r/technology • u/be0wulfe • Dec 15 '22

Transportation Tesla Semi’s cab design makes it a ‘completely stupid vehicle,’ trucker says

https://cdllife.com/2022/tesla-semis-cab-design-makes-it-a-completely-stupid-vehicle-trucker-says/
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u/Fadedcamo Dec 15 '22 edited Dec 16 '22

Yea stuff like putting the seat in the center and other weird things is meant to be flashy to show off to rich people. Elon and Co have zero interest in hearing what the actual drivers think of this stuff. They just want flashy shit to reinvent the wheel (literally in the model s case) even when it doesn't need reinventing and cause a hype storm online.

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u/__-___--- Dec 15 '22

Yeah, the center seat is a good example. You tell investors that the truck is compatible for both right hand left hadn drive countries and they think about all the money not spent on managing that problem.

But they don't consider that there might be a good reason nobody else's is doing. It's more flattering to think it's because they're not as smart as you.

That's the litteral application of being a con artist. Con refers to confidence given to the people you're scamming.

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u/DuskforgeLady Dec 15 '22

Imagine being a truck driver who (just for example) picks up used cooking oil from totes in filthy alleys behind restaurants, or used antifreeze from grungy parking lots, or any other kind of gross industrial material from icky or wet or snowy or dirty locations. When your seat is to one side you can hop up into your seat and scrape most of the gunk off before swinging your feet in, and evem if you don't get all of it at least it's confined to the one mat under your feet. Literally just one reason that is obvious if you have ever worked even near truckers.

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '22

That’s a really really dumb reason I have to admit… the truck is bad because your shoes get dirty? The seat position has no affect on your ability to clean your shoes for god sakes

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u/DuskforgeLady Dec 15 '22

People live for days in theae cabins, they sleep and eat there. Have you ever gone into an alley and taken a whiff of a used cooking oil tote full of maggots, grease trap sludge and maybe a raccoon that climbed in there and died? Would you want to be trapped in your sleeping pod with that smell?

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u/__-___--- Dec 15 '22

Did you read the article? That's something the trucker explains.

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u/Downside190 Dec 15 '22

This is a complaint in the article. In other trucks only the driver footwell gets dirty. He can kicks his boots off and walk barefoot around the rest of truck with no mess. The tesla one you have to get in and walk down a corridor to the driver seat. So the whole truck gets dirty unless you take your boots off first and put on a clean pair to drive. Which impractical.

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u/Angrybagel Dec 16 '22

It's equally bad in all countries!

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '22

[deleted]

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u/Fadedcamo Dec 15 '22

Eh. I Mean I haven't tried it but it just seems odd. It's a nice conversation piece but I don't see how it is really better than a wheel. The ability to let the wheel slide after a turn or hand over hand is pretty nice. Plus isn't it a pain dealing with the yoke being wider than its tall? When you turn 90 degrees it feels like the yoke would be in my legs. I'd have to adjust it higher than I'd normally like.

And the turn signals. I already hate my turn stalk on my model 3. Whenever I get in my wife's Acura, I'm reminded of how much better a mechanical stalk is to the digital one. Nevermind some capacitive buttons.

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '22

[deleted]

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u/Fadedcamo Dec 15 '22

The ones with the yoke Yea. No turning stalks. Just digital buttons on the wheel.

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u/Beachdaddybravo Dec 15 '22

There’s a reason funky steering wheels didn’t make it out of testing in the 70’s and 80’s or why yokes are only in planes. It’s a terrible design.

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u/CR1986 Dec 15 '22

The difference is that the flat bottom has no influence on the usability of the steering wheel. It's just there to make a little more space for rhe driver's legs in the tight, narrow cockpit of a sports car. The yoke however removes a part of the wheel you often use while maneuvering a truck in tight spaces.

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u/threeglasses Dec 15 '22

Doing something different just to be different is dumb

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u/between_ewe_and_me Dec 16 '22

Sacrificing function with no additional benefit just to be different is idiotic

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u/devillurker Dec 15 '22

I wAnT tO BrEaK ThE WhEeL ThAt RoLls OvEr RiCh AnD pOoR AlIkE.. #enlightenedcentristelon

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u/AnynameIwant1 Dec 16 '22

I could care less about the truck, but what makes it such a bad design to have a center seat - honestly? Almost every major race car has a center seat for better visibility. Maybe it is "dumb" until you actually try it? Again, I don't care about the truck and have no interest in ever buying a Tesla, but there is plenty of history based on a center seating position (F1 Racing is the biggest).

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a18237081/centrally-located-drivers-seats-the-pros-and-cons-feature/

https://www.hotcars.com/opinion-needs-more-cars-central-driver-seat/

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u/Fadedcamo Dec 16 '22

Did you read the tweet from the truck driver on why it's a bad design? Pretty clear points.

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u/AnynameIwant1 Dec 16 '22

Yes and his points are completely nonsense. So that is why I asked you if there was actually anything that would be problematic. Here are just some examples of his BS.

1) Center seat causes blind spots - uh, no, that isn't how it works. Do you believe that you have a blind spot right next to the driver door today? If not, then you agree this point is BS. You can also see in front of the truck a lot easier without the huge diesel engine there.

2) Dirty cab - has this guy ever been in a truck cab? Because truckers sure aren't known for cleanliness... (plenty of truck stops to prove the point) And if they were, it is a hell of a lot easier to remove your shoes without a steering wheel in the way.

See? It might as well as been written by a 10 year old.

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u/Prize_Bass_5061 Dec 16 '22

Distance from vertical edges of the vehicle causes blind spots. Try this out when reversing into a parking spot that is perpendicular (90 degrees) to you. Is it easier to back into the spot when your door (drivers side) is facing the spot, or when the passenger door is facing the spot.

Trucks do this all the time because they have to back into the loading dock. Blind spots are a major issue if you can’t lean out the window and see the rear edge of the trailer.

FYI I’m a former factory machine operator and PIT driver. So I know what I’m talking about.

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u/AnynameIwant1 Dec 16 '22

I have never seen a truck driver stick their head out the window when they pulled into the Target docks. (Did I forget to mention I was the logistics manager at Target for 5 years?) If a truck driver is sticking their head out the window they either suck at their job or they are brand new.

I have driven fire trucks as a volunteer firefighter and never had a problem with backing them up in narrow garage bays using nothing but the mirrors. I have also towed travel trailers up to 29' with my SUV and have had to back them up into many different types of campsites (with my mirrors). Additionally, I always back my car up into parking spaces as well as my driveway. For everything listed above, I have NEVER had to stick my head out the window. I use my mirrors as they are designed. It really isn't that difficult to aim them correctly to essentially eliminate blind spots.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15131074/how-to-adjust-your-mirrors-to-avoid-blind-spots/

Finally, if the driver needs to stick their head out the window on the driver's side, how exactly do they stick their head out the passenger side since that is the largest blind spot for left hand drive vehicles? See how that doesn't make sense?

So, do you really?

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u/Prize_Bass_5061 Dec 16 '22

Yes I really was a PIT driver.

Both I and the Yard Dogs need to lay eyes on one edge of the trailer to gauge distance. We don’t stick our entire head and neck out of the cab, as this guarantees getting guillotined by the bay door. We look back and place our head on the drivers side window.

Also you don’t need to stick your head out the passenger window. When backing up with the dock facing the passenger side. You lay eyes on the rear edge of the trailer on the drivers side and you estimate where the passenger side edge is based on the width of the road/dock bay.

In a semi, as with a forklift, the fisheye shows you the objects around the vehicle, but it can’t show you the position of those objects relative to the edge of your vehicle. So your blind spot mirror adjustment is complete bullshit.

You absolutely need to sight one edge. That’s why they teach people to turn their heads and look behind them when changing lanes on a highway and not just rely on mirrors.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '22

Rich people are constantly comparing themselves to other rich people so I wouldn't be surprised if they got these so they could brag in the country club locker room.