Is it hard to learn to drive a truck?

Sounds like you’ve got the fever, Lol. A good healthy fear of the unknown is normal. You’ll be a Pro in no time. That’s when You really have to be careful. False sense of security, has caused many an accident. Usually between 1-5 yrs of Driving. The best part is, after driving the Prius, the Truck will be like heaven.

 

A few thoughts ...

These modern trucks are easy to drive, my youngest kid who is now 13 has been behind the wheel of one learning learning how to drive one, he is doing this in a 20 acre parking lot that I use for a storage yard. all my kids except him know how to drive including hooking and dropped trailers and this past weekend my oldest daughter and I moved a tractor down to Indiana.

You have to learn the skills, it takes time but ....


Not everyone can or should drive a truck.


As for Prius, I have two, and I love them. Some idiots think the owners of a Prius are tree huggers but it is transportation and cheap. I drive 160 to 200 miles a day driving everyone around so it makes too much sense to own one.

 

If you like driving, then you probably like driving a truck. You just have to learn how to handle the truck. Here is a simple example.

You need 4 lanes to make a right hand turn in a truck in city traffic. The lane your in, is one lane. So you need 3 open lanes to make the turn. If not then you have to split the lanes you are in. Now take both lanes and block the traffic. If you don't you won't make the turn.

Another example
If your turning left at stop light. You don't fallow traffic into intersection. Because you will get stuck when the light turn red halfway in the intersection. You wait till you can pull truck into intersection. This is called Owning The Intersection. You and your truck are now in control of the intersection. Noday can move even if they get the green light. So you wait and you make you left turn on the red light if needed.

 

It's almost as hard as walking and chewing gum at the same time.

 

Park your prius at a truckstop, find a picnic table for your latte, and watch the pros for a few hours. Especially backing into spots and swinging into entrances. Watch what they do with the tractor [practically cross the road] in order for the trailer tires to just barely make it between the barriers, curb, fence or other car.

When backing hold the bottom of the wheel. Move your arm toward passenger door, back end is going toward passenger side, no thought required.

Trucks can change lanes fast, but they cannot change speeds fast, up or down. Always keep a space buffer in front of you.

The truck likes to go from 1000 rpm to 2000 rpm and stay at 1500. If you coast to 1000 rpm, downshifting 1 gear puts you back to maintaining. 2 gears puts you back to accelerating up that hill. Other that not being able to shift unsynchronized trans, its picking the right gear to go after thats hardest when you get started. Youre coming to a red light on the brakes. It turns green while youre still at 8 mph and in 6th on high side. Now what? Youre grindin all over the place. Or youre doing 60 on interstate and come to a pile of tail lights, trying to panic stop.. then everything gets back flowing and youre coasting in neutral with a big mental block from the stress. Oh and youre GPS is beeping at you to get off and take this 1 minute faster side road through mattapan or roxbury, the phone is ringing off the hook between wife and dispatcher, and every 3rd car flips you off as they fly around you.

Congrats, youre a trucker now.

 

the only prius i want

 

Even as a noob I may qualify for some of that..... some are taking up trucking in retirement... a way to "see the world".... so although they may not have the experience of the road, keep in mind some here (like me) do have experiences (23 years in Uncle Sams Army) elsewhere that brought them to drive... or want to drive, a truck.

 

If you start off in a classic truck you’ll have 11 accidents first day.

Volvo or cascadia you should be alright with a little bit of common sense

 

Owning the intersection. There is a memory.

I was real bad about that. Set that bulk in the square and see what moves. If not, measure out around and go.

One time I had a fella in his age come out in Reading or Allentown, I forget the two. Anyway Im crooked left in the crosswalk waiting for two to clear and here he comes on foot walking backwards.

Shut down, pulled brakes, hung out the drivers window and people giggled. "Hyias"

OMG I gonna die etc running for his life. Fired her up and got going For once the people had a little downtime AND Did not sass me.

 

Everyone is different.
I've seen people wear their shoes on the wrong feet.
Wear clothes that don't match.. not even close.
Use gasoline to freshen up a smoldering fire.
Not get a simple McD's order right.

Trucking is all about planning... paying attention.. and observation.
The driving is elementary once you get the skill down, and it's just adapting to a wider and much longer track.

You keep talking about it..

DO IT.