Our loss prevention agents are always on the job protecting our homes.
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Yeesh. That would not be the ideal houseguest.
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I assume the family pets were found attached to the ceiling.
That almost reminds me of the time I was in Florida, delivering 42,000 pounds of laundry detergent to Publix and then picking up a load of scrap cardboard for the KC mill in Mobile. Signs all over the yard and on the warehouse, informing me to not feed those things.
As if I needed to be told. I live where alligators are guaranteed to freeze solid four months of the year. I know better. Don’t play with the wildlife. So when I went into shipping and receiving, they informed me that those signs were for the locals who keep feeding the critters. WTF!!!???
100% guaranteed it took me two hours to disconnect the trailer of detergent and connect to the load of cardboard. I had to call my dispatcher and explain the situation because I normally would do the same task in about half an hour at most. 99% of the time was making sure none of them would sneak up on me like a big black bull in a Texas pasture.
Unrelated: Big black bulls in Texas will provide excellent load security, if you can convince one to let you park in his pasture. It was an oil well drill site. The crew went home at 6 pm and wouldn’t be back until 7 am. They said I could park there if I got permission from the bull. I didn’t mess with his cows and he left me alone, watching the truck and trailer.
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I wish I had the mental fortitude to drive a big rig. I tried it and lasted a week. My first day, I had never been in a semi let alone drive one, they made me drive in rush hour traffic in Columbus Ohio…it was summer and nothing but construction. On the way home I am unashamed to say I had a complete nervous breakdown. Not the training I expected but it showed me did not have what it took to drive one full time.
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It takes balls to admit the truth about driving a big truck, along with full-time concentration. Most people believe it is just a matter of hiring some no-mind idiot and letting him steer with his feet while he is busy playing a game, texting, or whatever on his phone. Don’t ask me to list the number of times I was told that I was stupid and incompetent because I can’t keep track of those times. But it probably averaged about once a day. Some days more often when out on the East Coast or some southern big city. Some days less, such as when enjoying the drive on Montana 200.
If any truck driver claims that he has never had a nervous breakdown while in a big city, he is either:
- Greener than grass.
- Has never done it.
- Lying through his teeth.
More difficult is explaining this to anyone who has not done it. I am convinced that it is impossible to explain it to those who have never tried.
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Agreed. I get told all you had to do is drive, I wish that was all it took. You gave to concentrate 100% of the time, no daydreaming. Constantly checking mirrors, trailer and other cars, meanwhile keeping track of what gear you are in because of the big hill coming up. It was stressful
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Getting up the hill was never a problem. It is always possible to downshift during a climb. More challenging is grabbing the correct gear fast enough. You don’t need big hills or mountains. The most difficult pull that I had was getting out of a dry wash in Texas with a load of beer going to Del Rio. I hit that wash doing 68 at the bottom. By the time I got to the top, I was down to 15.
For kilometers for anyone in other countries, multiply by 1.6.
Going down mountain grades is far more interesting. Several times I watched brakes start smoking because the driver wasn’t paying attention. The rule of thumb was two gears lower than the gear used going up. A good example is Monteagle, TN. I went up in 8th gear. Back down the other side in 6th with full engine brake and the speed limiter set to 20.
For extra credit, do that while some clown decides to brake check. Once it happened and the next thing I knew, a black Mustang lit up like a Christmas tree behind me, raced around, and nailed the clown. Someone won the state lottery.
Another time it wasn’t a hill, but the Mackinac Bridge. A clown brake checked me, figuring nobody would see him. There are cameras all over that bridge. Waiting for him at Mackinaw City was a bright blue squad car. Another lottery winner.
As far as I can tell, they don’t comprehend that big trucks can’t be operated like sports cars. I have concluded that driver’s education classes no longer teach driver’s education.
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I agree. Since I drive for my job, I am convinced that everyone needs to drive a semi and a manual transmission before they can get a license
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My old pickup truck was 100% theft-proof. 5 speed manual transmission. I could leave it unlocked anywhere and nobody could move it.
For grins and giggles, I would take it to the teenager car washes at schools and churches. A teen would tell me that I can get out and he or she will move it into position while I wait. Every time, five minutes later, guaranteed, “there is something wrong with your transmission.” That was 30 years ago. I don’t see teenager car washes anymore. I wonder if I had anything to do with that?
My dad’s old 1971 F100 with a three on the tree was a semi-automatic. The transmission and linkage were worn out to the point where you could push in the clutch, and it would automatically drop from reverse to first or second to third via gravity.
The first thing that I operated with an engine on rubber was a 1941 Farmall H with a 5 speed. Next was a Massey Ferguson 35 with a 3x2x2. Then the McCormick-Deering Super W6-TA with a 5x2 transmission. That tractor was a beast for a kid to operate. My grandpa installed a power-assist on the clutch and it was still heavy. Power steering was both arms while moving. You didn’t steer it standing still. So by the time I was old enough to drive the F100, shifting gears with a clutch was no big deal. Pickup trucks have synchronized gears. Farm tractors don’t. Neither do big trucks.
If I was teaching driver’s education, it would be with an old pickup truck, worn out manual transmission, and a trailer connected to the bumper. Old pickup trucks didn’t have fancy receiver hitches. Why the trailer? Teach them how to back up a trailer between the cones. That is how my high school did it. My high school’s teacher would stand there with a stop watch, timing each student. I don’t believe that is allowed today.
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