Basic Mechanics Every Newbie Should Know

You must know how to put a new windshield wiper on.

Seriously I watched a guy struggle with this for a little while at the fuel island the other day. In all seriousness though they can be kinda tricky.

WRT the changing a tire thing - I would think that's one thing you can go without. You would never do this by yourself (I can't imagine so at least), you don't have the tools or equipment to even really start.

 

here is a good one.

know how to jump start your truck with a reefer.
Since most truckers will completely ignore the poor sap walking around a truck stop asking for a jump, if you haul reefer, like I do on occasion, it's a handy trick.

simply fluid change is necessary. Checking/adding oil, coolant, fuel... (little joke)

here is another good one, know how to do an emergency radiator hose fix. roadside calls are expensive, and the more money you save the company, the more they can pay you back.

it's a good idea to know how to change a fuel filter, though not too important, you have plenty of time to get to a company shop before it's 100% necessary.

it used to be important knowing how to adjust your brakes, but the way things go now, not so much. Hell, our shop prefers that you not only dont manually adjust the brakes, but that you dont know how so you dont try!

The MOST important thing you need to know is how to check to see if there are any problems. Whether you can fix it or not, if you dont know how to check your slack adjusters you can have BIG problems down the road. The company would rather pay $500 to get something fixed, then $50,000 for a new truck, plus all the other crap, like lawsuits, insurance, etc. so KNOW what you're checking when you do your pre-trip inspection.

 

All depends where you drive and what you do. I have had to swap a drive for a steer twice. Both times were out in the bush and a service call would have been stupidly expensive so I think it all depends on where you are. It isn't tough just takes a while and alot of brute force and ignorance.

All I carry is a 20 ton jack, wheel wrenches, a long snipe, and 2 spoon bars just incase I have to get the shreds of tire off the one wheel to make it safe to go down the road.

 

Truckerdragon excellent post!

Swaps, excellent idea! I can't tell you how many times I have done that. (reefer jump) Also works vice versa! Also the hose thing is very important.

To all this I will add: Swapping out a headlights or marker lights or any lights for that matter. Especially with the csa2010 now. Also fuses. Any fix that is necessary to get you down the road really is good to know.

 

A small pin hole in a radiator can have You down and out. A quick fix to get you somewhere say in to cell phone reception is to brake up a cigarette in to it. What this does is when the water is being pushed out the hole, the tobacco will plug the hole.

 

It is finding a place for the 15 foot cheater pipe!

 

You should know how to adjust the brakes on a trailer.

I got stopped by the DOT one time and that was the only flaw they found. Since I was still new at driving they were cool enough to let it slide if I went to the truck mechanic (conveniently located right next to the DOT checkpoint) and get it fixed. Turns out all I had to do was tighten the adjusting bolt all the way down then back it off a quarter turn...