Question on NYC runs.

Good question - going to watch for answers...

 

First thing I can tell you as a dedicated NYC hauler is to buy a Rand McNally or Goshen fold out paper map of NYC! NOT the drivers Atlas! NOT the plastic Fast Map but what your Dad probably had in the glove box of the car. A real fold up map! It has EVERY street of the 5 on it and should have little arrows on one way streets! Mine did!

Now if you have your laptop down load this for general routes in NYC: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/truckroute2010.pdf This one for on line address finding http://maps.yahoo.com/index.php?ard...m=14&q1=New York, NY 10007&q2=724 broadway st

But still before you get within 100 miles of NYC stop at a truck stop, rest area convience store ,almart and buy the paper map! It's at most 4.99 and it's tax deductible! NOT that big arsed book! That thing you'll have to be screwing with it turning pages to stay on route! All you need is that one paper map! If you have the chance and can get a copy of PC Miler v20.0 or newer that's one of the best street level maps for a computer you can get. Once you have your maps then you're good to go! The first link I put in has the best routes to use. Print it out for your main route in then go to the paper fold up one for your street level driving. You'll learn to fold it to the area you need and lay it in your lap for a quick grab to look! Get a yellow or whatever light color marker pen to do the streets on and your ink pen to dot the address. When it wears out which will be maybe in 6 months if you do more than a few loads in then buy another! keep the receipt! I've been driving NYC for 32 years and I've gone through more than a few of them just like Chicago and Boston and Atlanta and Miami! I made a box for all the maps I carry in the truck which is as wide as the folded up map and about 3/4 as tall so all I have to do is look through them for the city I'm going to! I have about 40 maps! tha covers every MAJOR city and a few counties also!
Yes that big ole Rand McNally drivers atlas is great for roads but it sucks for street level driving! It tells you NOTHING when you need to know if this is the street you need or if it's one way or what ever you REALLY need to know! If you want to go blindly where the informed have been then just rely on a map with only SOME major streets on it!
And forget the CB any more due to the morons singing or doing some stupid crapola like I'm the NY York Cowboy or some idiot that thinks he's a rap crapstar and yada yada yada and so forth!

DO NOT RELY on a GPS! If you have GPS then great but have that paper map out for back up!

 

This is what mega-carriers do to newbies! Pavement is pavement don't sweat it! You can't be afraid to make cars move for you otherwise you will be screwed. Put your turn signal on and suggestively move over. Make your turns wide in the city and make the cars back up if you need to. If at all possible go in at night. This will save you a lot of headaches. Good luck to you. Oh yeah, make sure you read your map properly, most roads are one-ways!

 

NYC isn't bad. I have three different stops that I deliver to in the city, and I average going there about once a week.

Bonus for me is that I get $45 extra for every NYC stop that I do, and I think most companies pay even more than that. To me, it's well worth that extra money to deal with a little hassle. In reality, I think it's easier to go to NYC than many other cities, so it's a win-win for me.

Rollover has it right about the maps. Very important that you know where you are going, but that is true of any city. I will spend a little more time on my directions for NYC and make sure that I call the shipper for some local information.

Only real downside is that you'll run slower in the city, due to the traffic. I always try and get to my first stop by 6am, while the roads are empty and I can easily do whatever I need to do. I just take it easy and accept it will take some time. Just be sure to read every sign, watch your clearances, and be sure to set yourself up for your turns as some of them can be tight.

Problem with the city is that the marked bridge clearances can scare the hell out of someone who is there for the first time. NYC marks bridges lower than they actually are, to compensate for times when there is snow on the ground. In doing so, it makes it tough to know from a sign what you can clear and what you can not, since there are a lot of bridges/signs showing heights you can not fit under, yet you make it easily. For a first timer, make sure you know what the truck routes are and, if at all possible, try and let another truck be in front of you so you can see them go under the bridge before you try it, to settle your nerves. Once you travel and road and learn where you have clearance, it's simple.

I'll add that I'm hating NYC this week. Just did a run there that should have taken me a day, plus a couple hours. Due to the blizzard, it took my three and a half days. Still trying to figure out just what I get paid as far as miles, stop pay for places what were unable to take my delivery, and layover for all the time I spent waiting in a truckstop.

 

Both have been mentioned but they are 100% accurate so I'll reiterate them and add mine. Don't under any circumstances rely solely on GPS - you'll get jammed up bad or worse.. Buy a good street map for the city - worth it's weight in gold..

Try to get in at night if possible. I was born in Brooklyn, lived there for a while, and still frequent the city at least monthly - the stories you hear about this and that happening at night are just those - stories. Overall NYC is a safe city so don't be afraid to roll in at night. It was not that way at one time but NY is generally a safe place now. When I drove OTR I parked on Webster Ave, Atlantic Ave, and Lennox Ave at 1-4 AM to un-tarp and strap without any issues whatsoever..

I run our Brooklyn terminal in Maspeth whenever I can get my hands on the run and it just isn't that hard of a city to get around. I've had my ramp or street closed before so I just pull out the aforementioned street map and find another way. It's simple to navigate because the city is generally laid out by the grid system with numbered streets..

Not that bad new drivers. I took my first run there within weeks of starting my first job and have been asking for them ever since..

 

Why is every new driver so worried about NY city? You never here anyone say they're worried about Chicago or Philadelphia or Atlanta or Los Angeles. To me a city is a city no matter where.

 

I don't mind NYC at all. The wife and I actually liked going there. I liked going everywhere as long as it wasn't the same place over and over.

On a side note, there is no way in hell I would go into the city for the next few days! It's going to be an absurd terd of a mess!

 

Speaking of docks and such, there are a lot of them underground or inside buildings. Keep in mind, up until the 90's only 48' trailers were allowed in the city. Plus that's how all the loading docks were designed for. You will be certain to get some good backing practice before you leave out of there.