From my days training people on 80,000lb semis, and holds true today: One thing to remember - NEVER EVER drive a deuce like a car! Braking should be done far far away (up to or over 1/4 mile in advance to plan and slow on the highway or shorter distances, acceleration should not be made to keep up with other cars, after all, it is a truck and not a car. I see way too many guys around my area driving dead heads and dumpers like they only have 4 wheels.
Sounds like a good set of lessons learned here. It takes a lot of discipline to drive a big vehicle and understand that simply, "it isn't a car, and doesn't go like one." I've read a few posts here, just for note, that explain how people are only getting 8-10 mpg on their deuces in normal driving, and that is probably why... I've been getting 14.5-16.2 with singles and a "patient" throttle and braking routine - no $hit - without much loss of acceleration or braking.
Another thing I taught them was the clutch is not for slowing the truck down on offramps and so forth. It costs a lot less to use the brakes, and is far easier to replace.
Now I'm going to go outside and check the clutch pin which was NOT a part of my pre-trips UNTIL NOW.... THANKS for posting and I'm also sorry to hear about your "oops" but if it spared another one of us having an accident by learning from that lesson, it was worth the post.
Robert
P.S. I can park my honda civic UNDER the bumper of the deuce, until the bumper almost touches the front axle... I'd hate to see how that would turn out in an accident!!! 0.o
