Ask a trucker.

[007]

What's your opinion on Tandem trucks?

They look like a pure-d bitch to drive.

They're called a "wiggle wagon," and they're flat out dangerous. Don't be in front of one going down a grade.

 

[Immanuel]

Hey!!

I want to know why you skipped my question! I demand an answer!! j/k

Why do truck drivers always feel the need to drive side by side for miles and miles down a four lane highway (two lanes going both directions) especially when there are dozens of vehicles lined up behind them?

Immie

PS Yes, this tends to piss me off!

Immie

 

[Sallow]

It's cool when I flash my lights to let the trucker know it's ok to get back in the right-hand lane. Then he (she) blinks the truck's tail lights to say "thanks".

Excellent point Me. H.

Not only to truckers appreciate this immensely, it is also good for every driver to understand this signal.

I've lost track of how many times I've flashed a four wheeler coming down an on ramp to signal "I see you, I'm slowing down, go ahead and merge" and they just keep slowing down, not recognizing the communication.

Now I've slowed down (and it will take me awhile to get back up to speed if I'm fully loaded) and I've slowed the vehicles behind me, tightening traffic and making the merging that much more difficult.

The best for me was getting "the brights" from on coming traffic, indicating a hidden state police officer..

(Not that I ever disobeyed local speed limits.. )

 

[Jeremy]

I live next to a Petro Travel Plaza here in Fargo. They used to have the best breakfast buffet in the freakin' world. But after some sort of management change it went bye bye.

I miss loading up a second plate with nothing but bacon after a long night of downtown bar hopping.

 

[RadiomanATL]

What's your opinion on Tandem trucks?

They look like a pure-d bitch to drive.

I've never driven a tractor-trailer..only step vans and straight line jobs. Those were tough in the city..but nice on the highways. But, everything is magnified when you got a full load. And you can feel it too..especially when you have to stop or climb a hill. You really have to concentrate on everything. I can't imagine driving a fully loaded tandem truck.

I've never driven a commercial-type vehicle. I did drive a Ram 2500, fully loaded, hauling a 24ft enclosed trailer (with only your typical ball and hitch connection), which was about 6,000 lbs overloaded across the country. Twice.

Not the same thing, I know, but that shit was quite hairy at times. The truck wasn't meant to handle that much weight. But my boss said "eh, it'll handle it".

Hey, I got less than 8mpg baby! Had to stop to fill up every 2 hours!

 

[Missourian]

Don't ride his ass in a rain storm genius.

Do you even have a license to drive?

I was actually hoping for an adult to answer: I'm convinced that some trucks leave less backwash when passing than others, but wondered if this was my imagination or if there are different ways to reduce backwash.

That's about the right answer.

I also absolutely hate the "Tandem" trucks. That to me is nuts.

We call those Wiggle-Wagons, for obvious reasons.

On some toll roads they run triples, three pups (standard short trailers that make up doubles and triples) in combination.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmcKma9hPxk[/ame]
​

There are also 53's (full sized trailers [they're 53 feet long, the maximum length in most states and the current industry standard]) coupled in tandem known as "turnpike doubles" authorized on many U.S. toll roads.

 

[RadiomanATL]

On some toll roads they run triples, three pups (standard short trailers that make up doubles and triples) in combination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmcKma9hPxk
​

My brain would hurt trying to back one of those things up.

OK, steer opposite...but wait, I have more than one, so steer the same...Oh shit...3 means steer opposite still *CRASH*

 

[Sallow]

Fun thread...thanks!

 

[Missourian]

Why do truck drivers always feel the need to drive side by side for miles and miles down a four lane highway (two lanes going both directions) especially when there are dozens of vehicles lined up behind them?

Immie

PS Yes, this tends to piss me off!

Those are usually trucks owned by large fleets that are "governed" to between 63 and 67 miles per hour, with 65 being the most common standard setting.

The governor tells the engine to limit the increase of speed from the throttle (accelerator pedal) to a preset speed.

Because all engines are different, one trucks 65 might actually be 66 or 64, inevitably, too governed truck will interact, especially if one is heavier than the other.

The heavier truck will slow down on upgrades (going up hill) so the lighter truck will try to pass.

If he can pass before the next downgrade down hill stretch, all is well...but if he can't, the heavier truck will gain momentum (the governor only restricts speed from the throttle, not from gravity).

The lighter truck may drop back, but traffic has tightened up and he cannot return to the granny lane (slow lane) behind the heavier truck.

Now he is in a catch 22, he can't go faster AND he can't get out of the way.

That's how you end up with that crazy slow down.

It drives non-governed trucks up the wall too, so you're not alone in your frustration.

What SHOULD happen is either the heavier truck should back-out-of-it (slow down, not accelerate) and let the lighter truck in front.

Seldom happens, but that is the proper etiquette.

 

[westwall]

My dad drove for Churchill Truck Lines out of KC for 30+ years, until the Teamsters did a stupid and Dennis was forced to close up shop. A very sad day all the way around. He had many tales of both bad and good drivers out there, just like any field.

 

[Rat in the Hat]

On some toll roads they run triples, three pups (standard short trailers that make up doubles and triples) in combination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmcKma9hPxk
​

My brain would hurt trying to back one of those things up.

OK, steer opposite...but wait, I have more than one, so steer the same...Oh shit...3 means steer opposite still *CRASH*

At the LTL carrier I worked for, the driver who pulled them in did not have to back them. He dropped in a preset area, and a single axle yard truck would split them and back them in to the dock doors.

 

[Mr. H.]

a) What's your handle?

b) Have you ever had to use one of those runaway ramps on a steep downgrade?

c) Will you drive thru one state and wait until you get to another state with lower gasoline taxes?

d) Seen any 'tang in the vehicle next to you?

 

[Granny]

I don't have too many problems with big rigs. I don't trust the piggy back things because they wiggle and sway too much. I try to get the hell away from them as soon as I can. I flash my lights to let them know they're safely clear of my car and can move back in the lane. Things I look for are how well the driver is staying in the lane as opposed to drifting back and forth, I look at tires, I use my mirrors, and I don't put myself in the cradle unless I have to - and then I try to pace myself with the trucks.

Other than the piggy back things, I try to keep an eye on tankers ... oh yes ... I try to get upwind of livestock carriers as soon as possible.

I think courtesy is probably going to be the big factor in getting along with the big rigs on the road. You're still you're going to run into a jackass every now and again. They can only be jackasses for so long - 3 strikes on the CDL and you're on on the side of the road thumbing for a ride.

 

[Missourian]

What is the hairiest Interstate Outside of cities?

I'm driving down I 80 from Cheyenne to SLC and pass tipped trucks and trailors on both fucking sides of the HWY.

I don't consider any Interstate hairy in good weather, but in winter for the west it's I-70 west of Denver and in the east I-40 between eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, known as The Gorge.

This guys going the other way, so the interesting part is mostly at the end.
The long tunnel at about the 3 minute mark is the Eisenhower Tunnel, That's about 60 miles west of Denver.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmFsi5H8W_Y&feature=related[/ame]


This one's The Gorge:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Im-dvZll0[/ame]

 

[Missourian]

What's your opinion on Tandem trucks?

I pull a set of doubles some winters when UPS contracts out their overflow for Christmas.

It's a lot easier to jackknife them, being double articulated...that rear pup sometimes has a mind of it's own. UPS and FedEx run them for logistical reasons, they can just latch a pup going to California to a pup going to Texas and go, when the truck gets to Texas, they don't have to unload and reload half a full sized trailer...they just drop the pup, make the deliveries from the Texas pup, and latch the California pup to a New Mexico, Arizona or California pup and it continues it's journey without any need for the cargo to be handled.

Saves them a lot of money...it they had to handle that cargo two or three times, warehouse it and reload it, package shipment would cost significantly more money.

My opinion? They're safe in experienced hands. But they can easily get away from an inattentive driver...and once they're gone, they're gone...it's nearly impossible to recover them...physics is against you.

 

[Missourian]

Do you even have a license to drive?

I was actually hoping for an adult to answer: I'm convinced that some trucks leave less backwash when passing than others, but wondered if this was my imagination or if there are different ways to reduce backwash.

Oh, spray.

I really don't know...and I hate spray as much as anyone, it affects us almost as much as it affects you.

I can tell you that when trucks pass each other where road and/or weather conditions cause spray, they leave a lot more room before moving back into the granny lane (far right lane).

I'll look into it and see what I can find out.

Since you guys are sitting about 5 ft higher than the average sedan, its hard to believe that spray effects you "almost as much as" other drivers. I'm happy I'm in a 4 wheel drive pickup, but cannot imagine being in something like a Toyota Corrola cruising at 60 mph down a hwy with 5" snow while a truck passes me at 61 mph.

It does...because my windscreen is nearly completely flat. Where water flows over a car and rolls off a cars windshield, it just sticks to mine and stays there. Plus, in a semi, there is an air eddy where the windscreen meets the hood that draws in that fine spray.

 

[Ernie S.]

That first video looks like that road would be fun in the snow headed the other way.

Taking that ride down hill sped up like that reminds me of a Harry Chapin song called "30,000 Pounds of Bananas"
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODMye94wMfk&feature=related[/ame]

 

[Missourian]

Whom do you drive for? I work for J.B. Hunt, so I'm just curious. We just awarded a driver for reaching 4,000,000 miles, which takes roughly 35 years.

I'm an independent now, but I was leased to a Landstar type company for over 10 years, and before that I was leased to a common carrier out of Iowa for 3 years, and before that I was a company driver for a few years.

I use to average 3000+ miles a week...something JB frowns on...I heard your guys were only getting 1500 to 1800 miles a week. Takes a long time to get to a million miles that way.

 

[Missourian]

I live next to a Petro Travel Plaza here in Fargo. They used to have the best breakfast buffet in the freakin' world. But after some sort of management change it went bye bye.

I miss loading up a second plate with nothing but bacon after a long night of downtown bar hopping.

Petro was bought out by TA (Travel Centers of America)...everything went down hill from there.

There were till a few decent ones out there, but It's been awhile since I've been too any except the one in Reddick, FL which I can verify is still good.

 

[Jon]

Whom do you drive for? I work for J.B. Hunt, so I'm just curious. We just awarded a driver for reaching 4,000,000 miles, which takes roughly 35 years.

I'm an independent now, but I was leased to a Landstar type company for over 10 years, and before that I was leased to a common carrier out of Iowa for 3 years, and before that I was a company driver for a few years.

I use to average 3000+ miles a week...something JB frowns on...I heard your guys were only getting 1500 to 1800 miles a week. Takes a long time to get to a million miles that way.

It depends on what division you work for. A lot of our drivers do local moves, drayage and the sort. We also do local home deliveries/installations. We're much more than a trucking company.

Although I'm not aware of any mileage limitations our drivers face, I know we do require drivers not to exceed 55 mph. So with DOT restraints, you're looking at about 600 miles per day...that could translate to 3,000 per week.