to bang the shifter into the console for gears 2/7 & 4/9 and pull it back behind my seat for gears 1/6, 3/8 & 5/10, doesn't that mean something is wrong?
Also, the gears don't want to release unless you're 3/4s of the way into the next gear.
In my first time driving the truck, I took it to a repair shop [non-gear issue] last week and I got stuck coasting on the way because I couldn't get the truck into/out of gear.
Today, dispatch tried to force me to take this truck and I said I couldn't safely operate it. The response was "you'll get used to it" and "there is nothing mechanically wrong with the truck".
Which is in line for a repair/adjustment- that gear shifter or my standards?
Gear Shifter Through the Dashboard & Behind the Seat
Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by tlalokay, Aug 24, 2018.
Page 1 of 3
-
-
Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds
Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.
-
You got big hands which you ram into the console when you grab stick-forward gears (2, 4, 7, 9)?.... What happens when you hold the stick and not the head / selector?.... Does the head still hit the console?
Is it a brand you haven't driven before? Because a Volvo shifts different than a Ken shifts different than a Freightliner... TAC-happy, and if you're missing it that screws up your shift....
Miles on the rig? Original tranny?.... Driven super-loose 450k trucks, and tight 1.5mill trucks....
Just questions to get an understanding.Feedman Thanks this. -
KillingTime Thanks this. -
linkage needs adjusting.
was done to the F/Liner I used to drive while was on vacation. couldn't shift it for, squat to tight. lol
it had gotten loose gradually over 400K miles and I never noticed it.
into the dash, back into the sleeper and over into the passenger seat. ( not really that bad.)tlalokay Thanks this. -
The fact that you use "bang" to describe shifting gears is the first clue.
dibstr Thanks this. -
Shifter forks are worn from driver abuse ..
Dino soar, AModelCat, tlalokay and 1 other person Thank this. -
Probably just needs a new isolator bushing.
Dino soar, Samuelh, Cattleman84 and 5 others Thank this. -
There's an older gentleman who uses the truck 3 days of week for local work and apparently he's used to the shifting in that truck and prefers it.
My question now is- if I'm unable to get it into/out of gear just bobtailing, can I reasonably make the argument that it's not safe for me to drive it? -
kylefitzy Thanks this.
-
My reply is: I was hired because I already know how to shift gears on an operable vehicle. I was not hired to learn how to shift a vehicle that needs repairs.
Some backstory:
When I began working there, the company assigned me the only day-cab. That makes sense given how tight some of these local P&D yards/docks are. I did an air brake test on the day-cab after I kept getting a low-pressure warning when starting up the truck after shutting it off for just a few minutes. Turned out to be air leaks on 3 fittings going into the primary air tank. They just assigned it to another driver instead of fixing it like they said they would.
After that I was slip-seating newer OTR trucks for almost 2 weeks.
Yesterday, out of the blue, they tell me I have to drive this Volvo with a bad shifter or else nothing at all.
I don't think this move on their part was really about the Volvo. There were 3 other trucks on the lot that I had been driving for the past 2 weeks and at least one was not scheduled to be used for several days.
Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds
Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.
Page 1 of 3