re: I drive a semi truck. Ask me anything.

Has the price of a lot lizard been affected by inflation?

If so. What is the going rate?


Not asking for a friend.

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Why do so many people that operate semi trucks have no clue what they are doing - especially around lane usage? It used to be that about 8 out of 10 big rigs were operated near perfectly. Now it seems to be more like 5 out of 10 on a good day, which is only a slightly better score than the average 4 wheeler driver. I’ve seen this degradation in quality in a lot of fields, but it’s very acute in long haul trucking. Why is that?

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maybe because there are more and more drivers and cdl schools are pushing them thru to easily? I witnessed people that looked like they didn't have a hs diploma(I have a college degree also). I've watched new drivers learn on backing pads that could never do any of the backing correctly, take their practical exams and pass. Weird. A big problem is drivers are driving "tired" also. They don't practice good sleeping habits. You see a good driver making bs mistakes like swerving, cutting people off, driving in wrong lane etc. Also new drivers make innocent mistakes that can cause serious accidents that end in death. Like a blinker change and they thought it was clear and switched over hitting a car causing that car to flip over 5 times etc. They didn't look in the blind side mirror on both sides. Anytime I'm in heavy traffic andnneed a lane change I blink long and slowly switch lanes because many cars will be right behind a truck/trailer and you can see them, they will see you switch lanes and still try to speed up, switch over and pass you. Many cars attempt this. Our trucks all have side and front cameras. When a trucker has an accident, the company sends the video on the spot to the driver to his cell phone to show the state trooper. Literally where he would have been cited otherwise cause the car driver was lying. The car driver gets the ticket. Trucker drives off.

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Also why are dump truck drivers even worse? It’s rare that you see one that isn’t driving like a maniac. Do the keys to those dump trucks come with a meth addition or is that just a popular add on?

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im not sure. Maybe cause dump truck guys driver in town and they acting like they fast n furious? Not sure. Lots of semi trucks are advertising their "how's my driving" call 800 blah blah is something looks weird.

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Are America’s highways as functionally obsolete from your perspective as they seem to us 4 wheelers?

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I have literally thought to myself while driving several times that they DOTD should build a new infrastructure hwy system for only semi trucks. It would take 30 yrs or more to make a totally new transportation roadway for semis going in and out of every major city. Distribution centers around American woukd just build around these new hwys. Fantasy obviously.

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What is the best truck stops/travel centers along I-10 in Louisiana in terms of cleanliness? Quality of food? Tiger Truck stop in Grosse Tete looks pretty busy.

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I love the new Tiger truck stop especially on Thursdays/Friday nights. They make fresh shrimp stew. Holy God it's good. Huge parking(new), showers(just fuel there and they give you a shower and fresh towels). I have to admit I've only used Love's in Duson, Love's in Vinton, Petro in Hammond and I have to say I enjoyed The Tiger the best because of the restaurant. Their homemade burgers are great. But the shrimp stew was better than any truck stop over eaten at.

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What’s the best road side food you’ve had in the gulf coast?

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I had this barbeque in lake City Florida called Sonny's that was awesome. There is one in Baton Rouge. It wasn't as good tho in BR. The ine in Lake City was so good. I also stayed at a place in Refugio, TX at a Sunoco truck stop. There tacos were pretty good.

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you support increasing the standard weight capacity of 53’ dry vans used for interstate travel if we limited their speed to 65mph? With a third axle, the weight capacity could increase to match Canada’s max (at least during summer). This would make trucks more productive but it could mean fewer jobs

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I don't have 20 yrs in like alot of older guys but from what I know, I don't support heavier weight limits at all. It's already dangerous enough. Hauling 77k out of 80k lbs possible between truck/trailer/payload is crazy heavy. Try going down a hill and then go up one. The force is incredible. You have to use your Jake brake sometimes and going up makes your truck sound like it's about to die on you sometimes and your trans is about to go out and thats on a clear day. Tbh im against the 65 mph cap but again not really against it. Part of me believes it should be 70mph on cruise control, 68 on foot. But the other part of me is gold with 65 IF all trucks are mandated 65mph so there isn't so much lane changing between trucks. Make all trucks go at one speed but I believe the speed should be the limit of most of the country on interstates which is 70. Yeah i75 has 75 mph and 20/10/30/35 all have 75 mph zones. I just believe trucks can go 68 safely on foot and 70 on cruise if the trucks are equiped with interactive cruise. If it's 65 across the board then as long as it's the same for all trucks. I cannot stand when you have a speed governed truck that's 1/2/3 mph faster and your at their time clock. I speak for all drivers in that regard.

What’s the best big rig brand for an owner-operator?

I'm not sure but I love the Peterbuilt in the models that my company buys. They buy frienhtliners/internationals/vovlo/kenworths

The Pete is the biggest one. I want that one next truck I get. We have a thing where once you get the truck you have to around 380k miles they look to trade it out with a new one. I'm getting a pete!.

What are the best big rig jokes that you know?

I'm boring. I told a story back one of the other pages about in cab cameras. That's was the best one yet I've been told.

My tires are done and my reset ends at 630 pm and it back on the road till I stop.

Do you ever do what they say can’t be done?

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This was my question. Do you have to be a owner operator for the spouse to tag along or will most companies allow it?

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all companies mostly allow it. It's a small insurance fee. Mine is 12 bucks a month or 3 bucks each check.

How often do you have the company make illegal edits to your digital time cards when you need to find an extra 30 minutes

And can you still cover the antennas with a basketball cut in half then start your hours accordingly

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They didn't look in the blind side mirror on both sides

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Are cameras being used more?

As a complete outsider to the industry, it seems to me like it would be relatively easy and relatively cheap to just freaking plaster cameras all over the tractors at least, and at least build fittings into the trailers, and enough screens in the cab to see everything.

For that matter, it must be getting cheap enough to consider feeding the imagery into a separate computer and getting some kind of real-time feedback similar to a HUD. Do you know of anybody pursuing things like that? Or would it be unnecessary overload rather than helpful?

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Super 10 splitter or 13 speed?

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automatic 10 speeds is what my company uses

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You ever had a front tire blowout?
My RV is on a Freightliner Cascadia chassis and the thought scares the chit of me.

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luckily I haven't. I've had drives and tandems go flat not steers. Mine are air pressured. Imagine a tandem blowing out and your air brakes are locking up and your forcing your truck to go 22 mph to get it off the road and to a place where a tech can fix whatever is wrong.