Myth Busters

[rickeieio]

Put your thinking caps on.  I know there are more myths out there.  I can think of a couple, but it's time for someone else to take a turn.

[spindrift]

Uhhh...nitrogen gas in your tires is the shiznitz.

[Deezl Smoke]

10 hours ago, spindrift said:

Uhhh...nitrogen gas in your tires is the shiznitz.

🍿🍺 I forgot all about this one. 👍

[jenandjon]

I see this one on Facebook all the time. 

If you run a single wheel instead of the duals your wheel bearings will wear out faster. 

[rickeieio]

1 hour ago, jenandjon said:

I see this one on Facebook all the time. 

If you run a single wheel instead of the duals your wheel bearings will wear out faster. 

So many factors in that equation..... Lets assume you mean on a tandem, for rv use.  Will they wear out sooner?  Of course.  Will they outlast the rest of the truck?  Probably, since they will likely still be loaded well within the design parameters.

That one came up here years ago when wrknrver was criticized for his doing just that.  Perhaps he'll drop by and give us a progress report.

How about "why big trucks don't have self cancelling turn signals?" (our Volvo did).

[SuiteSuccess]

40 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

So many factors in that equation..... Lets assume you mean on a tandem, for rv use.  Will they wear out sooner?  Of course.  Will they outlast the rest of the truck?  Probably, since they will likely still be loaded well within the design parameters.

That one came up here years ago when wrknrver was criticized for his doing just that.  Perhaps he'll drop by and give us a progress report.

How about "why big trucks don't have self cancelling turn signals?" (our Volvo did).

Ok Rick, I’ll bite.  Why do they not have self canceling turn signals?  BTW the FAA requires nitrogen in commercial aviation tires.  Helps prevent moisture and breakdown of rubber due to oxidation.  DOT May have some obscure line somewhere requiring the same in commercial vehicles thus perpetuating the myth.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Rick,

You can get self canceling turn signals on Paccar trucks but very few are ever ordered that way. Due to our larger turn radius and too many lawyers in this country, they claim that your turn signals will turn off while the trailer is still in the intersection.

I find it hard to believe that someone can't spot something as large as a tractor-trailer turning in an intersection and wonder "Are they turning or going straight? Hmmm,must be going straight because their turn signals aren't blinking."

[rickeieio]

Our Volvo did have cancelling turn signals.  Our KW does not.  Nor did our White or Mack.

An old racer told me that back in the '50's and '60s, everyone carried nitrogen bottles on their converted one ton race haulers, to run impact wrenches, air up tires, etc.  Easy to store cross ways under the car, and smaller than a gasoline powered air compressor.  Folks thought if the racers are using nitrogen in their tires, it must be better.

 

[NeverEasy]

I did a test by running nitrogen against shop air on my 5er.  Driver's side, nitrogen in front tandem, air in rear.  Curb side, just the opposite.  Wanted to make sure the heat from the sun and weight transfer had the least effect.  Ran heat and pressure sensors on all four tires.  Could not tell a bit of difference.

Now, I don't know about that corrosion of the rubber.  No longer than trailer tires last, probably would not matter.

 

[jenandjon]

22 hours ago, rickeieio said:

So many factors in that equation..... Lets assume you mean on a tandem, for rv use.  Will they wear out sooner?  Of course.  Will they outlast the rest of the truck?  Probably, since they will likely still be loaded well within the design parameters.

That one came up here years ago when wrknrver was criticized for his doing just that.  Perhaps he'll drop by and give us a progress report.

How about "why big trucks don't have self cancelling turn signals?" (our Volvo did).

The only reason I am still running duals instead of skinny singles is I couldn't figure out a good place to put a spare tire.  My plan is if I ruin a tire it will be taken off the rim and the empty rim placed on the inside dual and run a single until I get home. we  have 6 trucks and they all take the same size tire. I have plenty of new and used drive tires in the shed I will not buy one on the road. 

 

[spindrift]

Hmmm...myth or hack?  LOL...maybe I just can't stop thinking about power dividers.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hT9j8cIDy9E?si=4aij172hL6fBQdSx

[Deezl Smoke]

3 hours ago, spindrift said:

Hmmm...myth or hack?  LOL...maybe I just can't stop thinking about power dividers.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hT9j8cIDy9E?si=4aij172hL6fBQdSx

LOL.🤣

 Now, if that block of wood had a shaft through the center and mounted to the frame, then, there would be at least a hint of possibility. I wish I could find the video of a device that can work. It is air operated to put pressure on the tires, and is a metal wheel with bars that can indent into the tire. I don't recall if it were a item for sale, or if it were just built to prove a concept.

[rickeieio]

And then there's the notion that you should let a diesel idle for "X" amount of time, or warm up for some random time.  Whenever someone tells me I'm doing it wrong, I ask them if they've ever read an owners' manual for ANY diesel. or for any equipment.  Last winter I had a guy telling me that in the oil fields, they rarely ever shut off trucks, and they'd been doing it that way for 40 years.

I know of a guy who recently bought a diesel pickup from the Alaska oil fields.  According to the on board display, it had run for over 90% of the time since it was new, but only had 40k miles on a 3 y/o truck.  Keep in mind, it does warm up, somewhat, in the summer in Alaska.

[kb0zke]

When we first got our Foretravel, back in 2013, we were told to let it idle for five minutes before shutting down after the day's travel. The reason was to let the turbo cool. Later on we learned that we didn't have to worry about that, as the time sitting still while checking in counted, as did the time it idled while putting on the tire covers before leveling.

We did have to let it idle some at the beginning of the day to build air pressure, but once air was up we were generally ready to pull out. We tried to do as much as we could before we started the engines.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

With the new emissions systems, most engines just need to run at fast idle until the temp needle starts to move. Prolonged idling will kill your DPF filter in a hurry.

[Steve from SoCal]

Wet Stacking IS an issue, warm up aside idling a diesel engine or low loads is not good in the long run.    It is more of an issue with gen sets than prime movers.     New engines with electronic fuel control have fewer issues.     In marine service engines that are rated at high power and run slow are usually run at high power every few hours for half an hour or so.   

 

A vehicle is not at a constant speed for hours on end the way marine or gen sets are run.  

[rickeieio]

On 12/5/2023 at 10:12 AM, SuiteSuccess said:

 BTW the FAA requires nitrogen in commercial aviation tires.  Helps prevent moisture and breakdown of rubber due to oxidation.  DOT May have some obscure line somewhere requiring the same in commercial vehicles thus perpetuating the myth.

I googled "nitrogen aircraft tires" and found that in three cases, cargo planes had tires get hot enough that the tires gassed and reached auto-ignition temps, so the oxygen in the inflation air allowed them to go boom.  Thus the FAA's reg for certain classes of commercial planes to use nitrogen to inflate.

I can't imagine land based vehicles getting tires that warm.

[spindrift]

26 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

I googled "nitrogen aircraft tires" and found that in three cases, cargo planes had tires get hot enough that the tires gassed and reached auto-ignition temps, so the oxygen in the inflation air allowed them to go boom.  Thus the FAA's reg for certain classes of commercial planes to use nitrogen to inflate.

I can't imagine land based vehicles getting tires that warm.

Well, you never did get a ride in my truck.  It was FAAAST!

[rickeieio]

I assume you mean the Pete?  Was it faster than the Ford?  Remember, I was privileged enough to actually drive the Ford.

There are exceptions to nearly every rule, but it seems unlikely that a land based vehicle could be loaded, and fast, enough to generate that much heat, unless someone was either negligent, stupid, or both.  ie, redneck?  Like me?

[Moresmoke]

On 12/4/2023 at 9:43 AM, Darryl&Rita said:

If you want to get down in the mud with the barnyard animals, fuel efficiency quests have led to 6x2 trucks. These have a dead axle in the rear position, that can't easily be raised, like a true lift axle.

Some of the 6x2s will automatically bias the weight on the axles when wheel slip is detected. I believe the Volvo suspension will go as high as 80% on the powered axle.

[SuiteSuccess]

Rick,

Here’s a myth up for discussion.  “If you don’t have a CDL then you weren’t trained and you’re not safe” in an HDT.  I was told this once while fueling in Oklahoma on the way to the National Rally.

[spindrift]

13 minutes ago, SuiteSuccess said:

Rick,

Here’s a myth up for discussion.  “If you don’t have a CDL then you weren’t trained and you’re not safe” in an HDT.  I was told this once while fueling in Oklahoma on the way to the National Rally.

LOL...that's not a myth, but it could start a good fight!

[sandsys]

3 hours ago, SuiteSuccess said:

Rick,

Here’s a myth up for discussion.  “If you don’t have a CDL then you weren’t trained and you’re not safe” in an HDT.  I was told this once while fueling in Oklahoma on the way to the National Rally.

A good driver can teach you a lot without going the CDL route. A Greyhound bus driver taught me the importance of breaking before a curve so you can accelerate slightly in the curve to hold the road better. And Click and Clack on the radio taught me how to set the outside mirrors on a passenger vehicle so as to eliminate the "blind" spot. An instructor at the RV Driving School taught Dave how to use a Jake Brake in a Class A. None of those led to a CDL but they made us better drivers.

Linda Sand

[rickeieio]

I'll be 70 years young in a few weeks, and have never had a cdl.  I got my "chauffer's" license when I turned 18, and didn't bother getting grandfathered to the cdl.  I've driven trucks of all types, owned quite a few, and am accident free.

That said, I've seen a lot of folks with cdl's that are just steering wheel holders.  It tales more than a plastic card to make a safe driver.  The best training I ever got was taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Experienced Rider course.  I was so impressed, I took it a second time a few years later.

I must say, most of the folks I've seen driving the rigs represented here, have been pretty good.  Well, except one retired MD from Tennessee.  He needs a long pull through so he can to a "long final" approach.

Another myth, is that you can only weigh 12,000# on a steer axle.  While that can be true, it certainly is not always the case.  I let someone else fill in the blanks.

Edited December 12, 2023 by rickeieio

[Danfreda1]

5 hours ago, spindrift said:

LOL...that's not a myth, but it could start a good fight!

Have been on a highway lately? I don’t know how many unsafe cdl trained drivers we saw just on this trip that are doing everything but driving. It doesn’t take a genius to know you don’t speed through a construction zone but at least he has a cdl.