1 of my other tractors

[Timber]

Does this one count, LOL probaly not. This is 1 of my rigs

 

[ovrszd]

Does this one count, LOL probaly not. This is 1 of my rigs

Yes it counts!!! I'll tell a funny story about a truck being a tractor. 20 years ago the local fair was having a tractor pulling contest. When they finish pulling the heavy class a guy brought his semi tractor out onto the track. He hooked onto the sled and pulled it out the gate. he shifted gears three times!!! The crowd went wild!!!!

 

[Timber]

I have 2 of these, One of my drivers is a little girl about 5' 1" LOL when I hired her I had her out on the road and she never touched the clutch. It was pretty impressive since she had never been in the truck before. She said when your as small as me you can either reach the peddles or see out the window. She is my best driver and runs my biggest wagons. She just turned 40 and has over 1,000,000 miles under her working on her next million

 

[bx23barry]

I would never hire a driver that didn't use the clutch. Yes I can tell by tearing a trans down.

 

[ovrszd]

I would never hire a driver that didn't use the clutch. Yes I can tell by tearing a trans down.

Then you would have one of two things Barry,,,, no drivers,,,, or drivers that lie to you!!! A truck driver worth hiring only uses the clutch to start from a stop or thru a difficult split shift. After that, it's clutchless shifting.

 

[Timber]

In all my years in the trucking industry I have never had a truck go down for transmission issues. It is usually clutches and compressors or AC brackets. I did see a guy tear up a differential by splitting the axle at 70 MPH. The only way not shifting without a clutch does damage it pulling it out of gear under a load. Road rangers fall out of gear just looking at them, Fuller Eaton’s aren’t much better but the Rockwell’s are pretty tight. I don't know any drivers with miles under them that use a clutch. Most semi tractors go 700,000 miles before you rebuild the top end and the lower end at 1,000,000. I have herd them going 2,000,000 miles but that is very rare. The rest of the rig is pretty beet by then

 

[ovrszd]

In all my years in the trucking industry I have never had a truck go down for transmission issues. It is usually clutches and compressors or AC brackets. I did see a guy tear up a differential by splitting the axle at 70 MPH. The only way not shifting without a clutch does damage it pulling it out of gear under a load. Road rangers fall out of gear just looking at them, Fuller Eaton’s aren’t much better but the Rockwell’s are pretty tight. I don't know any drivers with miles under them that use a clutch. Most semi tractors go 700,000 miles before you rebuild the top end and the lower end at 1,000,000. I have herd them going 2,000,000 miles but that is very rare. The rest of the rig is pretty beet by then

Being the gear head that I am, I thoroughly enjoy watching and listening to a good truck driver pull out of a parking lot and get up to hiway speed. It's a wonderful match of man and machine. Makes you wonder how that engine can make that big load move with so few RPMs and effort. It's all about gearing and the driver's understanding of it. An absolutely beautiful thing!!! God Bless our truck drivers!!! What would we have without them!!!

 

[Timber]

Those trucks are set up nice; they’re all *****-powered with 500 Cats with Duel stacks and aluminum wheels. When you’re pulling 80 grand in paper through the mountains it is so nice to have some power under the bonnet

 

[bx23barry]

I knew I could fire some puny left leg drivers up

 

[RobertN]

I found one that drives me bonkers. Our fire station has a GMC Topkick with a Detroit 8V and a 10spd Road Ranger, carrying 2800 gallons of water plus fire equipment. Most of the time, that thing drives me nuts. Just something about the Detroit and that 10 spd. I'll get through a few gears, and lose it. Can't catch a gear for the life of me.

I drove an old buddies Freightliner 10 wheel dump with the same tranny mated to a Cummins. Did just fine. Got back on that water tender, and missed gears, had to stop and start from 1st.