This chapter is for the benefit of most of you who have not driven a big rig, probably never will and have little knowledge of trucks.  I will describe some aspects of driving my truck that are typic … Read more

Turning The most obvious characteristics of my truck are its size and weight.  Total length of my tractor trailer is about 73 feet.  This is without the folding/unfolding spoiler (also called “tr … Read more

Width of my trailer is 102 inches.  Maximum width of my truck including the side mirrors on my tractor is about 118 inches (nearly 10 feet).  So the spare space for me even in standard-width traffic … Read more

As mentioned in the Vision tip, an important advantage the height of my truck affords is a good view of road conditions and traffic ahead of me.  There are a couple of disadvantages, one being the po … Read more

Total allowable weight of my truck including freight is 80,000 pounds in most states.  My tractor weighs about 21,000 pounds including fuel and me, and an empty dry van trailer weighs around 14,000 p … Read more

Truck Lights and Their Functions It has been my experience that my truck signal lights don’t get enough attention from some personal vehicle drivers occupying certain positions around my truck.  T … Read more

Basics The key vision advantage I have in my truck is a higher observation point than you have in your car or pickup truck.  I can look well ahead over the tops of personal vehicle traffic, spot pos … Read more

Basics The sections of this Advanced Vision tip contain detailed and somewhat technical and complicated descriptions of my tractor’s mirrors and views they provide.  Some description from the prim … Read more

As you would probably guess, the noise level in my truck cab is higher than that in most personal vehicles. This is in spite of improved sound-proofing in the relatively new model I drive. On surface … Read more

While I may not hear your personal vehicle’s horn on the open road (typically on interstates or major highways with two or more lanes in each direction, in sparse traffic, usually in rural areas) or … Read more

As you no doubt have observed, big trucks accelerate slooowly, from a standing start or in motion.  My truck is no exception and because it has a relatively small engine block with less power, gets u … Read more

Service Brakes Air brakes (service brakes) are the primary means of slowing and/or stopping big trucks such as mine.  In conventional systems, braking is performed with compressed air in lines leadi … Read more

As you would expect, steering such a large vehicle takes extra care.  Power steering eliminates “muscling” the steering wheel as was necessary with early model trucks.  In good weather on a leve … Read more

Manual Transmissions There are obvious differences between manually shifting a personal vehicle through its gears and doing so in a truck.  A truck has more forward gears, required to get to and mai … Read more

Suspension and Ride The ride in my truck is an additional, if not primary, factor for me to deal with when driving. When cruising on a new, smooth highway, I enjoy a ride that approaches that in a … Read more