Questions for the american truckers

User avatar
umdre71
Posts: 53
Joined: 04 Jun 2021 07:29
Location: Sachsen-Anhalt

Questions for the american truckers

#1 Post by umdre71 » 01 Dec 2021 08:32

... or those who know.

(in real life)
You know on German Autobahn is for trucks 80 kmh. Can drive 85 kmh +-. How is that with you? And, if 80 mph is allowed, do you actually drive that? That is very fast.

Is the engine brake in American trucks also in stages like the European retarder or just on/off? Mostly you use the engine brake, right?

In Germany you have to drive in the right lane, except when overtaking. That's not the case here, how does it look in practice, can you drive in the left lane all the time and be overtaken on the right?

I have ATS with all dlc longer, but am little driven. Yesterday I drove the million dollar highway for the first time and then the 80 to Elko and it was downright magical.

Now I am finally ATS hyped :D!
lweb3
Posts: 75
Joined: 28 Nov 2021 08:13

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#2 Post by lweb3 » 01 Dec 2021 12:22

Truck tires are usually rated to 75mph so that is about the fastest you’d want to go. Eastern half of the US is mostly 65-70 mph limit, western US is where you see 75+ mph limits.
There are different stages to Jake brakes. Usually 2 or 3 cylinders but sometimes 1 cylinder is an option. Retarders are not used in US highway trucks.
As far as lane usage, you can use left lane to pass but you’re supposed to get back into right lane after. On 3+ lane roads trucks are usually not allowed in far left lane but can travel in the other lanes.
User avatar
umdre71
Posts: 53
Joined: 04 Jun 2021 07:29
Location: Sachsen-Anhalt

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#3 Post by umdre71 » 01 Dec 2021 13:04

Thanks for your quick reply.
Yekouri
Posts: 1
Joined: 03 Dec 2021 15:27

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#4 Post by Yekouri » 03 Dec 2021 15:52

From the videos i can see on youtube, a few trucking companies specialize in cross-country long hauls, like from Georgia, North Carolina or Florida to California and they will have tires rated to 80-85 mph, it is only in Wyoming, Texas, Utah and South Dakota where the speed limit for trucks can exceed 75 MPH.
To make it more complicated there are many of the large logitical companies that puts limiters on their trucks for 65 MPH, especially if you are leasing the truck.
This means that some trucks will be able to actually follow the speed limit, while others are limited to a lower one, so it is not like in Europe where all trucks have the same possible top speed.

Lane usage is really complicated, most places allows you to pass on the right and you techincally don't need to keep right either, but you are only allowed to do so "in a safe manner", so not during intersections or near on-off ramps. There are also some local laws that can be imposed, to not allow it when on the larger rural roads. Truck drivers are usually taught to keep right, since you have a massive blind spot on your "blind side", but you are not required to by law so you might see a lot of trucks in the middle lane in places where the truck speed limit is the same as the car speed limit. It is a lot less rigid than in Europe and can quickly become chaotic during heavier traffic in real life, as people are doing what they feel like.

Retarders are heavy, and in the US you the 80.000 pounds truck limit so you want to reduce that as much as possible. While in Europe it is a limit on the load and on the truck itself so not combined. Instead you have the Jake Brake / Engine Brake ( that are very loud, since it is using the compressed air in your engine to brake). In Europe you use the exhaust brake, which is way less loud, but it is less powerful. The retarder is very prominent in Europe to help on the rolling hills.
Desperado
Posts: 161
Joined: 28 May 2021 07:46
Location: Southwest of germany

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#5 Post by Desperado » 04 Dec 2021 22:18

Many thanks for this lot informations - for myself (i´m a real european truck driver) need please more informations about the rules for trucks/truckers, for example crossings, the yellow double-lines in middle of the streets with an complete way inside, etc pp , who can drive first and so on ... what i know is the right turn at a red traffic light, when no sign make it forbidden ;-) , but all the rest ... ??? I like the ats, drivin´since june this year & so i can drive (only virtuell :-( ) the american trucks. In ets2 i have more than 1300h since april this year, but ats is for me more interesting - the pictures in some magazines and story´s about truckin´ USA bringing me to my job, in which i drove through north-south-west-europe inclusive maroko - since now +- 33 years!
Many thanks in advance - Mike
Always drive safely and appropriately - in simulation as well as in real life ;)
User avatar
umdre71
Posts: 53
Joined: 04 Jun 2021 07:29
Location: Sachsen-Anhalt

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#6 Post by umdre71 » 04 Dec 2021 22:56

thank you for this great information about the american trucker world. This is exactly what I was looking for.
I play ATS only since 100h, but also with great pleasure and for me, as real as possible.
Like more of it, thank you very much - andre
User avatar
bobgrey1997
Posts: 3641
Joined: 30 Nov 2015 02:13
Location: Minnesota, Iowa, Dekotas, and Nebraska
Contact:

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#7 Post by bobgrey1997 » 05 Dec 2021 00:33

As a truck driver in reality...
Some of us do indeed drive 80mph, even if it isn't legal. I get passed quite often by other trucks going 80 in a 70 zone. Most fleet trucks are artificially limited well below 80. Swift, for example, is 65mph (I can also go 67 in a limited-use "pass mode").
In some places, trucks are legally limited to the right lane unless passing (in fact, many places limit all vehicles like this via "keep right except to pass" while others are more like "slow traffic keep right").
Many trailers even have decals on the back that show the left side of the truck as the "safe pass" side and the right side as the "suicide pass" side, telling following traffic to pass on the left. This is because if the truck is in the left lane to pass another, they don't want idiots squeezing between them and the truck they passed before they gain enough distance to merge back over.
Our engine brakes have various stages. Mine has 3 as well as off/auto (in this position, the truck may automatically engage it to slow me down when the car in front of me is going slower and I am using cruise control, which adapts my speed to theirs).
In many towns, the use of the engine brake is illegal due to sound (one of the dumbest laws).
Some newbie driver
Posts: 7198
Joined: 12 Dec 2018 11:37

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#8 Post by Some newbie driver » 07 Dec 2021 21:58

Yekouri wrote: 03 Dec 2021 15:52Retarders are heavy, and in the US you the 80.000 pounds truck limit so you want to reduce that as much as possible. While in Europe it is a limit on the load and on the truck itself so not combined.
Just one detail about that. In lots of countries of Europe and as a main rule (then there's small exceptions here and there), the total weight of the truck is 40t (metric tons). There's not such a thing about limit to truck weight and limit to load weight separated; it's a limit on the total like in the U.S. you have the 80.000 pound as a general most widespread limit.

Of course, European trucks have smaller structure (waaaay smaller tractors, smaller trailers in general terms) and had to sustain the wear of lower max speeds; so it also needs less structural reinforcement. In general terms, that means less base dead weight for an European truck (so, heavier equipment like retarders are not so big burden). That, combined with the fact 40t limit here is equivalent of almost 88.200 pounds, means that the average effective cargo an European truck is hauling could be heavier. That, of course, if it's dense enough. For more lightweight cargoes that will not reach the weight limit before fill the available cargo space, European trucks will carry less load due its lower capacity in cubic meters.

Ah, and about that jake brake sound; in some countries of Europe (I thing Austria, Germany and Switzerland maybe? not sure) the heavy veicles too loud can't drive at certain night hours or certain zones (the allowed ones are those with the white L over green circle sticker in the front). But just due the engine loudness, not counting what a jake brake could cause. Also lots of places restrict the parking of heavy vehicles at night, specially reefers, due the associated loudness. No wonder even jake brake would be a thing in here, it would not be very popular due how it would limit the suitability of the truck for certain routes.

Regards
User avatar
bobgrey1997
Posts: 3641
Joined: 30 Nov 2015 02:13
Location: Minnesota, Iowa, Dekotas, and Nebraska
Contact:

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#9 Post by bobgrey1997 » 07 Dec 2021 22:57

The 80,000 pound limit isn't actually a legal nationwide limit. Rather, each individual road has a limit of the weight of vehicles that can drive on it. Many roads allow much, much higher than 80,000. The Interstate Highway Systemhas an 80,000 pound limit, and as the primary form of travel for us truckers, that in turn limits our weight.
You can get special permits to haul well over this limit and still use the Interstate system. If you do not have such a permit, you are limited to other routes that allow your weight (which is very inconvenient and inconsistent).
Some newbie driver
Posts: 7198
Joined: 12 Dec 2018 11:37

Re: Questions for the american truckers

#10 Post by Some newbie driver » 08 Dec 2021 11:13

Good to know, thanks bobgrey1997. Here the usual is the weight limit is nationwide for every type of roads instead of the system you explain for the U.S. And the 40t one is continent-wide to help the international haulage. I understand that the equivalent on the U.S you explain is the federal Government stabilishing that 80.000 on their interstate roads as a sort of "standarized everywhere" to ease the haulage between states. Right?

The exceptions on the 40t here (or whatever the usual nationwide limit could be) use to be tied to very specific roads, mostly very secondary ones.
Post Reply

Return to “Frequently Asked Question”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests