I want to know how difficult driving a big truck in New York really is?

Answer 1

Very.

Driving in New York is bad enough as is, let alone a "big truck".

Trust me. It's not the "vehicle" traffic that is the worst of it.... It's the pedestrian traffic that is the true horror.

Oh... and parking is a Witch!

I parked my little 2 door for 3 days, and it cost me $150!!!!

Answer 2

Depends how big. I've done it a couple of times with the 10' and 16' Budget rental trucks. I was a nervous wreck but it wasn't as terrible as I though it would be. I drove the 16' truck from the East Village to Staten Island and back without much of a problem. It's obviously much easier to drive the truck in the middle of the night but I did fine during daytime traffic as well. I did scrape the side of another parked truck (they were double parked) on a narrow street though and I hit a tree trying to back into a parking spot too.

The worst is parking and I had to get up in the morning and run downstairs 10 minutes before the streetsweepers came so that I could drive the truck around the block a few times and bring it back to the same parking spot after the streets were swept. You have to really be on the ball and read all the parking signs on the block so you can move the truck exactly at the right time to avoid a ticket and have a better chance of getting a parking space.

Answer 3

I used to drive a construction vehicle that was the equivalent of a 24' straight box Class III and it was really hard
Right off the bat there are expressways and there are parkways . Trucks are not allowed on parkways and to insure that doesn't happen many parkways have really low bridges.
Every once in a while some guy will be coming over the Triborough Bridge driving a semi and not see the sign on the Queens side that says" All commerclal traffic must exit right. " He will hit the first bridge on Grand central Parkway and then proceed to peel a foot or two off the trailer and as revenge tie up traffic for hours.
Another result of that is that you are forced onto local streets if say you have to go from JFK to Staten Island . What would take you 15minutes in a car w/o traffic will take you an hour in a truck assuming you know where you are going.
In Manhattan ,Fuggedaboutit !
The further south you go in Manhattan the narrower the streets get and the more confusing the navigation becomes.
Then working guys out of necessity have to double park and what was once a narrow street becomes a narrow alley and you're stuck
I personally have spent one hour driving around one city block looking for a place I could double park to do a 15 minute service call
Then you have with all those lovely people who love writing tickets to working guys and really don't like to hear" Hey pal if I wasn't getting paid for this do you you think I would be driving here? "
At least before Giuliani they were bribable -no more
Lastly there is biological needs; carry a large coffee can w/ a lid in your truck just for emergecies
On the positive side there are some incredibly hot women in NYC and the view from a truck can often be revealing
. And the Brooklyn girls ? The best in the world
I

Answer 4

Typically there appears to be 5 lanes of traffic in 4 lanes at any given time. All streets seem to have an extra lane of traffic and double and triple parking all over the place. Plus forget about parking in alot of the garages -- they don't have the clearance which then adds the problem of finding a parking space for a large truck. Driving a large truck in New York will be a challenge. Good luck.

Answer 5

Well, my husband was a truck driver for a long time, he now sells used and wrecked trucks. I remember the first time he went to New York. He said, " I have been a lot of places but never again will I go to New York for any reason." He said it was an absolute nightmare in a truck and probally as bad in a car. He did go back a second time and that was it. He owned his own truck so he could kind of call the shots on where he would go. Now, his favorite place to go was Maine, he said it was like god's country. Anyone that I have ever talked to that drives truck, all agree, they want no part of going to NY.

Answer 6

its hard as hell because first of all you have all the new yorkers jumping in front of your truck while you are trying to make turns and then you have those tight streets, its common sense man. Its very hard. I HATE DRIVING IN NEW YORK. GOOD LUCK