Ranger Jeff just needs 40 more posts until he's Uber.

[Aldebaran]

None- informed on anything considering large vehicles - let alone driving them - asking intelligent questions

How long is the monster you drive, how many gears does it have and how on earth do you keep such a thing under control?

note here I don't even talk about how to put the thing in an immobile, because parked position.

[Ranger Jeff]

Originally posted by Surgoshan
Are you saying that Clevelanders are all on drugs and our favorite archeologist is depressive?

Naw, I'm saying Cleveland isn't much fun to drive through and should be rated lower than 33. And Indianapolis is pretty easy to drive through and should be rated higher. Though, oddly enough, the 4 wheelers seem to get stupid when you leave Indy on I-70 heading east.

[Ranger Jeff]

Originally posted by Aldebaran
None- informed on anything considering large vehicles - let alone driving them - asking intelligent questions

How long is the monster you drive, how many gears does it have and how on earth do you keep such a thing under control?

note here I don't even talk about how to put the thing in an immobile, because parked position.

Aldebaran, the only dumb questions are the ones you're afraid to ask.

I pull 53' dry van trailers. And the tractor would be considered an aerodynamic mid roof conventional sleeper. I've never really paced out how long it is, but I'd consider the combination to be from 65' to 70' long. There are longer tractors and there are shorter ones.

The one I have now has a 10 speed semi automatic transmission. By semi automatic, I mean it has a clutch pedal that I only use when I come to a full stop or shift from drive to reverse. The first one I was assigned had a 10 speed manual transmission. I have also driven 9 speed manuals and there are 13, 15, and 18 speed transmissions available. Don't be intimidated by all those forward speeds. You'd never use them ALL going from a full stop to highway speed. Let me explain how a 15 speed really works and to do that, I'll explain the 10 speed first, since that's what I'm most familiar with.

You might want to get a piece of paper and pencil out, it'll help. And while you do that, I'll post this and start another post.

[Ranger Jeff]

Okay, imagine the shifter pattern for a 5 speed manual transmission in your car. It's really a 6 speed, but one of them is reverse and isn't counted. So there are 6 different postitions for the shifter to be in when it's engaged. And horizontally, in the center is the neutral zone. And through the use of detents and springs, if the shifter is left to it's own, it might (on some models) generally come to rest in a "home" position.

Maybe I can do this in the post. I hate ansci graphics. Copy that drawing on your paper, I'll be referring to it often.

A C E
| | |
n -- h --- n
| | |
B D F

If that worked out, A, C and E are toward the firewall and B, D, and F are, well, back. nhn indicate the neutral row with h as the home position. That's handy if it comes out of gear and if you need to tell by touch where the shifter is.

On the shifter knob of a 10 speed there is a switch. It can be a toggle switch or a rocker switch and on older ones it can be a plunger. It's oriented so it goes up or down. This is the range selector. If it's down, you've selected the low range and up you've selected the high range.

When the range selector (hereby R) is in the down position (hereby L), here's the shift arrangement

A = Reverse (low)
B = 1st gear
C = 2nd gear
D = 3rd gear
E = 4th gear
F = 5th gear

When R is in the up postion (H), it's like this

A = Reverse (high)
B = 6th gear
C = 7th gear
D = 8th gear
E = 9th gear
F = 10th gear

Trucks like this do not have synchronized transmissions like passenger cars, pickups, and the like have. I have to double clutch (I won't go into the tricks of the trade) and I have to match the transmission speed (how fast the wheels are turning) with the engine speed to shift gears. If I get this wrong, I'll hear and feel the chattering sound of unaligned gear teeth tearing each other apart. The trick is to watch your tachometer and control your rpm. How?

Let's say I'm shifting from 6th to 7th. The shifter is in B with R = H. At 1650 rpm or so I'm going about 26 mph. I hold the throttle steady with my right foot, check the rpm, engage the clutch with my left foot, pull the shifter into neutral, release the clutch and let up on the throttle. I let the rpms fall to 275 rpm less then when I pulled it out of gear. Then I apply the clutch, shift into 7th, and release the clutch. By the time I've done the last 3 things, the rpms should have dropped to 1350 and it'll slip right in. If you miss, you might have to goose the throttle and let it fall again. The key to upshifting is letting your rpm drop 300 to shift into the next gear.

[Rowan]

Jeff! you have 14 posts to go!

While I still have more than 800....

[Ranger Jeff]

So now, how do I use all these gears to get to speed from a full stop? Well, I probaby don't use all of them in the first place. The 5 gears in the low range just get you going from a full stop to 20 mph or so, depending on how high you want to rev you engine.
The only time I'll use 1st gear is if I'm completely loaded (45,000 lbs of freight in the trailer, 35,000 lbs of truck, trailer, fuel and driver) and I'm starting UP an incline. Fully loaded on a level or downhill, I'd start out in 2nd. And if I'm normally loaded (say, 38,000 or less) I'd just start out in 3rd. That's pretty convenient if I'm stopped at a traffic light and have to make a left turn onto the entrance ramp. Once I'm rolling, I don't have to shift gears until I've gotten the steering wheel straighted out from the turn.

If the ramp is downhill, I'll probably "skip shift". Instead of letting the rpm drop 300 and shifting into 4th, I'll really tach it up, let the rpm drop 600, and shift into 5th. In 5th, I'll flip the range switch to H (it's also called a 'pre select') and depending on conditions, I'll shift to 6th or skip shift to 7th. For some reason, you can't skip shift from 8th to 10th. The weight of the load and the grade of the ramp will determine if I skip shift or not. With a normal load, starting out in 3rd, I'll work my way up to 65 mph in 10th making only 5 shifts.

So, that's a 10 speed. What about a 15 speed? Well, there's another control on the shift knob. It's a button: push it and it stays in. Push it again and it comes out. It's either called the splitter or the overdrive. It only works when the transmission is in the high range and only applies to 6th through 10th gear.

Suppose I've got a 15 speed and having done what I described 2 paragraphs up, I'm rolling along the interstate at 65 mph in 10th gear at 1600 rpm. I push the splitter button in, ease off the throttle till the overdrive engages and reapply the throttle. I can bring it back to 65 mph and my tach will be at 1450. The splitter drops 150 off your rpm. So you'll save fuel but for an upgrade, you might need to switch it off for more power to make it up the hill. NOONE would go through ALL 15 different combinations to get to freeway speed from a full stop.

A nine speed transmission only has 4 gears in it's high range. So a 13 speed is a 9 with a splitter. An 18 speed would have a splitter for all 9 speeds. This might be convenient if you were driving a 'heavy hauler', a truck set up to operate in excess of the normal 80,000 lb gross vehicle weight rating.

[Ranger Jeff]

Originally posted by Rowan
Jeff! you have 14 posts to go!

While I still have more than 800....

Well, even when I make Uber, you'll still be smarter and prettier than me.

[Ranger Jeff]

If you've read all the answers above, you can imagine why I like having a semi automatic transmission on the rig. I don't have to mess with that stuff at all. Just step on the clutch, shift it into drive, release the clutch and brake and apply throttle as needed.

How else do I control the "monster"? Well, when I'm driving it, my head is about 6 feet higher than all the other 4 wheelers, so I do have a better view of what's in front of me. There are a lot of blind spots and that's why a driver has to learn to use his mirrors. But they won't show you everything. I get really annoyed when I signal that I want to change lanes and the 4 wheelers line up to pass me on that side so they won't be stuck behind a truck. Why not let me in and pass me on the left in the lane that I vacated?

[Rowan]

Originally posted by Ranger Jeff
Well, even when I make Uber, you'll still be smarter and prettier than me.

Well, prettier, anyway....

::ducks::

[Aldebaran]

Thank you for the clear answers. I had to look up a few terms and I suppose rpm = rotation pro minute. It is also a bit difficult to imagine the speed you describe when used to Km/hour instead of miles, but I get the idea. The lenght I still have to convert in meters, but I assume it is long. "dry van trailor" I can't place, yet I assume it is the type covered with canvas.

trucks like this do not have synchronized transmissions like passenger cars, pickups, and the like have.

The fun with syncronized transmissions starts when the disks start slipping. A friend of mine had a car you had to know very well or you risked to have the whole tranmission falling from under it. As a student others always relied on me to bring them safely home after they dived into alcohol. Hence one day I had the luck to get the keys of his antiquity. By the time I got used to its special ways for changing gear the transmission bar came loose and dropped from under it, keeping attached at the motor side. The noise it made was nothing in comparison with the flickering lights that followed us through the night until I got it to stop. (At an other occasion the exhaust came off, with the same result.) There are better ways to become known as problem-solving hero among female students, but it had its charm

I have to double clutch (I won't go into the tricks of the trade) and I have to match the transmission speed (how fast the wheels are turning) with the engine speed to shift gears.

In the same period I ruined my friend's cherished car I talked once with a truck driver who drove an impressive 16 gear machine. He talked about "half gears" in-between the real ones. Is that what is behind your description of "double clutch"?

If you've read all the answers above, you can imagine why I like having a semi automatic transmission on the rig. I don't have to mess with that stuff at all. Just step on the clutch, shift it into drive, release the clutch and brake and apply throttle as needed.

I don't know a thing about automatic transmissions but I can imagine for drivers like you they must be a real blessing. For normal cars it sounds not much fun to me to drive an automatic transmission. (Where is the sport in that). Personally I don't drive anymore since I had a very serious accident. I caused someone who was with me to get injured, knocked myself in a coma and got a back injury that reminds me regularly it is still there.
I still am a speedy car fanatic, yet it is not only "family pressure" that holds me back. I would be a danger on the road. My hands already start sweating when I turn the key to start a car engine (the hero in me doesn't give in and tries to drive on locations where there are only birds as witness).
Now close your eyes and imagine me handling your monster machine, wearing my traditional outfit with head-towel and all. I could give Terrorism a whole new face in the USA. Yet I better don't start in California with trying out the effect or my new career ends where a gun with a person behind enters the street

Salaam. A

[dogbutler]

Originally posted by Rowan
Jeff! you have 14 posts to go!

While I still have more than 800....

I have 63

[dogbutler]

Uber may take

[dogbutler]

a while to make.

[dogbutler]

Burma Shave.

[Rowan]

::giggles::

[Suerreal]

Jeff, how often do you change trailers?

[Suerreal]

Alde, Trailers in Europe are shorter than trailers in the US. 53 feet = 16.3 meters.

Also, while almost all trucks in Europe have cloth sides with neatly zigzagged ropes securing them, that is the exception rather than the rule here in the US - most trailers here are metal all round.

- Sue

[Ranger Jeff]

Originally posted by Rowan
Well, prettier, anyway....

::ducks::

I'm trying to be gallant. Work with me, nu?

[Ranger Jeff]

Originally posted by Suerreal
Jeff, how often do you change trailers?

The way this run works, I exchange a loaded trailer for another loaded trailer (drop and hook) on the Illinios side of this run twice a week. Usually on Thursday I pick up the one I dropped off on Tuesday.

But on other runs, I could go months with the same trailer.

[Ranger Jeff]

Originally posted by Suerreal
Alde, Trailers in Europe are shorter than trailers in the US. 53 feet = 16.3 meters.

Also, while almost all trucks in Europe have cloth sides with neatly zigzagged ropes securing them, that is the exception rather than the rule here in the US - most trailers here are metal all round.

- Sue

Alde, what Sue has described is what is called here a "curtain side" trailer. Handy for loading and unloading from the sides. On the other hand. No security at all, all it takes is a sharp knife to cut through the canvas.

A quick and not very accurate conversion is 3 feet is a little less than 1 meter. For your purposes, it should be close enough.

[Ranger Jeff]

Alde said:

In the same period I ruined my friend's cherished car I talked once with a truck driver who drove an impressive 16 gear machine. He talked about "half gears" in-between the real ones. Is that what is behind your description of "double clutch"?

You probably misremembered the gears. It was most likely a 15 speed truck. There aren't any 16 speeds. Then he would have been referring to those speeds offered by a splitter that I described in your answer, part 3. Half gear is a fair enough description.

Alde:

Now close your eyes and imagine me handling your monster machine, wearing my traditional outfit with head-towel and all. I could give Terrorism a whole new face in the USA.

Are you referring to a turban or a keffiya/ghutra/agal head covering? I've seen bearded drivers wearing turbans. But I suppose a driver wearing the keffiya/ghutra/agal driving a trailer with hazardous material placards might cause some folks to do a double take. He'd be subjected to the same level of inspections that someone wearing a NASCAR ball cap driving a HAZMAT placarded trailer would have.

I hate driving HazMats.

[Ranger Jeff]

I suppose this is post 2998. I don't think I'll be able to make Uber today unless I get another question.

[Ranger Jeff]

Yeah, that one was 2998. So I guess if I decide to ever post again, It'll be my first Uber post.

I hope I get fireworks and a yellow cake with pink icing. And a limo full of hookers and blow.

If I do ever post again, that is.

[Surgoshan]

Ever drop water balloons on annoying people at stop lights?

[RebelK]

[cake]Here I am with the yellow cake with pink icing! Am I on time? Whadda ya mean he hasn't crossed the line? Really? What's your problem cutie? Finish already! [/cake]

No car fulla hookers though. The hookers in Ft. Worth try not to get in a car in the heat of summer. Makes for some interesting roadside tableaus. I did get the big pile of blow however. Do you want the bubble wand or do you want the big ring you run with until the bubbles come out?