cover driver
- Thread starter rich2bad
- Start date
CTOTH
Not retired, just tired
It's waaaaaay differnet than a BMW. Most of these trucks were built in 20 AD and have had the motors and trannies replaced about 1700 times. I'm not even sure that the transmissions have synchros in them. Mechanics??
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disneyworld
Well-Known Member
And you wont be palming the steering wheel to turn. 2 hands-push and pull. Unless you are blessed with a new vehicle.
A stick shift is a stick shift. Clutch, gas and brake pedals.
Good Luck
Harry Manback
Robot Extraordinaire
Not all stick shifts are created equally, beware the evil P500!
Overpaid Union Thug
Well-Known Member
Most of the trucks are four speeds and are you your typical "H-" pattern gear. Diesals though are different. Most are 5 speeds and reverse is where first gear is on the gas trucks. First gear is where second is and son on.
Harry Manback
Robot Extraordinaire
Oooohhhh!!! DOUBLE POST SPAM TIME!!
They took me out in a hunk-o-junk p10 before my preload shift and in the dark. I hadn't driven a manual transmission for well over 20 years and I passed. All he did was run me around close to the building to make sure I could shift and keep the thing on the road.
If the shift pattern is worn from the knob ask the supervisor what it is.
I drove the truck one time only during the week of training and was scared to death about driving "for real" but was soon very comfy with the large vehicle. Just remember how big you are when going close to trees, basketball hoops in developments and awnings. You probably won't have to worry about those things on the road test. You'll be fine. dw
If the shift pattern is worn from the knob ask the supervisor what it is.
I drove the truck one time only during the week of training and was scared to death about driving "for real" but was soon very comfy with the large vehicle. Just remember how big you are when going close to trees, basketball hoops in developments and awnings. You probably won't have to worry about those things on the road test. You'll be fine. dw
CTOTH
Not retired, just tired
Except for the 10' throw between gears and the endless grinding.
Half the trucks in our building won't even go into 1st while standing still. You have to let the clutch out a bit until it pops in.
raceanoncr
Well-Known Member
Chan, that may seem right, but consider: Here goes some management bashing here.
Jump to feeder equipment (I know, the thread was started asking about initial road test, but bear with me). Locally, we started out with 5-speeds, all Macks. Each one was different as night and day. Some were COMPLETELY worn out and had a throw that could pull your arm out, some were newer and were much tighter. When it came time for annual ride
. You see where I'm going? "They're all the same!!!!" Supes could not shift em! We got some 7-spds. Some seasoned feeder drivers just could not get used to them and requested different tractor on a run.
I once got a new COE International with an 8-sp, with the last (7-8) being automatic. Figure THAT one out! I thot it was nice but when bid off the run, they had to take it out and replace with conventional 8-sp cuz drivers AND supes were just baffled!
Now we have mostly 10-sps. Still humorous when ride-a-long takes over (Top Gun at DTS, according to them) and we're stopped dead in the water from not being able to shift. "Oh, this one is different then the last one I was in". Well, the last one you were in was still a 10-sp, no? They're all the same, right?
Chan, ever driven a 13-sp "over"? Ever driven a 5x4? A 5x3?
They're all sticks and a stick is just a stick, right? To twist my favorite saying from Animal Farm, which has already been recently quoted, "All sticks are created equal but some sticks are more equal than others".
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ogrelord
Ground Down
just make sure you take it out of gear at lights and throw the e-brake. stop 1 car space before the line(in case you get rear-ended you won't get push into the middle of the street). beware of stop lights these trucks take a bit longer to stop. try to get them to do the road test on the weekend at like 7 am. the least amount of cars on the road the better.. GL
