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Discussion: Semi Trucks
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TruckerDan |
Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 4:06 AM EDT
First off, the disclaimer. There's information here that you could use pre-Zombie to wreak havoc. Don't do it. First, truckers are our life-blood; without us and the transportation we provide, you would starve. Simple as that. Be nice to truckers. Second, stealing a big rig is not only grand theft auto but also interfering with interstate commerce, a federal crime for which you will do federal time. Almost all trucks have some sort of tracking system aboard...you WILL be caught and you WILL go to prison. Third, many truckers (including myself) keep some sort of weapon easily at hand in the truck...I'll put it through your skull if I catch you breaking into my truck, and I'm sure many other drivers out there would do the same. So, this information is to be used only in cases of absolute dire life-threatening emergency or after all applicable laws no longer exist by way of the government ceasing to function.There's quite a bit of debate about whether or not to use one, but nothing here about what to actually do with the bloody thing once you find one. Here's the lowdown, from an OTR driver with 5 years experience and a Class A CDL with TX endorsements, and about three years as a driver trainer. To be continued. Do you find this valuable?
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TruckerDan |
1. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 4:08 AM EDT
Truck stops are your best bets to find a truck that you can actually use. Yeah dealerships have 'em, but the keys are all locked up and they usually don't have a lot of fuel in the tanks. Once you've ensured there's no driver in the truck, or nearby that can lay claim to that truck, the first thing to do is check the fuel tank, make sure it's full or close to it since the power is likely to be out and you'll therefore be unable to pump fuel into your truck. A lot of truckers leave their engines idling while they're parked, and if the driver died with the engine running the tanks will be dry. Next step is to try the door...if it's open you're in luck, if not, there's probably a key hidden somewhere. Common practice is to zip-tie a spare key either to a hose under the hood somewhere, or to the little chain dangling off the back of the fuel tank cap. Dig around a bit, you'll probably find one. It would also help to scout inside the trailers of these parked trucks, as one might have some cargo you could really use; trucks haul pretty much everything, one is bound to be full of stuff you need.OK so you've got a key and are sitting in the driver's seat of a semi truck. Now what? First, make sure the transmission is in neutral by moving the stick left and right; it should have quite a bit of play and a springiness when you move it all the way to the left. That's the detent for low (or first) gear and reverse. Stick the key in and turn it right, and try to start it like a regular car. Some trucks have a pushbutton starter rather than using the key for this; if the key goes one click right and stops, look near the ignition switch for a pushbutton. If the engine doesn't crank at all, try holding down the clutch pedal while cranking. Give it up to about 10-20 seconds to get started, sometimes these beasts are a little lazy at first. Do you find this valuable? |
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TruckerDan |
2. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 4:08 AM EDT
Look around the dashboard for a pair of air pressure gauges; one will be marked P and the other S (there may also be a suspension pressure and a brake application pressure, don't worry about those). Wait until both the P and S (primary and secondary air system) gauges read over 100 PSI. They should stop climbing around 120 PSI or so. You need the air pressure not just to apply the normal "service" brakes but also to release the parking brakes...not going anywhere without air.There will be a red octagonal knob next to a yellow diamond-shaped knob somewhere easily accessed by the driver; these are your parking brakes. The red knob supplies air to the trailer parking brakes, the yellow to the tractor parking brakes. Push the red one in (hold it for a sec or it'll pop back out) and let the reservoir in the trailer fill up. When you don't hear air flowing any more, put your foot on the brake pedal to keep the truck from rolling prematurely and press in the yellow knob (usually have to hold this a sec also). The parking brakes are now released and the truck is free to roll. Do you find this valuable? |
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TruckerDan |
3. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 4:11 AM EDT
Clutching a big rig is WAY different from a regular car, because heavy trucks don't have synchromeshed transmissions. Rather than holding the clutch in as you shift, you push the clutch to get it into neutral and then release it a moment, then push it again to get it into the next gear. The timing varies slightly for different trucks, but usually the whole shift takes around 3/4 second. Think "pop, pop" as you shift and you're probably close enough. Upshifting is relatively easy; as you reach the redline (somewhere in the neighborhood of 1700 RPM on the tach) you release the gas as you push the clutch in about halfway to the floor, move the stick into neutral, push the clutch back in, move the stick to the next gear, and let the clutch out as you push the gas again. You *WILL* grind the gears for your first month or so...we all did it, you will too, get over it. If it just grinds and won't go in, try revving the engine slightly to get it to mesh, you can feel the grinding through the shift knob and use that to adjust your engine revs to match things up. Downshifting you basically do the opposite: as you approach 700 RPM or so, push the clutch in, move to neutral, let the clutch out, rev the engine up to around 1800 RPM, push the clutch in, and move the shifter to the next lower gear. Let the clutch out and hey presto.There are quite a few transmissions used on trucks, but by far the most common is the straight 10 pattern. There will be a little lever on the front of the shift knob called the range selector; down is low range and up is high range. If there's a little lever on the left side of the knob, that's called a splitter and we'll cover that in a bit. First, the selector. When it's down, you've got access to 1st through 5th gears and low reverse; up and you've got 6th through 10th gears and high reverse. Usually the pattern looks like this... Do you find this valuable? |
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TruckerDan |
4. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 4:11 AM EDT
RL/RH 02/07 04/09 ( gear in LO/HI range )| | | | | | ----//-----+----------- (// denotes that spring detent thingie) | | | | | | 01/06 03/08 05/10 Basically you'll usually start out in 2nd gear; this works for just about any situation. Push the clutch all the way down and press it to the firewall, and try to put it into 2nd (range selector down, middle forward position). Once you find the gate, gently let the clutch out just a touch and the shifter should pretty much drop into place. Let off the brake and feather out the clutch gently, without pushing the gas at all until the clutch is all the way out. Gently feed in a little gas at a time until you're up to 1800 RPM or so, then shift into 3rd, then 4th, then 5th. Shifting to 6th is where things get different; while still in 5th, lift the range selector up and shift back into 1st gear; this is now 6th since the selector is up. Repeat till you're in 10th gear, which will happen in the neighborhood of 45-50 MPH. Freakin' A, you're driving a semi! Don't bother with reversing in high range. It won't work, I don't even know why they put it on the shift pattern sticker. Always reverse in low range. Do you find this valuable? |
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TruckerDan |
5. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 4:13 AM EDT
If you've also got a splitter, that's basically good for a half a gear. Huh?! Yeah, you read that right. Back is low, forward is high...shift 2lo 2hi 3lo 3hi and so on. You only have to single-clutch these shifts, rather like you do in a car. Usually though, you can ignore the splitter. Leave it forward and you should be good to go. If you're lucky enough to have found an 18 speed truck...have fun learning it. Seriously they even boggle my brain a little.Downshifting is hard to learn well; if you're just coming to a stop it's probably easier to slow down to the point where the engine lugs (about 700 RPM usually) and then hold down the clutch pedal as you slow down the rest of the way. There are a few very important rules to remember when driving one of these beasts; there's a very good reason we have to go to special schools to learn this stuff. It ain't easy folks. First off, these trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. They take forever to accelerate and even longer to stop. You should be looking ahead for obstacles and such, about as far ahead as you can see. If you can't see 8 seconds ahead, slow down until you can. Plan where you're gonna go well in advance. SLOW DOWN FOR TURNS, those 20 MPH signs on curves are really dead serious. Flipping one of these things is no fun whatsoever. Watch for low clearance signs if you're off the main highways; most big trucks require 13'6" vertical clearance. That 12' bridge...yeah it's not gonna fit. Really. Do not attempt quick maneouvers in a semi, you'll flip it. If you're gonna hit a deer or whatever, just hit it...trying to avoid it will end up with a squashed deer and a squashed trucker, instead of just a squashed deer. Do you find this valuable? |
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TruckerDan |
6. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 4:14 AM EDT
I highly recommend finding a nice stretch of highway or a giant parking lot you can play in for a while before trying to go someplace you'd actually need to know what you're doing. Practice is invaluable here, and the danger of killing yourself or others is pretty extreme until you get that practice. Keep it slow for a while, it's easier to stop when you screw up. And I guarantee you will; even the students I trained after they got their CDLs made a mess of things for the first month or so. I did too, it's nothing to worry about. With time, you'll get it.Suggestions and edits always welcome Dan Do you find this valuable? |
VagabondVance |
7. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 6:23 AM EDT
TD this is a lot of good info you should apply to be a writer and make a page for this. At the very least you'll benefit by not having any character limits.
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StrykerPez |
8. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 3:42 PM EDT
| Post edited: Apr 16 2010, 3:44 PM EDT
I would love to see this a page.
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ItsMrManCub |
9. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 4:32 PM EDT
I agree so much good stuff here
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theghostnthedarkness |
10. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 16 2010, 6:38 PM EDT
i used to think i could drive a semi truck if i had to but before reading this i would have gotten nowhere.
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brandon_a_boyer |
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HellfireRe |
12. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 17 2010, 8:52 AM EDT
Please Dan, make a page of this, if you haven't already. Remember to make a mark of not using this before a actual Zombie Outbreak though =)
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TruckerDan |
13. RE: Semi Trucks
Apr 18 2010, 7:45 PM EDT
Thanks, all! I'm working on a new and improved (and so far about 30k long) version that I will post as a page. I do believe it'll cover pretty much everything you'll need to know. It should be up in the next couple days or so.D 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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TruckerDan |
14. RE: Semi Trucks
May 2 2010, 2:57 AM EDT
The full version is up, over yonder in the vehicles section. Enjoy!
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