Range Resources "Rig Traffic, No Engine Brakes"

Pedigreed Bulldog nailed it with the concept of mufflers. You've got mufflers on your truck, run your jakes all you want.

And while it's true that the wells are out in the middle of nowhere, PA please bear in mind some of us live out here specifically for the lack of noise. For me, I'd definitely enforce a no LOUD jakes rule at night when I'm trying to sleep. For as rude as it is to run your unmuffled jakes in a truckstop when people are trying to sleep, its just as rude to do so running past my home when I'm trying to sleep. My home is out in farm country, six miles from the closest interstate and three miles from the closest truck route highway. I stay out here for the specific reason of staying away from the traffic noise.

When we had the new gas wells drilled out here, we enforced a "no jake" law. We don't have any major grades that required the use of jakes, and we have people out here who work all different shifts. So while I'm up and about, my neighbor who works third shift is trying to get some sleep. And in all fairness, we also try to be aware of everyone else's sleep schedules when we're doing noisy work next door, too. For example, I don't use my one neighbor's shooting range during the week because I chose not to disturb the sleep cycle of my other neighbor. That's what weekends are for, after all. Or heading to another gun range....

 

You make a good point about night hours, I only operate during the day so I really never thought of it this way. I try and be as respectful as possible, but there are times when I feel like the safest thing for me to do is operate with my engine brake on whether the signs are posted or not.

 

Then ask the boss for some mufflers if you ain't got them already installed. And if you got'em already, don't worry about it too much. It's not the jake brakes themselves that cause the problem, its the unmuffled rattle and roar of them.

I know that mufflers aren't required equipment on commercial vehicles, and there are plenty of guys who like the noise of them. Me, I got tinnitus from big loud trucks, and would rather go through the rest of my life without this annoying high pitched whine in my ear than have big loud pipes. But that's just me....

 

o no he did not tell me that mufflers are not required

watch out world

 

As far as I know mufflers aren't required on commercial vehicles. But that could very well be (and probably is) a state by state issue. PA doesn't require mufflers on big trucks (I think), which is completely amazing to me considering how anal retentive PA is on cars and whatnot.

 

bring your semi to utah for a safety inspection. and you won't pass without a muffler. nor will you get a emissions test if in the appropriate county.

 

OK, so Utah requires them. What other states require mufflers on the big trucks? I'm figuring PA doesn't, based on the number of rigs I've seen registered in PA (running PA plates, in other words) without mufflers. And PA requires state inspection every six months (BIG money grab there, ya think?).

 

Most of the states that I've looked into prohibit modifying the exhaust of ANY vehicle in any way which makes it louder than it was when it left the manufacturer...and the manufacturer has to meet certain noise emission requirements. If you're running straight pipes, it doesn't matter if they are on your bike, your car, your pickup, or your class 8 tractor....it is JUST as illegal in most states.

Enforcement is another issue. Just because it isn't heavily enforced does not mean it is legal. I've seen the local DOT guy set up out here stopping coal trucks that LOOKED like they had straight pipes to see if there was a muffler mounted underneath. If they had one, they were sent on their way...if not, they got a ticket. In all my years driving, that is the ONLY time I've ever seen stepped up enforcement on the muffler issue for big trucks...probably got some complaints about the noise, so they reacted. That's how it usually works.

 

Hah, I worked a bit out in the Washington area for Range about a year ago. Some of those well sites down near the WV border can easily have a 12% or better grade coming in the lease roads, and they're not the best about maintaining them. What on earth are you hauling to a well in a smoothbore...drill mud?

 

I haul the freshwater for the camps, and the boilers in the winter.