Trucking Diaries - Episode #15 (American Truck Simulator)

[@altern8ive]

paul says he doesn't like night jobs because we can't see anything so uses a totally unrealistic fog mod instead. can barely see vehicles until they appear out of nowhere but i still see aircraft in the distance flying over the skyline

[@cameronclemente7773]

+altern8ive true

[@corbetthdlmao1021]

+altern8ive You've never seen real fog /: But the sky part doesnt make sense xD

[@squirrel]

+altern8ive There's nothing unrealistic about that fog. Ask any Californian trucker.

[@ajrichie]

+Squirrel The fog looks more like smog to me; like something you would see in a major Chinese city. You should not be able to see the sky if you are in fog. -Northern California resident

[@Haroldonicus]

+Squirrel The fog is terribly unrealistic

[@promedic92]

Just some little fun facts: The interstate system is set up so all even number roads run east/west and odd run north/south. They are numbered from west (lowest) to east (highest) and south (lowest) to north (highest) imagine a graph with 0/0 in the bottom left corner. They numbers follow the same rule. Certain sections of interstate are required to have at least a one mile stretch of unencumbered (no bridges, wires or curves) straight area for emergency landing of an airplane. If the number is 3 digit it is a spur or loop around the city. If it is odd it is a spur (doesn't return) and even it is a loop returns to main route). Also, for those who don't live in the US, each state. county and city can set their own speed limits. So one state may have a limit of 55 another may have it at 80. Or, in one city it is 35 and another it is 30. It is not federally mandated. Keep Trucking!

[@dantalopaula1062]

im glad this series exists its so chill :) , takes of so much daily stress thx squirrel

[@talkodr9727]

Im I the only one who dosen't really like this "mist" mod? Might just be me though.

[@wolfyxc4063]

I don't like it either

[@talkodr9727]

Oh yeah i realized that now

[@IanRM]

+Talko DR Hate it. So unrealistic for California. Also, the fog is so thick, it should be called 'smog'. As you can't see anything, you may as well be in ETS2.

[@thefuzzypickle8277]

IanRM unrealistic? come to the central valley during the middle of a cold foggy winter

[@BeardifulBill]

Normally, at least in Canada, the Weigh stations have a sign with a light about a half a click from the station. If the light is flashing, trucks have to pull in to get weighed. If not, they don't need to.

[@TubeyDudey]

yup. same in the states. plus we have prepass so can scale in motion and bypass even if scale is open. you guys have that up north?

[@Lukas19360]

I live in Canada too, in BC or at least where I live in BC it's not lights but it's a sign that says SCALE and OPEN or CLOSED under it that's digital.

[@BeardifulBill]

+Necro Toad that I don't know. I'm not a trucker IRL. but I think my friend who is said they do. they just kind of cruise over it real slow, not changing your speed.

[@blackdodge81]

+BillytheCrayon Yeah thats how it is in the U.S.A to I cant believe the didnt put that in to the game instead of the cop and the warning.

[@andrewm1058]

ive sat here and binge watched them all in the past 24 hours, was just about to run out of episodes when he uploaded this, oh what i do on my days off

[@redbug3485]

At 15:00 the Semi was using you to ride together by having you there his wind is decreased cause he is drafting with you. On long hauls its used to conserve fuel and make a larger push of both trucks down the highway. Good, advanced driver techniques use drafting and other ways of saving fuel, making time and staying aware for more driver safety. (like coffee on a cool morning with smells of diesel fuel and grease! Lol)

[@MuscleCarLover]

So proud of your progress with your gear and rev management, no longer over revving it. I am once again glad to be a subscriber and proud to have the deluxe iPhone case

[@seadart4424]

+Squirrel, I don't know if anyone told you this before or not, but in the US, all trucks are required to enter the weigh station anytime the weigh station is open, not the way ATS does it with a police 'request'. The other thing is that weigh stations are opened randomly as a spot check on traffic.

[@cliff8669]

At time index of 17:59 atop the exit ramp, the sign is showing wrong for Oakland and Oakdale. Going south on I 5 Oakland would be to go right not left. Once turn is made, it does show heading to Oakland. Lived in the SF Bay Area long time....just one of those things I've noticed about ATS. Nit Picking......yeah.

[@keithbrettell2058]

Get rid of the fog mod!

[@luk3ypro]

I hate that fog, so unrealistic

[@TrentHarlan]

+Luke Gilchrist I'm not a fan either, it's too much. He's having trouble seeing where to turn and can't see the traffic lights until he's right up on them, oncoming traffic as well.

[@ImAkiyama]

+Trent Harlan That is literally what bad fog is like. You can't see anything. That's why it's so dangerous.

[@luk3ypro]

Bad fog happens like that every 4-5 months not every 5 hours!

[@AXELVISSERS]

+Luke Gilchrist true

[@adzxavier8903]

+AXEL VISSERS u

[@brandontavernia3051]

in the US the weigh station there is a bypass system and there is a post on the side of the road it reads something on the trailer, it tells it if its loaded or not so that's why you always go into the weigh station, but with flatbeds and tankers you have to go in usually.

[@McBrizzle99]

get rid of the mist/fog

[@suburbansean]

14:16 Another Fun Fact for American Freeways: Every 10 miles there must be a 1 mile stretch of road that is completely straight in case the US Air Force needed to land. It is still in effect today. Remember the US Freeway was made during World War II for military and traveler use.

[@flyingwolff4774]

You can turn off the sat-nav. There isn't a button mapped so you will have to map a button. It says something like move display truck or something like that. It makes the satnav zoom out and turn off.

[@TheJma1024]

Kind of weird they called it petrol in this game seeing as we don't call fuel or gasoline petrol over here in the U.S.

[@brndnp555]

+Ramsfan09 we call it gas. and i believe they call petrol in Europe.

[@NotA1DeathLeaver]

+the ultimate gamer18 in europe they call it the way it's translated to another language don't know how they call it in UK maybe ....... TEA!!

[@funkyradbomtrack]

+Ramsfan09 "Fuel" is anything that burns and is a generic term, "Petrol" and "Gasoline" have a technical meaning and are the same product. Trucks and many cars in the EU run on "Diesel" or confusingly "Gas Oil". From the European Automobile Manufacturers Association website : Petrol is made of a mix of alkanes and cycloalkanes with a chain length of between 5-12 carbon atoms. These boil between 40°C and 205°CGas oil or Diesel is made alkanes containing 12 or more carbon atoms. These have a boiling point between 250°C and 350°C

[@cameronclemente7773]

+EliteRanger_ in England they use petrol U.S we use gas so i am an american and we us gas bro

[@Codan3]

+Cameron Clemente it's the same though... it's just the scientific name versus a slang term

[@TheAquaticWombat]

Fun fact about the interstates: most interstates by law are required to be flat and straight for 1 mile every 5th mile. This was done to provide landing strips for military aircraft in the event of nuclear war. The official name of the interstate system was initially the "Strategic Highway Defense Network"

[@TitanTankNate]

@Squirrel As excited as you are for sandstorms in Nevada (incidentally pronounced ni-va-duh not nu-vaah-duh), I hope you realize that there are only two or three spots in the whole of the I-15, I-215 and I-95 interstates where large-scale duststorms occur, and that's near Indian Springs, Mt. Charleston, and Primm. Dust and sand in the Mojave tends to clump heavily with brush so the effect of sandstorms are normally nothing more than specks on your windshield and a 10% reduced visibility or so. Hopefully it's not unrealistic and presenting sandstorms like haboobs, which are a whole another monster which Nevada (due to being a valley) typically doesn't experience. Inb4 defensive comments: I've lived in Las Vegas for 20 years and know the weather plenty well over nearly 120,000 miles of driving the desert.

[@thor8640]

Paul, weight stations are either open or closed on north american highways. They are usually manned by the DOT (Department of Transportation), the proximity of a cop should have nothing to do with it - although only the programmers of this simulation can tell you for sure. In reality your Log Book (hand written document with your duty times) as well as your axle weights are checked. If, for example the weight distribution in the trailer for a new load is different and you forgot to slide the trailer bogie (being to light on drives and too heavy on the trailer axles) you will get fined. Flat decks will get find if the load is tied down incorrectly and so and so forth...... hope it helps - cheers

[@DominicLondon]

I've tried the no satnav challenge. Not be bad until you need to work out where your destination is. Just press the key associated with changing the satnav display until it turns it off.

[@bansheeflier1015]

+Squirrel From what I've seen no one has told you this, but IIRC weigh stations are compulsory except for very specific circumstances.

[@leah5580]

You could just get a post it note and stick it over the sat nav on your monitor. Yeah it'd be visible when you turn, but in general for the most part it'd cover it to give you that lack of visibility you want to do a no route run.

[@poborsky1911]

another episode of silent hill truck simulator is here

[@mad555max117]

Just so you know Squirrel with the weigh stations(In FL at least I am not sure about CA), By law it is mandatory to hit at least one station per Interstate(Example: Driving from Ocala to Miami Via I-75 to I-4 to I-95 you need to hit one weigh station per Interstate). Each station will say if its open and unless noticed other wise all trucks must stop at each. Whether there weighed or not is determined by cargo, when the last weigh in was, and if they have a special pass(either issued by the company or highway patrol officers) stating that they can skip. Now I am no truck driver but that is what I am told by friends of the family who are. Good Truckin to ya'll.

[@voyddd]

Paul, you can change inbuilt sat navs modes. There is keybind for it

[@tobycovert4088]

Every big rig has to stop at the weight stations from what I understand some states you can get a little device that goes in your truck that you receive a notification to either pull in or continue on

[@megatronacepticon]

I think the idea with weighstations is that there are so many trucks on the freeways that nothing would ever get anywhere if they weighed every single one of them, so whenever a truck approaches they decide presumably at random weather or not that particular truck needs to be weighed. So I don't think the green light is the game telling you, 'there's no cop so you don't have to stop,' so much as it's telling you that your truck didn't get pulled up as part of the random selection of trucks to be weighed.

[@Alpacalypse8]

You got the rule right for turning right on red, but in terms of the game, all you have to do is slow down to around 15 mph and you can turn without incident.

[@bengy5959]

Also, if a freeway is 3 digits long, it is an offshoot of the last 2 digits, i.e. The 405 and 605 in LA are offshoots of the 5.

[@sekkho3377]

weigh stations aren't triggered by police (at least in real life). trucks have electronics in them that talk with certain checkpoints, and you will either be flagged to stop or not. usually all trucks stop no matter what.

[@christophercaswell9223]

I know this is a little off topic but cop cars in the US have 4 radar speed sensors two in front and two in back, and the can lock on to specific cars.

[@tiverton]

Paul, in real life you would never park or pickup a trailer with truck not lined up with the trailer perfectly. In fact to pass a Commercial Driver license test you have to back into a parking spot from the front, not from the side and end up in a straight line once parked. So to make it clear, when backing into a spot, rear wheels of trailer must not cross side boundaries of parking spot. Trailer should always enter straight-in, to simulate a narrow allay loading dock most stores have. You should strive for that if you wanna be realistic.

[@Robbedem]

+tiverton Do you know why it's that way? Parking sideways is much easier and takes a lot less room, so it's a lot cheaper for businesses.

[@baddriversofeurotrucksimul5759]

It's that way to make sure the kingpin on the trailer and the fifth wheel on the truck don't get damaged when attaching a trailer.

[@ace_098]

Everything is perfect, but I don't like the fog though... Looks like a really, really short render, vehicles appear weirdly

[@lazymirates]

that's the point

[@NotA1DeathLeaver]

at the begin you don't understand why the special cargo doesn't give you more money but don't forget that trailer is longer so more stuff in it wich means more money

[@patrickmusson4571]

MHA Map by Heavy Alex who did one for ETS is in the process of doing one for ATS. From what I can see, he is working mostly on the current map. He hasn't done other states. He put McDonalds in the map.

[@INFsleeper]

I find this series oddly calming. Love it!

[@BayAreaTransitNews]

You'll never find fog anywhere in California except for certain areas on the coast. Also, Hotel California, in Oakland, is a real building. It's the only building from Oakland the developers actually decided to model, aside from the Port.

[@curtisnoble.]

When you're Merging on to the high way under 40mph you're suppose to have you're Hazards on so on one will run into you

[@jaredmcsween9195]

+Squirrel When you got called into the scale for an inspection there was a message pop up. It said "Weigh station bypass service", beside there was a red and green light with the red light lit. If you go past and don't get called in the green light might light up. The company I drive for here Canada put receivers in our trucks that read the sensor/transmitters put near the scales. Here it's called "Weigh-To-Go". Basically, when I'm driving towards the scale, before the turn off to enter it, there is a sensor. It reads the unit in my truck then lights either a red or a green light depending on whether or not they want me to go over the scale. So if the scale is open but they give me a green I can bypass. I'm pretty sure this is what the game is replicating. I didn't see any sensors, but this is why you're not seeing the cop that asked you to stop, I think, cause there isn't one.

[@powerstuck]

You should do a job out of Fresno and take the 395 toward Tonopah, ideally with a heavy load.

[@toddjonesmusic]

It's so nice to see ya traveling around my neck of the woods. Well, Bay Area native.. The California Hotel is in that location roughly and is lovely called by some, Hotel California. It has some interesting musical history along with turning into low income housing in the 80's.

[@JDSleeper]

According to what I've read on the SCS forums the run-on strips are short due to technical limitations in the game engine. It might have to do with the map scaling. I just make up for it by accelerating on the shoulders if there's traffic.

[@NefariousRake]

just as clarification from a us resident, the word "freeway" and "interstate" are pretty interchangeable for the most part but "highway" is yes interchangeable but means something els. freeway is "free" of traffic stops and for the most part unless otherwise posted free from fare or tolls, "highway" if like a free way in that its at "high" speeds but they do have traffic stops. and "interstate" is interchangeable for a highway or freeway that is caroused multiple states. and the thing where odd numbered go north and south and evan go east and west is un true. in Utah there is a freeway numbered I-215 and it is a large circle. on the eastern most side of sed circle is a canyon pas by the name of parlays canyon and it goes up to park city. this stretch of road is considered a right of passage for truck drivers that visit northern Utah

[@marcwatson5533]

It would be so cool if they made a map extension to Canada and/or Mexico !!!

[@zbradley27]

the small trailer we call them pups they are 28 ft. some states here can hall one 53ft and one 48ft. then other state have 2 53ft trailers

[@jacobjones4400]

In the u.s. If the weigh station is open you are required to stop if you're in a big rig

[@pieplicht]

When you are in Nevada, Make sure to go via route 375 if possible. There's a nice surprise along the road there

[@pieplicht]

+Magnus B. Frederickson Well yes. But I didn't actually mention because I didn't want to spoil the Easter Egg :/

[@pieplicht]

You might want to remove that comment before it is spoiled for anyone else that reads this.

[@Hnry-cy6zh]

+Pieplicht He already knows, he has driven past it before.

[@pieplicht]

+Henry Clark I wasn't aware of that. Plus he might not be the only one who might want to discover it.

[@AllenLawthfar]

In most States it's mandatory for truckers to pull into weigh stations. (if they're open)

[@traviskinzer6004]

The weigh station has a weight in motion and a sensor in the truck to tell you if you kneed to pull in

[@jackbrittton]

24:52 that's flippin hilarious they're smoking near flammable barrels

[@chunglii8]

I love how you call kenworth "kenny" buying a W900 should be a long term goal of the series please!

[@athomasmay]

Like some have already mentioned, Weigh Stations are there own entity. The police in the game don't influence this. If a weigh station is open, a commercial truck MUST pull in and be weighed. If it's closed, you can drive on by. There are cameras posted on the highway so if you do blow by an open one without stopping, they can fine you. They may also vector a highway patrolman your way, which really isn't doing much to promote having a great day.

[@athomasmay]

Don't know why the AI trucks aren't programmed to enter the weigh stations though. I don't think it'd be that hard to do.

[@jwenting]

+Thomas May they do at times. Maybe not all of them, but I've had to wait for one at the station more than once.

[@cameronclemente7773]

+CaptainDuckman same

[@pinmandan5164]

You should have taken the 400K to start with, bought your truck, upgrades your garage, bought another truck and hired a driver. The 400K has the lowest interest rate, which makes the repayments lower than if you were to take 4x 100k lots. Also the quicker you get drivers, the quicker they level up & earn you more $$.

[@patricklenigan1650]

It would be so cool if they reported to you what your total weight was!

[@aichasoufari1318]

How much is the weight of an empty trailer?

[@DeltaTristar500]

There is a button that you can assign to cycle through the different zoom for the satnav, and one of the choices is "off"

[@angelalavoie8379]

Paul mods always make games much better and when I play farming simulator when the new mods come out I get excited.🚛🚛

[@johnhiggins8221]

Paul just had a nostalgic moment, was going through the your old euro truck vids I forgot how good your old intro was haha

[@Eddsman1]

watch out with weight stations. I get two fines yesterday, 2.000$, speed limit. One when I get in, another when i get out. I was in 25 mph, the limit is 20 mph. I'm starting to think that the weight stations are traps from corrupt cops. 2.000$ in 1 minute....it hurts.

[@jeffreyhawkins6982]

love your trucking Series keep up the good work

[@danielhankey1991]

After I bought my first truck, I saved up $200k, took out a $400k loan, paid off my $100k loan, then upgraded my HQ and hired 2 drivers. Better than taking out multiple $100k loans in my opinion

[@noxy_key]

The number of police and ambulances on the road is ridiculously high. Plus they only have 1 type of police car in-game. It's good you added more cars on the highway. That's more real.

[@wizard101fandum4]

When you said the map extension, I was reading their page and they said it will take a few years to discover all of the country, but they are trying to develop Arizona.

[@theunwantedspoon8286]

In merica we have sensors that tell you when to pull into a weigh station

[@Gamedestroyers]

Jazzycat has a couple of mods out already. AI truck pack, AI car pack and motor cycle in traffic. They are up on the Modsats website

[@RagedDrew]

You can turn off the SatNav, you just need to map a button for it, I have mine set on "Z"

[@1867Phoenix]

In real life the toll plaza for the Oakland Bay Bridge is 20 lanes one way wide and a unique set of traffic lights with just red and green but no yellow help drivers merge into the 5 lanes that continue across the bridge.

[@heartlessdeathx]

Truckers have a device in the cab of their trucks that communicate with the weigh stations. That is how they are told whether or not they have to stop and weigh.

[@matthewnewton999]

In "real life," we do. It's called PrePass. I'm not sure why that isn't incorporated into the game, but I'd be surprised if they didn't put it in later on.

[@heartlessdeathx]

+Matthew Newton I couldn't remember what it was called. I knew it existed. I seen it in action when I was younger and riding with my uncle taking a load from Florida to Texas.

[@myronvanvliet7394]

how can you pass the toll with automatic paying, when there are toll booths with green options?

[@BigLarry1950]

Love ETS2 ..... Now downloading ATS!!!! Keep up the great videos, Squirrel.

[@arupian666]

I'm not sure that I agree with it being "very very hard to stay afloat" when you first start. As long as you do your best to abide by the traffic laws, even though you'll get the occasional lapse where you don't see the speed limit suddenly drop and the fuzz are right behind you, I think it's remarkably easy, actually, to get ahead. Just take jobs. It really is as easy as that. At the end of the video, Paul says that after a week, he's bought his own truck and is on the way to paying the loan off. Oh yeah. That sounds like it was really tricky.

[@EllieGirl48]

hey the Oakland bridge you are refering to is actuley called the Bay Bridge. in real life its just about 3 miles long end to end

[@hasancakal3655]

the thing about the scale is maybe you havent the license for overload and heavy trailers so they have to check it. (in real life it is so) there is no need for police. Can you open the Navigation where you can see the fuel and bed, please.

[@snip3rm00n]

I started my game in San Fran and my drop off point was the exact same as this journey's. :D

[@kingleo16]

Hey Squirrel, use your hazards when entering the freeway. That's what I do when I need to enter it. The AI response to better than the signal lights.

[@scottakatlheart7748]

The weigh station has nothing to do with a cop car being close by... you can later purchase the "pre-pass" system to b pass the weigh stations.

[@gordonprentice7090]

When turning right at traffic light in US you can go on red.

[@byCDMC]

check the settings, you can map a button to turn off the interior gps

[@gamerbros6856]

When you go on the scales they show if you are too heavy in real life so I think that stopping at the scales is realistic, "bro"

[@patrickmusson4571]

Jazzycat doesn't change company names anymore. The last pack he put out that changed the company names was for ETS2 and the pack was v3.8 and after that one if you wanted the new pack you had to settle for the silly SCS company names in the default map.

[@brunoraoni]

I love how squirrel choose the trailer that pays less and say to us that pays more... God dammit squirrel, dollars per milles that metter, not the other way around. And about the weight stations, it looks like cops tell you to go to the station when you are driving too slow pass them, they think your truck is too heavy.

[@classicalmusic3979]

To turn off trucks GPS just map a key in settings

[@Devil-yt6lt]

I wonder if they put that famous curvy road in that every one like to drive down In San Fran, that would be fun to take a truck and trailer on

[@anastasiareed360]

Mist still needs some work.. You can see the shadow of that chopper a mile away at 2:56 but you can't see a car 20 feet in front

[@wajime]

I picked up a transport in Nevada I had only driven a couple of feet on the yard when a sandstorm appears, at the same moment a cop drives by and fined me for $ 500,- for having incorrect headlights... LOL

[@shahriarrayhan2222]

Please disable the fog/mist mod. It's very unrealistic and prevents us from seeing the scenery. Once in a while would be great, but not every episode.

[@brazoota9626]

In ETS2 there is in the Renault it has digital display built in the dashboard

[@patrickmusson4571]

Aw, poor babies, here's a thought Don't Speed. Aversion therapy. The trouble with those mods is that they take away some of the quirks in the game. Just take it easy and once you have enough money you won't care about the fines anyway.

[@RealPigeon]

Almost to 400k Squirrel! Grats.

[@88jramped]

every truck here in america has to stop at a weigh scale IF its open, no matter what, even if your bob-tailing you have to go over the scale. there are a lot that dont stop, and they have come up with electronic scales that have it built into the highway, so you dont have to stop, just run over it. there are also cops that ride around with portable scales and will pull over random trucks or ones that dodge the scales and weigh them on the spot. laws here on trucks are so ridiculous these days its really not worth driving much anymore, for yourself anyways

[@CactusBravo42]

Damn it Squirrel!! Been waiting for you to pull a tanker!

[@mmatija61]

You can turn off the built in navigation, you just need to bind that to a key.

[@BreakingBen4eva]

I do love the series, just my only thought is that I seem to recall you saying that you'd do more driving around cities and sightseeing once you had your own truck, so I hope that will still happen. Simply because the episodes can quickly become repetitive and monotonous by taking trailers that are dull simply for the desire to have more money, which you said anyways that you wanted to play the game as challenging as possible and earning less money on each job, as minor as it is, does increase the challenge. I would have taken the fuel trailer anyways despite the lesser payout, because it did pay more per mile and because it's a more interesting trailer and it might have provided a shorter journey allowing more episode time for sightseeing and discovery, but maybe that's just me. Overall, I love the series and am glad you're doing it, I'm just hoping the episodes soon become more than simply taking a box trailer journey and dropping it off and that's that.... but I digress, keep up the great work, Squirrel :)

[@carmatic]

I think that if the fog is as thick as what the mod makes it to be, you shouldn't be able to see the sky or the outlines of objects, that is simply not physically possible and the fog wouldn't block the light from e.g. traffic lights from being visible, what should really happen is that you have a corona of light visible around the light source caused by scattered light... all in all, the fog mod is better left off, the only value it brings is if you want some masochistically unrealistic challenge

[@alexrobison19]

The "hotel California" that you drove by is real. I live in Oakland.

[@jwenting]

noticed the same silly short on ramps in ETS2. Even worse there, lanes just end without warning on an exit, utterly unlike the same road in reality. Makes driving roads you know pretty frustrating.

[@blueone9098]

I love those weigh stations :) When i play and dont get called in, i kinda get disappointed.

[@gerrybrooks651]

I hope when they get the dlc for Arizona, they do interstate 40 (route 66) as a road

[@hawkeye2816]

Pretty sure that getting a weighing has nothing to do with cop cars deciding you need to be weighed. Pretty sure it's just a legal requirement in some areas that you HAVE to stop to be weighed if the station is open.

[@BabyPuncher82]

squirrel....those short trailers are pups!