Driving Tips

[Revoltingest]

When buying gasoline, estimate how many gallons you'll need to fill the tank.
Don't stray away from your vehicle when filling.
And then when nearing the max, pay careful attention to the pump's automatic shut-off.
Because if the back pressure sensor doesn't work, gasoline will pour out onto the ground.
This happened to me a couple days ago.
I was right there, so very little spilled.
But one of the station attendants said some other recent traveller was less careful,
& lost many gallons. Somehow, this caught fire, taking out several pumps in the
resulting conflagration.

 

[Thief]

AND.....do not cruise alongside semi-trucks.....

PASS THEM.....!!!!!!!

 

[Wu Wei]

Don't text and drive
Don't try and change a flat tire while driving
Don't read a book while driving
Don't watch TV or videos while driving
Don't attempt to make a 4 course meal while driving
Don't write a book while driving
Don't try and catch up on sleep while driving
Don't pick up hitch hikers...especially if they look like this

 

[Vinayaka]

When buying gasoline, estimate how many gallons you'll need to fill the tank.
Don't stray away from your vehicle when filling.
And then when nearing the max, pay careful attention to the pump's automatic shut-off.
Because if the back pressure sensor doesn't work, gasoline will pour out onto the ground.
This happened to me a couple days ago.
I was right there, so very little spilled.
But one of the station attendants said some other recent traveller was less careful,
& lost many gallons. Somehow, this caught fire, taking out several pumps in the
resulting conflagration.

I did take your advice and drove from Cleveland to Toledo along the lake. Thanks. But later I realised how cheap I am and starting paying tolls. If you live there it would be different, but the total for the entire trip through your country was about ten bucks. Good deal, really.

Driving tips? Driving first, navigation second. Who cares if you lose two ten minutes.

 

[Revoltingest]

When hauling a load, be it on truck, trailer, or bike rack, ensure it's well fastened.
This might be obvious, but there are complexities to consider.
(I use straps instead of chains, but the same thoughts apply.)
- Regularly stop to check your
- Bungee cords will flex under bouncing loads & wind.
- Straps & hooks can break. So I use redundant fastening, ie,
if one fails, the others will suffice.
- If your load shifts, will straps tend to go slack or tighten?
- Think about friction. Iron parts on a steel deck will slide.
- Straps running over a load will have more tension on the ratchet side.
Flexing trailers & loads will tend to allow tension to equalize.
Will your load go slack? I use plastic sheets to minimize friction under straps.

 

[Revoltingest]

I did take your advice and drove from Cleveland to Toledo along the lake. Thanks. But later I realised how cheap I am and starting paying tolls. If you live there it would be different, but the total for the entire trip through your country was about ten bucks. Good deal, really.

Driving tips? Driving first, navigation second. Who cares if you lose two ten minutes.

Remember that your $10 is after-tax money.
And with a class 4 vehicle, I'd pay more than that from I-80 exit 145 to the I-280 exit in Toledo.
And Route 2 is also less hypnotic than the OH Turnpike's corn field after corn field after corn field.
Still, I use turnpikes for stretches where it's worth the cost.

 

[Wu Wei]

When hauling a load, be it on truck, trailer, or bike rack, ensure it's well fastened.
This might be obvious, but there are complexities to consider.
(I use straps instead of chains, but the same thoughts apply.)
- Regularly stop to check your
- Bungee cords will flex under bouncing loads & wind.
- Straps & hooks can break. So I use redundant fastening, ie,
if one fails, the others will suffice.
- If your load shifts, will straps tend to go slack or tighten?
- Think about friction. Iron parts on a steel deck will slide.
- Straps running over a load will have more tension on the ratchet side.
Flexing trailers & loads will tend to allow tension to equalize.
Will your load go slack? I use plastic sheets to minimize friction under straps.

Actually saw someone a couple month ago that did not follow this advice. 3 bikes on a bike rack. One of the bike had slid down and the tire had hit the road.... tire was shredded and I don't think the rim was long for this world either

 

[Revoltingest]

Actually saw someone a couple month ago that did npt follow this advice. 3 bikes on a bike rack. One of the bike had slid down and the tire had hit the road.... tire was shreded

The other day, I saw a low boy parked along a cloverleaf.
Next to it was a road roller.....

.....lying on its side.

Something went wrong, eh.

Btw, for the less manly members of RF,
a "low boy" isn't a Thai sex worker.
It's a kind of heavy equipment trailer.....

 

[Vinayaka]

Remember that your $10 is after-tax money.
And with a class 4 vehicle, I'd pay more than that from I-80 exit 145 to the I-280 exit in Toledo.
And Route 2 is also less hypnotic than the OH Turnpike's corn field after corn field after corn field.
Still, I use turnpikes for stretches where it's worth the cost.

Very different living there versus driving through. I like a mix of both styles ... turnpike sometimes, but then get off that and see some scenery. From Niagara to Rochester we used 'no tolls' on the GPS and saw some really beautiful landscapes, but then coming back we tool the NT toll road. Close to an hour difference in driving time.

Way too much corn, yeah. It's crazy. Think of all the food you guys could grow.

 

[Revoltingest]

Very different living there versus driving through. I like a mix of both styles ... turnpike sometimes, but then get off that and see some scenery. From Niagara to Rochester we used 'no tolls' on the GPS and saw some really beautiful landscapes, but then coming back we tool the NT toll road. Close to an hour difference in driving time.

Way too much corn, yeah. It's crazy. Think of all the food you guys could grow.

Driving to SE PA, I save well over $50 by taking I-80 instead of I-76.
But it does take about 5 minutes or so longer.

 

[Wu Wei]

Specifically for those who drive motorhomes
Don't engage cruise control and then get up and go make a cup of coffee....Note: cruise control is not auto pilot

For everyone else
Don't engage cruise control and then climb into the back seat to start landscape painting....Note: cruise control is not auto pilot

 

[Wu Wei]

When driving in Boston...one must understand it is a big game of Chicken.
But never challenge a dump truck, bus or taxi driver and you will likely survive driving in the city


When Driving in NYC or LA.... follow the way of the Samurai....and just assume you are dead already

When Driving in Beijing......what are you crazy...NEVER drive in Beijing...that's just insane

 

[Vinayaka]

Driving to SE PA, I save well over $50 by taking I-80 instead of I-76.
But it does take about 5 minutes or so longer.

I did not like I-94 from Kalamazoo to Chicago. Needs work, and was loaded with trucks. Other than that stretch and from Chicago to Milwaukee, it was all good. Boss gets scareder than me. She's a white knuckle passenger. Wish she'd nap through it.

 

[PureX]

Very different living there versus driving through. I like a mix of both styles ... turnpike sometimes, but then get off that and see some scenery. From Niagara to Rochester we used 'no tolls' on the GPS and saw some really beautiful landscapes, but then coming back we tool the NT toll road. Close to an hour difference in driving time.

Way too much corn, yeah. It's crazy. Think of all the food you guys could grow.

I used to drive from Chicago to NW PA regularly. Ohio is a whole lot of nothing to look at. Secondary roads make little difference. Cleveland was fun, though, as they drive fast and there is always a lot of traffic.

 

[Revoltingest]

I did not like I-94 from Kalamazoo to Chicago. Needs work, and was loaded with trucks. Other than that stretch and from Chicago to Milwaukee, it was all good. Boss gets scareder than me. She's a white knuckle passenger. Wish she'd nap through it.

I hate that stretch of road.
It could've saved me about 60 miles (round trip, per Google Maps) in
my recent trip, but anything in/near Chicago is depressing & stressful.

 

[Revoltingest]

A friend once lost a crane off of his trailer when rounding a cloverleaf.
(Those interchanges sure do pose high side loads.)
The problem was that when he loaded it, there was frost on the trailer deck.
No friction meant his chains snapped under high side load of a turn.

 

[Vinayaka]

I hate that stretch of road.
It could've saved me about 60 miles (round trip, per Google Maps) in
my recent trip, but anything in/near Chicago is depressing & stressful.

South end of Chicago where I-94, I-90, and I-80 all collide was a bit hairy. Seven or eight years ago we did here to DC without a GPS, but on this trip I fell in love with it. Just turn the voice off, and glance at it once in a while. Only took a wrong turn about 7 times in 19 days. Twice near Toronto airport. The 407 is awesome though. 401 can't handle the traffic despite its 14 lanes. Morning and afternoon, it's a crawler.

 

[Revoltingest]

I noticed this recently....
A faster truck in the left lane was passing a slower truck in the right lane.
3 cars saw that the right one is slightly farther ahead, & moved in behind it.
Then when the left truck started passing the right one, the cars switched
lanes behind the left truck. There was a symphony of brake lights flashing
as these bobbing & weaving little cars mistakenly caroomed about searching
for that extra second to be saved by getting slightly of the others.
I prefer to sit back in the distance letting all these potential accidents unfold.

 

[Wu Wei]

A friend once lost a crane off of his trailer when rounding a cloverleaf.
(Those interchanges sure do pose high side loads.)
The problem was that when he loaded it, there was frost on the trailer deck.
No friction meant his chains snapped under high side load of a turn.

The NYS Thruway use to have an exit off the right side of the road, going to Albany, that did an immediate 270 degree turn... lots of trucks didn't make that turn at 55mph

 

[Revoltingest]

The NYS Thruway use to have an exit off the right side of the road, going to Albany, that did an immediate 270 degree turn... lots of trucks didn't make that turn at 55mph

I read those exit speed limits.
They're useful.
This is especially so for high, heavy, unstable loads, eg, "swinging meat".
That's when you have cow carcasses hanging on hooks inside an enclosed trailer.
(I don't know if that's done anymore.)
That load has a natural frequency which better not match up with vehicle motion.