Moving day
No, not for me- but I had to rent a moving truck- a BIG one, to haul some stuff to the office, and what a bloody buggery mess.
First of all, the transmission seemed to be verfuckled. Shifting from reverse to forward resulted in a massive molar rattling clang, and the brakes (Air brakes! I told you this was a big truck) were touchy and grabby. The material I was moving was a bit heavy but also freshly painted so it had to be kept from touching anything or rattling, so strapping it down andblocki ng it was extremely important, as was making sure it stayed secure. have I mentioned that there seemed to be NO shocks in the truck?
So not only was the truck stressful to drive but I had to be careful lest every Chicago pothole rattle the crap out of everything, and the wind noise in the huge cab was ludicrous. the rattle was so bad that the lights occasionally turned themselves on, and the dashboard once ejected the ashtray at me.
On the way back, I discovered that you can’t actually close the door hard enough from the inside to get it to close, so I did so from outside, taking a running start and then slamming it so hard that the door actually twisted in it’s frame and latched. Then I climbed in from the passenger side and drove home, which eliminated the wind noise, which had been masking the REST of the very ugly noises the truck had been making.
Combined with the general fun of loading, unloading, and assembling six sections of 12′ tall pallet racking, and then going to do a final inspection on a 5 acre lot with partner, by the time my head hit the pillow last night I was DONE.
now I just need to recover from this and get some of my OWN projects finished- they’re coming along, I just need another vacation to make it happen!
5 acres? that is one big ware house.
Trucks are not meant for the weak. Never have been in one that would not rattle you out like a bag of bones. Usually had the window down so noise was of less concern.
Was it a straight truck or did you have a short box semi?
Straight truck.
When I still had the job for which I got my IL class C license (GVWR 26,000 lbs) the truck I frequently drove was a Freightliner box truck with air brakes.
It, however, was comfortable and in good repair. Still noisy (because, let’s face it, it’s a truck) but everything worked.
Touchy, then they’re grabbing right away, better than stepping on the pedal and waiting one thousand and one, one thousand and two, … Grabby, sound like out of adjustment. Sounds like the box truck I had at the last CDL job, except I had to stand on the brakes with both feet and wait for them to eventually apply, no tread on the tires, no cab lights. Point this out? Owner had a stack of resumes of those who’d be more willing to drive the disaster until they got sick of it, too, and was happy to blow through people rather than fix things.