Schneider questions??

On the pedal, yes. But you can cruise a few mph faster and it won't bother your overspeed readings.

My truck will do 65 on the floor and about 64 on the cruise control (it's a '10, though).

 

Wife and I are just finishing training at CR England.
We have our CDL now and may go out with trainer for 30 days.

I have been in touch with Schneider and their pay is great for teams.
Recruiter said .34 per mile after 7 day orientation and 2 weeks with their
trainer. That's not bad. We are going to try and go after the 30 day thing here at England before they try and get us to lease anything - hehe.

Ron

 

Are you a team driver?

 

Yeah i was going to say...as far as i know...all the trucks for solos are set at 60mph, and teams are at 65. If you have a new truck set at 65 and yer solo...just wait until you hit an OC and someone catches that, lol. No trouble...youll just be turned down.

Thankfully Im in an 06 set at 68....hehe...I never go to an OC.

 

One of the homerun trucks I've had a couple times was an X-team truck. The first time I had it, it would do 65 on cruise. Would you believe I got 6.4 mpg out of it ? The next time I got it, the speed had been cut to 60. My mileage dropped to 5.6.
I just can't get better than 5.8 or so on the Centuries set at 60. I drove the way SNI wanted us to. Since, I drive the way I like, guess what, mileage is still the same.
Now the last truck was a 9400 IHC, governed to 60. Big difference was it had the 15 litre Cummins, instead of that crappy 12.7 Detroit. Now I got 7.4 on that one, and I even had to idle because of weak batteries. I've given up on trying to figure it out.

I'll add one more thing. For better than a year, I had a T600, C-15 Cat,13 speed. 70 mph truck, and I did 70 most of the time. I got 7.2-7.4 on that.
Being governed to 60 makes no sense to me, but I'll drive however SNI wants.

 

Im in a regular century and it gets I think on average 6.5mph. I try various driving styles, but nothing long enough to actually make a difference; although if I stuck to it, I could get it over 7.

I like the Detroit 60's, although that is the only engine I've ever really 'driven'...havent had any problems with it in 350k miles. Ive had coolant issues and such...have one right now...Pain in the bass. Outside of that though...its been dependable.

I know lots of people and companies believe that if you go slower, you will save fuel...and Im one of those people myself. However, I think that a big thing to consider is what the truck is actually spec'd at as far as gearing. I don't know what they spec'd the trucks out to be, but lots of drivers have said that slowing down has actually hurt their mileage. I mean jeesh...if slowing down usually saves you fuel most of the time...and we use MORE fuel when we slow down...I wonder what the heck they are spec'd out at?

I once drove a rental truck for a few days when my tractor was getting worked on. 75mph! woooooooo!

 

Just wait if you ever get in a wide open truck!! 1997 379 with a 500 Cummins, exbullhauler!! No, I really didn't exceed the speed limit, but it was nice to be able to go around the mega-company trucks without 5 miles of planning ahead of time! Liked the power when needed, but really don't care for a 379.
My first 3 trucks were either C-15's or Cummins, so I likely am spoiled in that respect.
I did have a Detroit 515 for a while, but it seemed ragged in comparison.

Just remembered this truck. I picked up a loaner in Gary, due to turbo problems on the other truck. I only took it from Gary to Woodhaven with around 36k in the box. On the readout on the dash, I was showing 7.2 I think it was when I got to Woodhaven. That's the best I've ever gotten on an SNI Century.

OBTW, I keep my aircleaner filters as clean as SNI will allow me. I don't know, perhaps I'm lead footed and don't realize it. I really do try to limit the idle time as well.

There used to be a belief that OTR trucks were designed to operate at 70mph. I kinda/sorta lean that way. Maybe if SNI wouldn't cut the power as well as the speed, that could help. Then again, I really have no clue as to what our final gears are.

 

I just reread crunchyknees original post. I'd say we've wandered all over the place,eh?

 

Ziggy first i'd just like to say, Like the location.

Man i'll be glad when i get enough experience to know trucks as you guys do because all that was like trying to learn latin right now, wow.

It's great to read some itellegent post's or maybe constructive is a better word to use regarding the trucking bizz. Certain people in the forum are so stuck in bitterness they can't see the forest through the tree's. You guys be safe and i look forward to reading more from you (everybit helps). I go to charlotte for orientation on fri 28 may. By the way how hard is it to work on getting my Hazmat while rollin? Schneider wants asap once you start.

 

Mojo,
Well if you have any questions...feel free to ask. I just tend to answer from my perspective and what Ive seen, heard or experienced.

Haz mat...thats an iffy. Some people have a hard time with it...others dont. Schneider DOES say that they want you to get the Haz Mat ASAP...but Ive been with them for 2.5 years and still dont have mine. I recently did pass the test, but I havent signed up to get my background check done. Although Im on an account where we dont haul much haz mat at all...at least not quantities that need to be placarded...so that might be why Im not getting a fire lit under my butt to get the thing as much as regular Over the road drivers might.

The HM section is I think the longest and probably most confusing section in a CDL manual (use the manual for the state you live in...study off that). However I think that if you maybe read it through a few times, you should be OK. One thing to keep in mind is that its heavy reading so read maybe half of it one day, the other half the next day....take a break for a few days and start over. In the end, if you read it over a few times, I dont think you will have to worry that much about it. Also...getting the background check takes a while, so really you wouldnt be able to get the haz mat if you wanted to within the first month. They want you to focus on school first and then work on getting the HM when you are out on the road.

Im trying to remember what was on my test. It was a computer generated test so I got random questions. When I read the HM section...I worried alot about being asked specific questions about chemicals. I wasnt asked those types of questions on the test. However I was asked questions such as which chemicals cant be loaded with other chemicals...etc. You might have questions on quantities of certain chemicals and if they need to be placarded or not. ...how far to park off the road if a breakdown occurs...which placard signs can be substituted for others...in case of emergency and accident questions...etc.

also keep in mind that since you are getting your haz mat, you might as well get all the other fun stuff too such as doubles and triples, tanker...etc. SNI reimburses you for those and its good to have those in case you start looking for other opportunities down the road.