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Depends on the truck and configuration, Scanias, volvos and MANs have 12 gears total, while the 500 HP euro 6 MAN has 14. (They have 1 or 2 reverse gears, not counted in the overall gears). Old MAN trucks used to have 16 gears, while there were really old mercedes trucks that used fuller transmissions, with 13 or even 18 gears.
But the common is 12 gears. Most ompanies nowadays also use automatic transmissions, which can be switched into sequential mode with the push of a button.
I havent taken a photo of it, but all the company trucks look the same, they are either MAN TGX 440s, 480s or 500s, and rarely mercedes actrosses, there were also some DAFs but they are replaced by now. Just type "GARTNER KG trucks" in google and check images, I have a refrigerated trailer, commonly refered to as "Frigo"
This is pretty much how all truckers drive, I have very rarely seen a truck on the inside lane in a roundabout, only on those huge ones near Venice in Italy. Problem is, if you go on the inside lane, cars will get in your way, and may not let you return to the outer lane to exit said roundabout, which causes problems, simplest thing is to use the outer lane, even though they teach you differently at driving schools.
Fun fact: cars cut you off all the time IRL, they dont care that you try to drive a huge truck and do your job, and they are completely unaware of the dangers of cutting a truck off, which many times results in totaled cars, while the truck drives off whith minimal damages.
It can vary depending on type of gear box and vehicle manufacturer. Generally 12-16
Stay out of the UK with your cheap diesol and running costs, our companies can't compete :P
I dont stay out of anywhere, cause i have no choice in the matter, feel free to call my company and tell em though :P.
On a more serious note, i havent been in the UK, i always go to greece, italy, france, austria, germany, and some times belgium and the netherlands.
Problem is, hungarian truckers work for about 1600 euros a month, so we are many times taken advantage of, but hte real problem, are polish drivers, (no offense) cause they work for 650 euros a month...
Btw. Have if ytou ever get a chance, drive an ERF. You will find the gearbox a tad fun ;P
ERF? thats an abbreviation i guess, what is it exactly?
Ah i see why i wasnt familiar with it. Btw, do you know any companies in the UK that pay drivers fair money regardless of their ethnicity? I mgetting kinda sick of getting paid half the money the austrian drivers get.
How did you got your C+E driver license? Did you paid it before searching for a job, did the company which you're working for paid it or simple as it gets - did you got it on your compulsory military service? (i'm 33 years old and back in 2002-03 when i got out from school, it became only voluntary, so i didn't had to attend that service)
I also have another question about shifting: I play on a keyboard so analog throttle is out of the question, but would you recommend ALWAYS keeping revs within the eco band, or are there instances where you want to go around 2k? Also, on a straight and at, say, 80kph, is it better to keep revs on the higher or the lower spectrum of the eco band (10 vs 15)? Is there an appreciable difference? Is there somewhere a list of ideal economies based off engine hp and cargo tonnage I could use for reference?
I got my C+E license myself, before going to work for my company, however, many companies do offer to pay for your license, however you have to sign a contract to work for them for a certain amount of time.
Seeing that you speak english, i would definitely recommend you to work in the UK as companies pay way better there. I could also recommend a company in austria called fluckinger, many slovakian drivers work there, and its 115 euros a day, if they hire you (a bit difficult to be hired without experience).
Family life can be a problem, if you work for a company where you spend up to a month at a time in a truck, but there are companies where you are home every weekend, you have to ask these things at the company you will apply to.
First of all you should know that im only 23 and ive only worked with modern truck, that being said, the risk of burning out your brakes, is pretty low, unless the driver is a total idiot.
You should also know, that modern trucks, when you press the footbrake, they first engage the retarder, and only if you press the footbrake harder, (or suddenly) they engage the normal brakes.
Most of what you wrote is correct, though modern trucks dont have trailer brakes separately anymore, when you press the footbrake, the brakes of the trailer activate a couple miliseconds before the ones of your tractor unit.
Also typicaly, when you use the retarder, you also downshift(NEVER redlining the truck though!!), same with the exhaust brake.
Now the difference of the engine brake, and the exhaust brake is that the exhaust brake is a device that blocks your exhaust, thus trapping exhaust gases inside your engine, which slows down the truck in turn, while the engine brake is simply letting of the gas, and friction inside your engine will do the job. Now the most effective braking, is using the retarder, alongside the exhaust brake, and to shift down, thus utilizing all the braking your truck has, and if thats not enough, then to step on the footbrake.
Sometimes simply using the retarder will do, but a modern automatic truck, will downshift for you automaticaly when you engage the exhaust brake (which engages in MAN trucks from the 5th stage of the retarder).
When it comes to shifting, the optimal (green band) is the RPM at which your truck outputs the most torque, while burning the least fuel, you only go beyond that when driving uphill, cause if you would shift up while going uphill, the RPM would drop too low, and you would have to downshift again. So instead you rev up to 1700-2000, then you upshift, thus droping the rpm to about 1200-1300 thus remaning in the optimal range.
Generally, the lower the RPM, the better the consumption, but, going too low, bellow 1000 when under load, can cause the trucks engine to struggle without a reason.
You always have to shift according to the weight you carry, that requires "feeling" your truck, impossible on a computer. Its like a regular car, when you feel the engine is working confortably you are doing it right, if you feel the engine shaking due to the RPM being too low, you have to shift down (experienced drivers shift before letting this happen) and if you hear it whining due to high RMP you shft up.
If you carry about 4-6 tonnes for example, you dont have to rev up to 1500 rpm, you can shift at 1300, and the truck (if strong enough) will do just fine, if you carry about 20 tonnes, and you shift dropping the rpm to 800, your truck will struggle, the engine will shake and much fuel will be wasted.
EXAMPLE: im starting from a parking lot, with a load of about 22 tonnes, making my truck 40 tonnes in total, on a more or less flat road. I rev up to 1500 RPM, then shift, repeat till i reach the speed of 90 km/h. A mountain is comming up, i immediately downshift to 11th, then as the RPM drops to about 1100-1200, i downshift again to 10th, repeating until the incline is over. my speed is now about 80km/h, Now i have to get down the mountain without frying my brakes. I engage the retarder, on stage 2, if i see its not sufficient, then to stage 3 or 4, if thats not efficient, i engage the 5th stage, whcih automaticly engages the exhaust brake, and shifts down. You may run the truck on 2200-2300 rpm, while the retarder and the exhaust brake is active, at which point the braking of your truck will be quite immense. If that wouldnt be enough, you can finaly step on the normal brake. Never under any circumstances should you redline the truck.
My english is not the best, hope i helped clear things up.