what's your ability

well I was raised in the country, operated tractors and farm trailers of all sizes ever since I was old enough to get on one and it laid a good foundation......

add to that i'm a commercial pilot with many hours in 140,000lb+ aircraft and I'm also a hardcore biker, and those two things add a healthy dose of respect for safety and how quickly something this big and this heavy will kill you.....and others.....and the need to spot trends, stay ahead of the vehicle, and watch out for others around you at all times.....and to never never never get complacent.....

i'd say those abilities make me uniquely qualified to operate an 80,000lb truck

 

Daddy was a logger and I rode in a log truck at a young age so that's what I grew up around. Also being a professional alpine ski racer helps with timing,judgment and a no crash attitude. Where you live is what you do. We haul timber or at least use to.

 

Most of my ability is of the "in" type.






Inability....

 

i don't know if i look at it as you're driving more than one vehicle. Although technically i guess you are.


i look it as you are driving the tractor, or the truck/car or whatever the case may be and the trailers are following you.

i don't feel you are "driving" the trailer.

 

Not sure I understand the question, but ya kinda have to be 'one' with the vehicle you are driving. Not zen, but feel. After awhile you can feel your way through things that took intense concentration as a rookie, like 's' turns at speed or intuitively knowing where your trailer is tracking.

Your mirrors are more of a sixth sense than an object of thought. You see movement on the side of the road faster, and farther away. Your engine is running right - or not - you know before the computer does. You don't think you're tired - you KNOW.

Any fool can drive a truck, but very few are good at it, kinda like singing! And you can buy a lot of training, but you can never buy experience

 

Yea the physics of a combo vehicle that bends in front are somewhat challenging, but try flying an approach to minimums in a fast airplane. No freaking contest.

 

IDK? I wonder if the OP, is thinking of one of those hook and ladder trucks many city fire houses use? where you have a driver up front of the engine (truck) and one back guiding the trailer as they maneuver around town
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They still do that with bridge beams. We had a new bridge built here and I watched the guy in the back scooting around corners. Pretty cool operation.