Popular Post Pawel Posted April 12, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted April 12, 2016 Hello! Today I've driven a truck for the first time in my life! My company sent me to make a driver's licence "Category C" - in Europe that's what you need to driva a vehicle with over 3,5 metric tons of gross weight. So they put me in a MAN TGL - a seven ton truck. For the first hour I practiced maneuvering - parking, backing up, and so on - I did that with no troble, so then the instructor took me out on the country roads. The mix of light traffic and 8 gear split tranny felt very exotic to me, but somehow I think I'm getting hold of it. After I went back, it turned out the guy who was supposed to drive after me didn't show up, so I got one more extra hour of the beautiful rural countryside. After driving a car for 20 years, this truck sure feels funny - but I like it a lot. Let's see how I will do later. Thanks for reading and have a nice day Paweł 11 Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freightrain Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Congrats. It will be second nature before you know it. Just take your time, pay attention. Like the old story goes.........you can go off the pass(hill) slow lots of times, but you can only go off the pass too fast once. 2 Quote Larry 1959 B61 Liv'n Large...................... Charter member of the "MACK PACK" Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-330203 Share on other sites More sharing options...
41chevy Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Good for you! Enjoy the driving! Paul Quote "OPERTUNITY IS MISSED BY MOST PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS DRESSED IN OVERALLS AND LOOKS LIKE WORK" Thomas Edison “Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holy shit, what a ride!’” P.T.CHESHIRE Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-330205 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmackpaul Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Good on ya mate you as said above it will become second nature with time Paul Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-330207 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmyb Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 If you like what you do, you will be good at it. Just take your time and enjoy it. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-330209 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 Hello! Thanks a lot for your comments - they mean a lot to me! Today I'm scheduled to do my next three hours of driving - and this time we're also going to to to town, where the final exams will be. I'll try to take a camera with me next time, so I can show you what it all looks like. Freightrain - that's exactly what my instructor told me! Thanks again and have a nice day Paweł Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-330352 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladislav Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 Hi Pawel! Great news!! I know exactly what you feel because I tried to drive a big truck for the first time after driving a car for nearly 20 years myself. Funny thing with me that I had no one hour of practice with a professional instructor. Only at the exame Another nice thing was to start trainings driving my green American beast with mostly ground-off split gearbox. So you have to make 2-3 attempts to put in every gear. Saving power on avoiding the clutch use though. Good luck on the deal, I hope and at the same time sure you enjoy it. Quote Никогда не бывает слишком много грузовиков! leversole 11.2012 Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-330623 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 ahrite man,,,have a ball my first time was pretty exciting ....it was 43 years ago ....2 stick R600 trash truck...woohoo still remember.pulling it outa the american gas station. where they kept it...what a rush at 17 ...lol good luck...bob Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-330626 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Pawel Posted April 21, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 21, 2016 Vlad, Bob - thanks a lot for your comments! Yeah, truck driving sure is exciting - even more so in the first hours. After two weeks of training after work I have clocked 9 hours. Today I've been driving 3 hours and have been riding for another 3 hours - I used that time to make some photos for you! So here are the first ones. The truck I'm driving: Fueling on a little local gas station: I've got like 50 more if you like 'em - so please let me know. Thanks for reading and have a nice day Paweł 3 Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331048 Share on other sites More sharing options...
41chevy Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Nice unit. What does the `L' card mean? Learners Permit? Paul Quote "OPERTUNITY IS MISSED BY MOST PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS DRESSED IN OVERALLS AND LOOKS LIKE WORK" Thomas Edison “Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holy shit, what a ride!’” P.T.CHESHIRE Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331050 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted April 21, 2016 Author Share Posted April 21, 2016 Paul - That "L" denotes a driving lessons vehicle, carrying an instructor. In many such vehicles some controls are doubled - in our truck there is a second brake pedal for the instructor. Our truck has an 8-speed gearbox (2x4 gears) + creeper + reverse. That tranny is syncronised, so no double-clutching is necessary. I've already have a good hang on the gears. Thanks for your comment, have a nice day Paweł Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331051 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 nice lookinj rig man...have a ball.bob Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331134 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Hello Bob, thanks a lot for your comment! Yeah, I enjoy my driving time a lot! I've got more pictures for you: Railroad yard under an overpass: My friend driving and an old russian diesel: Closeup on that diesel - it's called "Gagarin" in our railroaders' slang: Emergency vehicle station: A residential building with a nice view: A power plant: Town panorama - the town is called Konin: Once more the power plant: A bridge over the Warta river: Town view: Another bridge: An old bus: A bus yard: Some rigs: Like you see the cabovers rule over here, and most semitrailers have three axles: Powder tank: We've also seen a girl learning to drive a tractor: If you like'em I've got some more, so please let me know - thanks for reading and have a nice day Paweł Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331146 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcrafty1 Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 On 4/13/2016 at 9:59 PM, j hancock said: Good Luck! Remember that we like pictures from the road. Those pictures are OK but the ones with European wimmins would be nice too Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331149 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 I hear you! Dang, the first time I was in Konin, lots of nice girls were to be seen on the streets. This time around it's almost as though they went hidin'! Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331151 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcrafty1 Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Maybe they heard you'd be driving and thought it best if they stayed a well back from the highway! Naw, I'm just funnin ya Just keep driving and you'll see some beautiful sites........and some not so beautiful 1 Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331159 Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_martell Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 I always had an interest in trucks and tractors, but after a ride to Wiarton, Ontario with a friends dad in his Pete 5 axle roll off and 6 axle wiggle wagon, I was hooked.... This is what I want to do...that's why I do it. If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life 2 Quote Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.... Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331192 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddeere Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Great pictures. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331252 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 interesting scenery over there.,,some of it,looks alot like this place...thanks for sharing...bob Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331336 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 Mcrafty1 - yeah, that's probably what they did, took 'em by surprise the first time around! j_martell - I agree, I can see how driving a truck can get you hooked! People should enjoy their work, otherwise it might turn out they are wasting time and/or money! j hancock, eddeere - thanks a lot! Bob - what would you say, what's similar and what is different? Do you mean Nevada or other parts of the USA? I also have some pictures of the countryside - I'll post them soon. Thanks for your comments and have a nice day Paweł 1 Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331395 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 Hello! Here's the remainder of the photos I shot on the way back - they show the rural Polish countryside: A river called Warta: Another shot: A wind farm: A pretty typical village: A cementary: Center of the village: Entry to another village: Cherry blossom: Trees and a pasture/meadow: Country road: Yet another village with an old church: Polish plains - perfect terrain for the tanks, sadly: A traditional cross on the crossroads: A cherry plantation across the road from the gas station: A rarity in Poland - an old John Deere tractor: Also not so popular - an ex-Soviet/Russian MTS: And a graphic way to say goodbye: Thanks for looking, and I hope you liked it - have a nice day Paweł Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331533 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brocky Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Pawel Thank you much for the pictures.. I always enjoy pictures from all over the world.. Especially the locally taken ones like these versus the tourist/travel publications. Is all of Poland basically flat plains like you have pictured or do you have some hills / mountains also?? Quote Brocky Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331537 Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyGunner Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 One for those pics had Casino Admiral written on it, is that an English speaking tourist trap or is English used a lot in Poland? Quote The problems we face today exist because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by the people who vote for a living.The government can only "give" someone what they first take from another. Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331539 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 Brocky - glad you like 'em! There's no Photoshop on those pictures here! Those were taken in the general area of Konin, slightly to the west of the very center of Poland. Middle and east of Poland are plains. To the north, and especially north-east there are lots of very nice lakes (check out Mazury). North -north west part of Poland has a Baltic Sea shore. There are also beautiful mountains to the south - older, lower ones to the south west, and younger, higher ones to the south east. The highest peak is 8200 ft. over the sea level. HeavyGunner - Polish people like many things that come from abroad, especially from the west, so they use English a lot in advertising - like here. I don't know that particular locale, but I suppose gambling is legal in it, judging by the name. Thanks a lot for your comments and have a nice day Paweł 1 Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331543 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcrafty1 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Thanks for the pictures, I too like to see how the rest of the world looks in real life not tourist adds. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44790-im-going-to-be-a-truck-driver/#findComment-331652 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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