wow just drove a big rig for the first time

Blues Power · 01-18-2013, 11:43 AM

got a buddy with a Kenworth T-660. hes a long distance guy so i dont se much of him
.
he had a short run last nite up the interstate 150 miles.

i was bugging him for a ride so he text me asked me to tag along

first off I couldnt belive the raw torque of this thing. I mean you see them belching diesal running thru 10 geasr to get top 30 MPH. so I never thought of the sheer power it was putting out to do that.

being so high up I wasent used to the speed. it barely felt like we were moving and he was doing 75.

it was also very comfortable will all the bells and whisltes

now for the big part. after he dropped the load he pulled over in the depot.

it was 11PM so theres was no traffic around.
he hopped out and told me to jump over and drive.

i was like hell yeah but let me be honest I dont have a clue.

he walked me thru the basics and i actually got it rolling on the 3rd try. and away I went banging thru the gears for a few minutes making circles ans figure 8's in the parking lot with the empty trailer.

what a trip litterally.

got a new respect for how these guys can handle these big rigs and put them where ever they want them.

now to back it up in a tight spot......hmmmm not yet for me. lol

mjb1032 · 01-18-2013, 12:05 PM

Blues, I'm so jealous...
As a kid, I was so fascinated with rigs I used to ride my bike to a local distributors' repair yard and sit behind the wheel of nonworking rigs and drive away making diesel engine sounds.
I even wrote to Peterbilt and got some truck brochures when I was like 8!

I would love to try that!

Harleydave · 01-18-2013, 12:59 PM

My step brother let me drive his without the trailer on the road one time. a lot of power there.

mike65 · 01-18-2013, 09:28 PM

Very cool. I got the opertunity to drive one at a new car & truck dealer I worked at in Florida back in the late 80's had a heavy truck dept & one was dropped off for service. After I wrote up the work order I moved it around back & parked it.

TheDude · 01-18-2013, 10:50 PM

I'd love to drive one too...but I'm always glad I'm not the guy driving one when it's backing up across a road to get into a tight parking lot.

samgupta · 01-19-2013, 12:44 AM

man that is sweet...i've always wanted to drive a big rig!

Maxum96 · 01-19-2013, 02:28 AM

It is fun. I started driving semi trucks 25 years ago before I got into law enforcement. Even though i'm a police officer now, I still drive trucks every once in a while for a friend that owns a trucking company. Here's a few of the trucks I've driven over the years. The first three pictures were trucks I drove when I was a Border Patrol Agent. The maroon Peterbilt in the first one was a drug seizure. Nice truck in great shape with a big Caterpillar engine with a 15 speed transmission. I've found the bigger the truck I'm driving, the more of a challenge and fun it is.

Hwyman · 01-19-2013, 11:03 AM

Nice trucks, Maxum. I also drove for a couple of years, starting when I was 19 before I went on to other things. Only my truck was a 1960 Autocar, truck and trailer, with a 220. A real dog compared to the nice ones you drove.

Maxum96 · 01-19-2013, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hwyman

Nice trucks, Maxum. I also drove for a couple of years, starting when I was 19 before I went on to other things. Only my truck was a 1960 Autocar, truck and trailer, with a 220. A real dog compared to the nice ones you drove.

Thanks! Trust me, I've spent my time in dogs. How about a 1963 Kenworth with the exhaust pipe elbow at the muffler blown off, driver's door that won't open and the passenger door held closed with a bungee among other issues? LOL

Funny thing is, now I'm a CVSA inspector (another name for a DOT inspector) with my department and I inspect semi trucks on the road for safety issues.

Hwyman · 01-19-2013, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxum96

Funny thing is, now I'm a CVSA inspector (another name for a DOT inspector) with my department and I inspect semi trucks on the road for safety issues.

Old habits die hard, especially enjoyable ones from our youth. My Dept. wouldn't let us drive as secondary emp. Felt it was a conflict of interest. (maybe try to talk our way out of a ticket) but I also got CVSA certified and spent several years as a Sgt. and Lt. at two Inspection Facilities (scales).

So back to Blues Power ---- First time driving something with that much weight and torque is a thrill for anybody in to automotive. Glad your buddy let you give it a try. Hopefully he'll let you have another go at it.

Rebel Racing · 01-19-2013, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxum96

It is fun. I started driving semi trucks 25 years ago before I got into law enforcement. Even though i'm a police officer now, I still drive trucks every once in a while for a friend that owns a trucking company.

Gotta ask..............is it a case of the longer the trailer, the easier it is to back up?? Reason I ask is that I find our current 30' car hauler is lot easier to back up than an old 16' open car trailer that I used to pull. I'd like to think that I just got better at it but I KNOW that is not the case. Hats off to you guys that back that 53' trailer into a dock with traffic just a few feet away.

Blue Oval Man · 01-19-2013, 10:24 PM

Driving these things gets into your blood. I have two Macks and a Peterbilt and even after 20 years driving it is still a thrill to "put the hammer down" with a full trailer and feel the torque and power. Backing those trailers up gets to be second nature, you can "almost" do it without thinking after awhile.

Rebel Racing · 01-19-2013, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Oval Man

Backing those trailers up gets to be second nature, you can "almost" do it without thinking after awhile.

I can sorta understand that..............and this statement is NOTHING compared to what you guys do but, I can drive home from a race, for say 10-12 hr and get our 30'railer in our residential driveway (2' on each side-house and fence) on the first shot BUT I will usually need a few "corrections" if I am just moving it around locally. Still, you guys really impress me the way you can handle those things. I have a buddy who's Dad does short haul (250 mile round trips). He says he'll take me for a run some time--I'd like to do it soon since he is retiring real soon.

Maxum96 · 01-20-2013, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Oval Man

Driving these things gets into your blood. I have two Macks and a Peterbilt and even after 20 years driving it is still a thrill to "put the hammer down" with a full trailer and feel the torque and power. Backing those trailers up gets to be second nature, you can "almost" do it without thinking after awhile.

I feel exactly the same way when I drive a semi truck.

Maxum96 · 01-20-2013, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebel Racing

Gotta ask..............is it a case of the longer the trailer, the easier it is to back up?? Reason I ask is that I find our current 30' car hauler is lot easier to back up than an old 16' open car trailer that I used to pull. I'd like to think that I just got better at it but I KNOW that is not the case. Hats off to you guys that back that 53' trailer into a dock with traffic just a few feet away.

In some ways a long trailer can be easier to drive. The longer the wheel base, the easier it is to keep the trailer going straight when backing. But they can be real pain in city driving. I guess it's kind of an ego thing. It's just neat to know I can drive a truck that's 70' long, 8' wide and weighing 80,000 lbs through a city. And I have a genuine love of machinery. I always have.

I posted the one picture of where I was hauling the excavator back in the mid 90's right before I got into law enforcement. That was for a heavy equipment rental company. I loved getting to drive and operate all the backhoes, track loaders, bulldozers, graders, excavators and tons of other equipment that I hauled.