My son Josh bought a semi-truck several years ago. His father-in-law gave him a quick lesson in driving and Josh went in and passed his test. I always wanted to try driving but didn't want to grind off a pound of metal from his only truck. I was patient and now he has twenty-five trucks so I figured he could lose one and still be in business.
He keeps his equipment in pretty good shape. This older one is for local hauling.
Here is a later one that he was getting ready for the Las Vegas truck show just before we went to the MTC. It has almost 700,000 miles on it and he had just had the pin striping done as one of the last details before the final put together.
The good news is that he took "Best of Show" plus a couple of other categories so he will take it to the big truck show in Dallas, Texas this August.
Anyway, back to me, because this is what this blog (and mission is all about, right?)
ME, ME ME!!!
(Does anyone understand my humor?)
I finally asked my own son if I could drive his truck. He didn't hesitate and let me. It was a lot of fun even with my grandson, Jack, in the sleeper scared to death. (Actually, that made it more fun.) Driving wasn't difficult but the art of shifting gears without double clutching will take some getting used to. There are eight basic gears which are split, that is sixteen. That doesn't include the two low gears or reverse.
My justification was that you never know when (maybe in Zambia?), I will need to move a semi in a pinch. I will be on alert for such an emergency. :^)
Josh didn't panic until when turning into his yard, I couldn't find the brake. (It is not right next to the clutch but lower almost on the floor) I wasn't nervous but Josh's voice got a little high, until I looked down and finally found it. I still can't imagine doing all that with 20 tons on the back and going up and down the Rocky Mountains. Josh's grandpa Skidmore would be very proud of him.
