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Ask a Truck driver

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Quote by browning
Is it true women pull up the side of truck drivers and flash you.

It wasn't me and H on the Severn Bridge our way to Wiltshire last Saturday, honest ! innocent
Quote by Geordiecpl2001
Do truck drivers tend to use Sat Nav and the Traffic Avoidance System? If so, and you are on a motorway which the system says is becoming congested would you look for alternative route or stick with Motorway?
John & Shel

redface Some arrogant arses think they know better than the technology available redface
Sat Nav
The portable types that are popular with car drivers are becoming more common, but I think they are bought by the drivers themselves.
Having been privileged to see one in use (by car) my own opinion of them has changed a great deal. I now accept that they are a very useful tool. From a truck driving point of view, I still doubt their value. That doubt is based on their inability (I believe) to have their settings altered. I would still not trust them to not offer me unsuitable roads by type and/or obstructions such as low bridges and weight limits.
Two examples from personal experience would be the time I was still prosecuted, fined and my licence endorsed for ignoring a weight limit in order to make a delivery because there was no "viable" alternative route avoiding a low bridge. (I appealed and won) The other was when I had Mk III out with me for 12 weeks :shock:
She would offer to navigate for me, and would (at the beginning) plot more physically direct routes from A to B, without consideration of vehicle size/capabilities. Although 40 miles shorter, they would have actually taken possibly an hour longer, used far more fuel, and annoyed far more road other road users than a truck normally does.
Traffic Avoidance Systems
Again, it comes down to the suitability of the alternative roads. Depending on the type and assumed length of the delay, it's more often better to either sit with it, or pull off and sit out the delay, thereby saving/not wasting available driving time for that day.
Quote by couple_ne2000
Why do so many lorry drivers drive so close to each other on motorways, it makes me cringe every time I see it.
H.x

Is it also to take advantage of the slip stream created by the truck infront, resulting in a small reduction in fuel consumption? Or is that a myth?
Les x
It's not a myth, and I would imagine over a long distance and as a common practice the fuel savings would be significant.
It is however very dangerous even more stupid; and probably illegal.
Quote by dambuster
Why do so many lorry drivers drive so close to each other on motorways, it makes me cringe every time I see it.
H.x

Is it also to take advantage of the slip stream created by the truck infront, resulting in a small reduction in fuel consumption? Or is that a myth?
Les x
It's not a myth, and I would imagine over a long distance and as a common practice the fuel savings would be significant.
It is however very dangerous even more stupid; and probably illegal.
sorry dammy,but surly this has to be wrong dunno ,once you've hit your limiter you can't save or use more fuel by slipstreaming or not confused
fil
Quote by lilnfil
Why do so many lorry drivers drive so close to each other on motorways, it makes me cringe every time I see it.
H.x

Is it also to take advantage of the slip stream created by the truck infront, resulting in a small reduction in fuel consumption? Or is that a myth?
Les x
It's not a myth, and I would imagine over a long distance and as a common practice the fuel savings would be significant.
It is however very dangerous even more stupid; and probably illegal.
sorry dammy,but surly this has to be wrong dunno ,once you've hit your limiter you can't save or use more fuel by slipstreaming or not confused
fil
Sure you can.....
You are still using less power/torque to maintain the same speed...
Racing drivers do it all the time especially on ovals where it really helps fuel consumption.
Quote by Steve_Mids

It's not a myth, and I would imagine over a long distance and as a common practice the fuel savings would be significant.
It is however very dangerous even more stupid; and probably illegal.

sorry dammy,but surly this has to be wrong dunno ,once you've hit your limiter you can't save or use more fuel by slipstreaming or not confused
fil
Sure you can.....
You are still using less power/torque to maintain the same speed...
Racing drivers do it all the time especially on ovals where it really helps fuel consumption.
this would only work if each driver stayed behind each other,keeping thier distance from the lorry in front and kept taking thier foot off the throttle,but as we all know they don' is why it takes some of them 5 miles to pass another.
btw this is not a dig at lorry drivers ,and as i hope to never have to'go back down the road',the sooner they ban them from the middle lane,the better wink
fil
Quote by browning
Dam, where and what is your favorite cafe?

if its ok with dammie id like to answer this one ?
there are some gr8 cafe's around but the best i used to frequent have to be
A66 penrith to scotchcorner
A50 layby just comein onto the m4 at cardiff
an 2 on the A49 one at witchurch an the other is as your just comin into warrington
an as for the truck's out side that would be a yes 90% of the time
what you tend to find is its breakfast that most truckers go 4 an if its big an cheep there there :shock: wink
hope that helps !
Quote by lilnfil
,the sooner they ban them from the middle lane,the better wink
fil

The real problem is that motorways ought to be 4 lanes.....Thus allowing lorries and caravans and coaches their own 2 lanes and cars the other 2....
I mean...............coaches can legally do 70mph but are now forbidden from using the third lane :doh:
Just making congestion worse in lanes 1 and 2....
Anyway................Back on topic
Quote by lilnfil
Why do so many lorry drivers drive so close to each other on motorways, it makes me cringe every time I see it.
H.x

Is it also to take advantage of the slip stream created by the truck infront, resulting in a small reduction in fuel consumption? Or is that a myth?
Les x
It's not a myth, and I would imagine over a long distance and as a common practice the fuel savings would be significant.
It is however very dangerous even more stupid; and probably illegal.
sorry dammy,but surly this has to be wrong dunno ,once you've hit your limiter you can't save or use more fuel by slipstreaming or not confused
fil
I'm not sure fil, as I've always understood the main principal of the limiter was to cut the fuel supply. But I still have it mind that once you get into the pocket of free air, there's little or no resistance.
It would need a "mathematician" to answer it fully I think dunno
The slipstream of a moving object is a region of reduced pressure (also known as negative pressure), exerted in the area of the object and in the direction of its movement, and caused by its movement through a medium, i.e. air!
If a following object, moving at the same speed, can position itself within the slipstream, it will require less energy (or fuel) to maintain its speed than if it was moving independently, because the front object blocks a significant amount of air resistance, therefore a lorry would need to use less fule to maintain its maximum speed.
worship
Quote by dambuster
I'm not sure fil, as I've always understood the main principal of the limiter was to cut the fuel supply. But I still have it mind that once you get into the pocket of free air, there's little or no resistance.
It would need a "mathematician" to answer it fully I think dunno

Most modern trucks now use the "fly by wire" system and therefore the limiter talks to the potentiometer and the throttle pedal doesnt tell the engine to accelerate..
Quote by Steve_Mids

I'm not sure fil, as I've always understood the main principal of the limiter was to cut the fuel supply. But I still have it mind that once you get into the pocket of free air, there's little or no resistance.
It would need a "mathematician" to answer it fully I think dunno

Most modern trucks now use the "fly by wire" system and therefore the limiter talks to the potentiometer and the throttle pedal doesnt tell the engine to accelerate..
That's what I tinker with a work on when I'm not posting on SH! But the ones I work on are for racing cars! flipa lol
Quote by Kiss
That's what I tinker with a work on when I'm not posting on SH! But the ones I work on are for racing cars! flipa lol

Same horse different jockey then flipa biggrin
Quote by Steve_Mids

That's what I tinker with a work on when I'm not posting on SH! But the ones I work on are for racing cars! flipa lol

Same horse different jockey then flipa biggrin
lol
Well there's no kudos really - I don't get to see the cars in action or get within 10 miles of them.
kiss
Feckin "fly-by-wire" teknologies rolleyes
I've had a truck totallyshut down, half way out of a T junction. Complete loss of all electrical power, plus engine shut down - for the sake of a 12pence 10 amp fuse.
Said fuse was in the main loom, that ran around the top of the block.
Cue sitting there like a twat waiting for a recymech to come with his magic box of tricks to tilt the cab to find the little fecker ! ! ! ! !
Quote by Sassy-Seren
Is it true women pull up the side of truck drivers and flash you.

It wasn't me and H on the Severn Bridge our way to Wiltshire last Saturday, honest ! innocent
rotflmao
Well as Fire spent the whole drive back to Cornwall with her hands down her pants, this may well be true. :evil2:
Quote by Stormwalker
Is it true women pull up the side of truck drivers and flash you.

It wasn't me and H on the Severn Bridge our way to Wiltshire last Saturday, honest ! innocent
rotflmao
Well as Fire spent the whole drive back to Cornwall with her hands down her pants, this may well be true. :evil2:
:shock: blink redface bolt
I remember Mr W being on the lorries when I was a (fairly tasty) 20/21 ish year old........and me in the passenger seat flashing pussy at every trucker we passed.
Then getting in the bak & shifting pallets........talk about multi-tasking! rolleyes
Quote by Stormwalker
Is it true women pull up the side of truck drivers and flash you.

It wasn't me and H on the Severn Bridge our way to Wiltshire last Saturday, honest ! innocent
rotflmao
Well as Fire spent the whole drive back to Cornwall with her hands down her pants, this may well be true. :evil2:
I sure hope YOU were driving :shock:
Quote by dambuster
Feckin "fly-by-wire" teknologies rolleyes
I've had a truck totally shut down, half way out of a T junction. Complete loss of all electrical power, plus engine shut down - for the sake of a 12pence 10 amp fuse.
Said fuse was in the main loom, that ran around the top of the block.
Cue sitting there like a twat waiting for a recymech to come with his magic box of tricks to tilt the cab to find the little fecker ! ! ! ! !

Think yaself lucky it wasnt a Stralis....
Cab tilt on those is electric :giggle:
ive got a question..... for truckers,,,,,,,,
do you all actually eat "yorkies"?
Quote by DeeCee
ive got a question..... for truckers,,,,,,,,
do you all actually eat "yorkies"?

No but I'm sure a jack russell would go down a treat :giggle:
sorry! bolt
Quote by sercher01
Dam, where and what is your favorite cafe?

A50 layby just comein onto the m4 at cardiff
!
??????
the A50 doesnt go anywhere near the M4
the M50 goes part the way down then joins the A40 then the A449
do you mean the elevated layby on the A449 with 2 snack vans in
What do you trucking peeps thing of the European Working Hours Directive now that we've been living with it for a while?
When I was doing European driving (before it was implemented) it was quite normal for me to be working 72 hours a week and sometimes 74, spread over six shifts (there was no overtime paid either, so I ask myself now why I lasted as long as I did doing it).
Now the Directive is law, my average hours a week, spread over 4 months is just about staying within the limits. I'm only driving in the UK now, with the occasional trip to Ireland, and the company I work for pay time and a half over and beyond the first eight hours of the day.
I thought I'd lose a lot of money because of the Directive, but in fact, beacuse I always work overtime hours each day I'm not earning very much less than I was before, although my take home pay's a lot less because I'm not getting 20 plus nights out money per month at European rates.
Anyone like to comment?
You know the two jacks at the front of the trailer confused:
Do they actually lift the trailer up off the cab or is it done another way confused:
I have never seen the cab hitch / un hitch before and allways wondered and wanted to see this done.
Quote by EagerSlut
What do you trucking peeps thing of the European Working Hours Directive now that we've been living with it for a while?
When I was doing European driving (before it was implemented) it was quite normal for me to be working 72 hours a week and sometimes 74, spread over six shifts (there was no overtime paid either, so I ask myself now why I lasted as long as I did doing it).
Now the Directive is law, my average hours a week, spread over 4 months is just about staying within the limits. I'm only driving in the UK now, with the occasional trip to Ireland, and the company I work for pay time and a half over and beyond the first eight hours of the day.
I thought I'd lose a lot of money because of the Directive, but in fact, beacuse I always work overtime hours each day I'm not earning very much less than I was before, although my take home pay's a lot less because I'm not getting 20 plus nights out money per month at European rates.
Anyone like to comment?

From a daughter of a HGV drivers point of view, I would say it was a good thing. My father also used to do 72hour weeks, which meant we never saw him. When he was on early shifts, and therefore getting home at a reasonable time, he was tired and grumpy. Although he was no longer driving by the time the EWD came into force, the job he did switch to involved working fewer hours........and he was a completley different man. While he was working the long hours, he wasn't our dad - just the bloke asleep on the sofa, who was grumpy and bad tempered if he was woken up. :cry:
Les x
Quote by goose35
You know the two jacks at the front of the trailer confused:
Do they actually lift the trailer up off the cab or is it done another way confused:
I have never seen the cab hitch / un hitch before and allways wondered and wanted to see this done.

They are there for when the trailer is un-hitched...
Landing legs are what they are known as..
Most are wound down with a handle but some come down automatically when the air lines from the tractor unit to the trailer are disconnected..
They are purely a means of ensuring the trailer doesnt tip forwards when un-hitched...(unless loaded heavily on the headboard and nothing further down the load bed smile )
Quote by EagerSlut
What do you trucking peeps thing of the European Working Hours Directive now that we've been living with it for a while?
Anyone like to comment?

It's shite. (My personal opinion)
In the simplistic world I prefer to live in, I selfishly viewed it as a limit on what I could earn. I still do.
The single most annoying thing is that there isn't the opt out, if people want to. True, there is the limited "full company" (???) opt out/in to increase the average over xxweeks (???)
I have no objection to occasionally working up 84 hours. Providing I'm getting paid for it. What I don't want to have to do is try to remember, or keep a count of the hours I've worked in the previous weeks/months for fear of breaking yet another rule/law.
Fortunately, in the type of work I choose to do (if I go back to tramping on boxes) there's a "way round it" - up to a point.
I found it, and still do, just a worthless exercise that means I have alter my mode switch during the day, then sit dividing my chart at the end of the day/week to count the minutes.
If I'm at work - I'm at work ffs ! !
What will happen when the smart cards fully replace charts, I don't know. I can just see the fun in a daily/weekly queue of 20/30/40 drivers at the office windows waiting for downloaded print-outs rolleyes rolleyes
For me - the WTD will be filed with most "Health and Safety" policies rolleyes mad
Can you tell I'm not a fan ? rotflmao
Quote by Steve_Mids

I have never seen the cab hitch / un hitch before and allways wondered and wanted to see this done.

Landing legs are what they are known as..
Most are wound down with a handle but some come down automatically when the air lines from the tractor unit to the trailer are disconnected..

redface redface redface
Unless of course you're distracted and 'forget' then "drop the trailer on it's knees"
redface redface redface
btw Goosey, (et al) would you be surprised, or even shocked, when I tell you that the "pin" that holds the trailer to the tractor unit is something like 2 or 3 inches in diameter ?
A 28 tonne trailer and load held to a 16 tonne tractor unit by a 3 inch in diameter steel pin :shock: (gestimated figures)
I can remember MK III being slightly concerned when she saw me hitch up one day :lol2:
"Is that it ? Is that all that holds it all together ????)