Deadhead Miles?

[vision386]

Little too much time on my hands today! found a clip of a pretty obscure trucking movie (i thought i'd seen them all) seems this stereotypical "trucker" and a SCARY looking hitch-hiker are out terrorizing the country in a stolen little window peterbilt! its a little long,but watching the guy go down the adolph sutro grade in "mexican overdrive" and hearing the hitch-hiker scream is worth the wait!............Mark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WySgGRAWHZI

[Lmackattack]

Wierd....LOL... I liked the part where he was using all the lanes thry the S turns. I do the same thing out on I80 in UT... near park city. 45mph curves? my ass... Guess im just a law braking trucker?

[vision386]

Wierd....LOL... I liked the part where he was using all the lanes thry the S turns. I do the same thing out on I80 in UT... near park city. 45mph curves? my ass... Guess im just a law braking trucker?

Yup thats a STRANGE movie! thats a pretty dam steep grade there at park city! i'm always glad to get down to Salt lake in one piece!.............Mark

[Lmackattack]

yea the grade in and out is steep but im talking about that 10 mile stretch of I-80 just east of Park city,,,about 20-40 miles east? real fun to drive as the view is cool. I dont mess around on grades. but in the twisties I use both lanes when there is no traffic around. Every now and then I see some of the other truckers doing the same thing.

[vision386]

yea the grade in and out is steep but im talking about that 10 mile stretch of I-80 just east of Park city,,,about 20-40 miles east? real fun to drive as the view is cool. I dont mess around on grades. but in the twisties I use both lanes when there is no traffic around. Every now and then I see some of the other truckers doing the same thing.

Yup,i know right where your talking about,i agree,thats pretty country out that way,i used to run across U.S.30 out of Evanston,WY up to Pocatello,ID quite a bit,also a real nice ride,you go through a state park that way,nice scenery...its also a nice short-cut when headed east,saves you from going all the way down to salt lake/I-80,that way you dont have to deal with 3 sisters mountain....first time a ran western colorado when i was a newbie,i used ALL the lanes on I-70! couple times you could'nt have gotten a sheet of paper between the cheeks of my ass! LOL!.................Mark

[Bollweevil]

Yup,i know right where your talking about,i agree,thats pretty country out that way,i used to run across U.S.30 out of Evanston,WY up to Pocatello,ID quite a bit,also a real nice ride,you go through a state park that way,nice scenery...its also a nice short-cut when headed east,saves you from going all the way down to salt lake/I-80,that way you dont have to deal with 3 sisters mountain....first time a ran western colorado when i was a newbie,i used ALL the lanes on I-70! couple times you could'nt have gotten a sheet of paper between the cheeks of my ass! LOL!.................Mark

On my very first trip west bound through the Eisenhouer, I discovered that I really did not know how to drive in the mountains. It didn't take me long to find some local drivers that did, and was glad to sit through a tutorial which was freely given. Over the years I have not forgotten the kindness of other professional drivers, who were quick to share their knowledge, and experience, with someone who was as green as a gourd. In my lifetime, I have made a point of doing the same thing, whether be trucking, or working on them.

[other dog]

On my very first trip west bound through the Eisenhouer, I discovered that I really did not know how to drive in the mountains. It didn't take me long to find some local drivers that did, and was glad to sit through a tutorial which was freely given. Over the years I have not forgotten the kindness of other professional drivers, who were quick to share their knowledge, and experience, with someone who was as green as a gourd. In my lifetime, I have made a point of doing the same thing, whether be trucking, or working on them.

I remember my first trip across Colorado on I-70 too, same trip I first crossed Donner Pass on-1979. I stopped at the scales west of Denver and asked the scale man "how long before I get out of these mountains?" He looked at me like I was crazy and said "son, you're just getting started".

I couldn't even cross Donner until they opened it to all traffic because I had no tire chains and it was snowing so I hung out at Sierra Sid's truckstop in Reno. This was in April or May, snow was long gone around here. Good thing I was hauling furniture at the time, a typical load was about 12-14,000lbs, or things might have turned out different,eh?

But Bollweevil reminds me of another story, and it just brings to mind how different things are now and how different drivers are today. I welcomed any advice I was given by older drivers and was respectful to them even if I didn't follow their advice, like the time I was loading some steel coils in Burns Harbor.

I had several coil coils,loaded shotgun, and I was criss-crossing 2 chains through the eye then putting one across the top. A couple of other older drivers were in there loading and one of them said "you don't need to do all that,one chain over the top is enough."

They might have been going across town for all I know, but I was going to either Walker muffler in Harrisonburg or Modine Mfg. in Buena Vista, Va. so I was going across rt. 60 from Charleston, so I chained them like I wanted.

Many years later when I had hauled hundreds, maybe thousands, of loads of chips and pulpwood across the mountains on rt. 60 to Covington there was a Schneider truck coming east on 60 one fine day. 2 of our drivers met him just after he had started off the last mountain, Long Mountain. They asked him on the radio if he was loaded, and he said "yes". So one of them told him "you're going pretty fast" and he said "...eff you, I know what i'm doing!"

When they came back across after unloading in Covington, there he was, turned over at the last "s" curve before you get to the bottom.

A piece of the trailer was stuck in a tree there about 10' off the ground for years...might still be there.

[RowdyRebel]

I s'pose I've been pretty lucky. I've had a lot of old-school mentors throughout my career.

You can learn a lot more in 5 minutes from an old-school hand than you will in 6 months from a 90-day-wonder.

[vision386]

i hafta' agree,todays drivers are a different breed,seems like they dont care or want help/advise......i was lucky, my dad and grandad showed me the ropes,something i have allways been greatful for,but both were lifelong career drivers and took it seriously...even when i first started,my dad told me to look for an old hand to help me if i got in a tight spot,almost everyone i ever talked to was more than willing to give me a hand or pointers if i needed it.I have always made the effort to repay that advise when i can. It's just so different now,i see guys getting out of trucks that weigh 800 pounds+,look like they have'nt had a shower in a year,filthy,rude and in-considerate of other drivers and people in general. I see things that burn me up almost daily! guys dumping their trash on the ground (when theres a can 10 feet away) "piss bottles" all over the place,guys leaving their dam driving lights on all night,making it dam near impossible to back in next to them,i REALLY hate the newbie way of giving the "lights" ,pass another truck,look in the right mirror,just in time to be blinded by the high-beams! then they get mad when you say something,or try to explain the right way to do it....i've been in a truck almost 30 years now,still try and learn something everyday,try and conduct myself in a safe and professional manner,but the mentality now seems to be 3 months at truckdriving school,i know it all,been there done that! when i started,you were a greenhorn,no more no less,and looked up to the older experienced drivers to help you along,it was a matter of pride backing into a dock with a couple old hands watching you,get done good and quick,then have them say something like "hey,this guy knows what he's doing!" sure makes you feel good! First time i backed into a hard place with my dad in the truck,he said "good job boy! hell,i did'nt know what to do with myself! especially coming from him!.....its a real shame to see what truckings come to,professional pride,coutesy is almost non-existant anymore......i'm done now! LOL!.......Mark

[Lmackattack]

the thing is I dont think half of them want to drive a truck. they just are down and out and herd that trucks are now automatics easy to drive etc. And what a easy way to get a job. free training and a licence. all you have to do is give them X amount of time after you get the CDL and stoop for a cheep pay rate while you train. you work for a year and then when you get board you quit and still retain your CDL.

[other dog]

I s'pose I've been pretty lucky. I've had a lot of old-school mentors throughout my career.

You can learn a lot more in 5 minutes from an old-school hand than you will in 6 months from a 90-day-wonder.

I agree.

[other dog]

i hafta' agree,todays drivers are a different breed,seems like they dont care or want help/advise...It's just so different now,i see guys getting out of trucks that weigh 800 pounds+,look like they have'nt had a shower in a year,filthy,rude and in-considerate of other drivers and people in general. I see things that burn me up almost daily! guys dumping their trash on the ground (when theres a can 10 feet away) "piss bottles" all over the place,guys leaving their dam driving lights on all night,making it dam near impossible to back in next to them,i REALLY hate the newbie way of giving the "lights" ,pass another truck,look in the right mirror,just in time to be blinded by the high-beams! then they get mad when you say something,or try to explain the right way to do it....i've been in a truck almost 30 years now,still try and learn something everyday,try and conduct myself in a safe and professional manner,but the mentality now seems to be 3 months at truckdriving school,i know it all,been there done that! when i started,you were a greenhorn,no more no less,and looked up to the older experienced drivers to help you along...

Yeah, and most of those 800 pounders wear sweat pants with half their ass crack showing as they waddle in to the buffet. I wear a company uniform shirt and blue jeans all the time, a man wearing sweat pants just never looked right to me. I have one pair that I wear under my jeans when it's really cold, otherwise I don't even wear them at home.

And then there's some with the backwards cap and short pants-nothing wrong with wearing shorts when it's hot but I don't at work because most places I go require long pants, long sleeves, hard shoes,etc.

[Bollweevil]

Yeah, and most of those 800 pounders wear sweat pants with half their ass crack showing as they waddle in to the buffet. I wear a company uniform shirt and blue jeans all the time, a man wearing sweat pants just never looked right to me. I have one pair that I wear under my jeans when it's really cold, otherwise I don't even wear them at home.

And then there's some with the backwards cap and short pants-nothing wrong with wearing shorts when it's hot but I don't at work because most places I go require long pants, long sleeves, hard shoes,etc.

At the age of about 8 years, one of my grand daughters once asked, Poppa, why do you wear overalls all the time? My answer was, because there is nothing more disgusting than having to see the crack in some old fat guy's ass, and I don't want somebody looking at mine.

[vision386]

I'm right there with you on that! i dont own any sweatpants,i really dont think i could drive wearing "flip flops" either! thats what got me started on this topic,i was at the Petro in Carnesville,GA not too long ago,watched this 800 pound slob go to the buffet,took the ENTIRE container of potato salad/cole slaw out of the ice,dump both of them on his plate, 2lbs. each? took ALL the meatloaf that was left,then was pissed they were out of this and that,not filling it back up fast enough to suit him! poured almost an entire bottle of ketchup on the meatloaf,then licked the dam bottle before he put it back on the counter! he wiped out at least 5-6 plates of food before in could finish my meal! I walked out to my truck bout the same time he did,he actually had the steps on the fairings bent! when he went to get in his truck(freightliner),grabbed the handle,he pulled the cab over to him! i dont see how anybody that big can fit in a truck! how do you pass a D.O.T physical like that? a mean damn,they made me bend over,run in place,climb stairs etc.!.....Mark

[rhasler]

...how do you pass a D.O.T physical like that? a mean damn,they made me bend over,run in place,climb stairs etc.!.....Mark

To hell with the D.O.T. physical, how do you keep from needing an overweight permit?

[Lmackattack]

to Be honest I have a hard time sitting in a truck stop anymore when I want to eat. I just cant stant to watch the slobs talking with their mouths open and complaning about why they cant get a better deal. im not stud myself and could louse 30 lbs so I try to just eat small and run so that when I get home I can eat right. I have only been trucking for about 11 years but remember it was alot more plesant when I started. When I started You could pull up a chair at the counter and talk to the guy next to you and have a few laughs. I feel like now if you pull up that chair its going to be next to some idiot that dont shower,cant speak,and knows nothing about trucking. I wear jeans and a company shirt(most of the time) only time I put sweatpaints on is when Im at home on the weekends. after a relaxing shower and getting ready for bed. Never leave the house with them on thats for sure! Shoes... I have boots, or gym shoes. All depending if Im working in construction or just doing the OTR runs for work.

[vision386]

Maybe this guy? LOL!....................Mark

[bullhusk]

WOW now thats a lot of weight for a Super-Single !!