My Co-driver and I are going to start making infovideos for New Truck Drivers.

[cherokeeprogressive]

Here is the first one. We're hoping to make New Truckers' lives a little easier and remove some of the stress that comes with being a "Newbie".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Y_x5uqE68

[jmowreader]

1. Here's some tips you might want to use...

1. How to put oil in the engine without making a puddle: Truck oil comes in gallon jugs because a quart doesn't do anything for you--a Cummins ISX (one of the most popular truck engines today) holds fourteen gallons of oil and there's two gallons between "full" and "add." The same asshole who put a 56-quart oil pan on this thing also put the fill tube in a place you can't put the oil in without dumping half the shit on the side of the block. You can buy one of those flexible funnels for $10 the next time you're on home time--don't bother looking for one at a truck stop because they're always out--or you can look for an empty "diesel exhaust fluid" jug in the garbage at a fuel island. Diesel exhaust fluid is used in the smog control system on a new truck, and it comes in these two gallon wine boxes with a flexible spout. When you find an empty jug in the trash, steal the spout because it makes a perfect oil funnel. Just shake the thing real hard when you get it to get all the DEF out.

2. Never, never, never choose a "pull through" parking spot over a "back in" one. You need as much practice backing the truck as you can get.

3. There are two places you want to park your truck: with the trailer doors about a foot from a fence, building or other obstruction, or with the back of the trailer hanging out over a 50-foot cliff. This way no one can open your trailer in the middle of the night and steal your cargo.

4. Do not, whatever you do, pull your truck into a parking spot at a truck stop tonight and back out tomorrow morning. Always back in tonight and pull out tomorrow. The reason: If you are a company driver, the trailer number and your company's accident hotline phone number are on your trailer doors--and the company knows exactly which trailer is hooked to your truck. If some fuckhead who hit something decides he wants to blame it on another driver to get out of trouble himself, he's going to call the first accident hotline he can find a phone number for and tell 'em, "some guy pulling trailer 56789 just hit me." And then YOU are in trouble even though you didn't do shit.

5. Padlocks are your friend. Put one on your trailer doors.

6. Always carry a crowbar, a hammer, a broom, a screwdriver, four load locks, a socket set, a tire gauge and a camera. Make sure it's a truck tire gauge, not a car tire gauge--most car tire gauges won't go up to 100psi, which is what you run in a truck tire.

7. Get $27 in one-dollar bills and put it in an envelope. Write "Scale Money" on it and stick it in your glovebox. If you have more than 30,000 pounds in the trailer, drag it across the scale. It costs $9 to scale a load and hundreds to pay an overweight fine--and your company will reimburse you for scaling loads. Don't use this for anything else.

8. On scaling: The decision point is 30,000 pounds. If you're pulling less than that it's basically impossible to load the trailer so you've got an overweight axle.

9. Every once in a while you are going to have to go to your yard for maintenance--oil change, new tires, brake work, whatever. They like to do this when you're empty so they're not worried about screwing up delivery schedules. The problem is, no trucking company has enough trailers. If you show up with an empty trailer, someone else will take it. If you want to keep it, get an old bill of lading and stick it in the documentation box, then put a trailer seal and a padlock on the door. Everyone else will think it's full and they probably won't drag it off. (Having said that, once upon a time I took a trailer that really WAS full, with a seal, BOL and lock on it, to a yard and someone tried to leave with my load.

10. How to PTI an empty trailer you're about to hook up to: step one is to open the door and make sure there isn't anything in there.

11. No one cares when you leave on a trip. Everyone cares when you arrive. If you've got a nine-hour run ahead of you, and you've been sitting for six or seven hours waiting for it to arrive or be loaded (or, God forbid, to be made) you will get there faster if you sit for another three hours. That way you've had an entire break and leave with fresh hours.

12. A GPS is not a luxury item if you drive truck.

13. Spend the extra money for the large print atlas even if you don't think you need it--they're much easier to read under dim light.

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. Thank You So Much jmowreader.

There is nothing like getting information from someone who knows. I've been lucky so far; DU Truckers have helped me immensely. Special Shout Out here to Tobin. He actually shipped me some things to help me out.

I am going to, with all due respect, reply to some of your points though.

While I have a funnel on the truck, I've been able to make funnels out any number of different things, including a piece of cardboard I found. That was for a car, but I'm sure it work for a truck as well. All I had to do was roll it into a cone.

2. I will always pull through if the opportunity presents itself. I have a very long experience with trailers of all kinds and have no problem putting my trailer where I want it to go. One pull forward is all it ever takes for me. Not bragging, just stating fact here. I'll pull into spots tractor first for the simple reason that it puts my sleeper between the rear end of trailers rather than side-by-side with tractors that idle all night long if it's hot outside.

4. He'd have to prove that he was in a spot where I could have hit him. My Qualcomm is accurate to 20 feet or so the company says.

7. Scales are now $9.50. Got that covered.

12. I use the GPS, Company directions, Atlas, and even Google Earth on my laptop to know where I'm going before I ever leave.

[jmowreader]

7. For number 2...

You've been at truck stops and loading docks...you know guys can't fucking back. The only way you get good at backing trailers is to back trailers, so since you're making videos to help out new drivers, I'd say the most important thing you can tell a guy is, "back as often as you can, until it becomes second nature."

As for number 4, that was actually from personal experience. There are two Pilots in Monroe, Michigan. I went to the northern one, fueled and found a parking spot--right ahead of the fuel island. So, I pulled into it, went inside and got a shower. When I got out of the shower my phone was ringing..."this guy says you sideswiped him coming around him." Uhh...no I didn't, there wasn't anyone there TO sideswipe, okay? Safety sent me out to look at the guy's truck to see if I could find the damage. There was damage, all right: this guy was running a Freightliner with the fiberglass front spoiler, and the middle of the spoiler was broken and pushed in--damage you couldn't have gotten from being sideswiped. I sent Safety a photo. They got a good laugh out of that one.

You might also want to mention "food grade trailers." A food grade trailer is one that's clean inside, with no structural damage that can injure the load (splintered sidewall boards, bad floor, nails in the floor) or odors of any kind.

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. LOL!!!

Hee hee.....I gots ta get me one of those trucks with the autopilot thingus.

I always heard that snot on the gladhands worked better than spit.

The licking the dipstick thing is true. I've had great luck. The doctor tells me my tongue will grow back in a few years.

[cherokeeprogressive]

5. Your tongue will grow back? You reptile you.

Hey I had a perfect, no hits Level 1 DOT inspection a couple of days ago. There was a softball size hole in the spare on my catwalk.

What other things do you know of that I can post for Newbies? I've already heard about Brake Shoe Extenders and Telescopic King Pin Measurement Tools.

Help me pass on good (or bad) info to Newbies.

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. How to fix a flat on your fifth wheel, for starters.

Where and how to top up the blinker fluid.

How to change lanes trailer first.

"You really don't need to swing it that wide in the turn."
(They'll replace the sign, don't worry)

It doesn't really matter which air line goes where. They both blow.

For flat-bedders - when tarping just remember, bungies are for nimrods.

For car haulers - dragging chains down the road not only looks cool with all the sparks, a shiny chain is a strong chain.

For tanker drivers - if it ain't smooth bore, you're a wimp.

For bull haulers - extra water sprayed onto the top deck helps you get away from scales easier, especially with the right amount of timely brake application.

(if you don't get that one, just ask!)

Always shift your tandems ON the scale, regardless of what the sign says.

When descending a long grade just remember; Smoking brakes are more effective.

And most important of all;

When you are driving down a 3 lane stretch and trucks are restricted from the left lane, the CENTER lane is where ALL smart truckers drive, even if the next exit/entrance is 15 miles away. I mean, why wouldn't you drive down the hammer lane for trucks? Fuck em' if traffic backs up behind you.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. Smoking brakes are more effective LOL

Shows they're workin' huh.

[denbot]

4. I'm a non-trucker..

But I subscribed anyway. Thanks for posting.