Need some advice on a new Atlas GP38

[martin station]

  I recently purchased a latest run Atlas GP38 Dcc/sound ready locomotive and looking at it upside down on both trucks the gearing is on the same side. Usually one slot that the gears show through is on the left and the other is on the right side, on this locomotive, both are on the right side, not opposite. My question is do I need to remove one of the trucks and disassemble it to turn it around because being that the wires are soldered to the pickups, unlike the older ones that you could just loosen chassis screws, pull the truck out and turn it around, or will it run just fine the way it is? Appreciate some advice on this.
Thanks, Ralph

[dandopinski]

It should run as is, although my preference is to have the trucks turned opposite.

[martin station]

  Thanks for the answer. Does having them opposite make for better pulling and pushing?
Ralph

[nkalanaga]

No, it shouldn't affect traction at all.

Many of the older units had the trucks turned opposite because they used the same sideframe for both trucks, the gears were offset, and they had the truck-mounted couplers. 

With body-mount couplers, the only thing that matters is the brake detail - if it's such that one end should face the end of the loco.  If the details are symmetrical, it doesn't matter at all.

[martin station]

  Thank you, exactly what I needed to know.
Ralph

[randgust]

Like most Atlas, if it just runs quietly, don't mess with it.

Mine is quiet 'enough' but was very disappointing in the tractive effort to the point I parked it in the display case and kept my old Kato GP38, which had enough pickup issues I hotwired it to another Atlas unit. 

I think Atlas has evolved their gearing and universals to be pretty darn good, but it's maddening if you get a noisy one and Bearden Block method or not, can be next to impossible to eliminate racket.   I've had ones that just changing the screw tension on the split frames was enough to make the gearing sound significantly better, or worse.