Do you pre-trip?

These trucks are running the Baja 300 every day. It's amazing how much people pay attention when their income is dependent on if that truck is safe to operate.

I give respect to any driver that is vigilant about safety. People notice if nothing is ever wrong with your truck or if problems get fixed asap. Keep doing what you're doing

 

How do ya not know you got a light out for days? I'd catch it at the start of my day or while fueling, if not while driving.

 

Wait.... You have had a light out for weeks and you didnt bother to replace it???? That is terribly lazy on your part. Exterior running lights (presuming it isnt near the top of the trailer) are generally held in by two screws. At the most cost it could be $16 for a head light bulb. Send a message on the qualcomm saying the cost to replace it (being a responsible driver) and tell them a copy of the receipt will be in with the paperwork you send each week. Send them the original ONLY AFTER you get compensated for the cost.

Someday you will get pulled over for that light. The officer will learn you didnt think it was necessary to do your job. That slap on the wrist will turn into a full on level one inspection. Because you were willing to ignore the light, what else were you willing to ignore.

We do pretrips for safety. Post trips and enroute trips. Just because you dont witness it being done isnt an excuse for you to say "hey I have better things to do because I am bored". If your really that bored perhaps you shouldnt be driving either.

For me it is habit. 5 minutes to check the truck. Do the usual stuff you learned when you got your CDL. Look between all duallies for debris or stones. Examine the underside of the trailer for broken decking or cracks in the frame. When you take your 34 give the truck and trailer a full on inspection.

 

Tonight at 11! A new record was set at the Swift Airport today when only 14 plane crashes occured, setting an all time new safety record for the 3-day trained pilots taking off. Later in the news, real estate values plummet in the area, cause unknown!

 

Yup.

Maybe a little too well sometimes. Caught a screw that had backed out on my APU cover. Nothing that would bother most drivers. But had I not seen it, I’d have to replace it. Or put up with the rattle.

 

For all the #### you just talked, you only take 5 minutes to go over your truck? WOW. A real pretrip inspection would take between 30-45 minutes!!! How bout that glass house. Shesh. Now come on back to reality with the rest of us.



I go full on indepth once per week that means checking everything under the hood. Wires, air lines, mechanical you name it. Grab the creeper and head down stairs. Check it all. It takes me a solid hour to go thru the truck when i do it. During the day it’s look under the truck for puddles as i walk up on it & kick the tires when stopped. Always grab a hand full of trolley as i’m letting the clutch out after being parked. Oil & coolant a couple times a week, not daily. ***if there is no leaks, no smoke, and no excess soot or soot/oil trails running down the stack, where would that much oil have gone? Same for coolant. Honestly the stuff doesn’t have legs & no one ever has popped a hood open & pumped out a dudes fluids to save their own money. (Fuel excluded).

Saftey, nah Bull ####. This is bottom line stuff. It’s more cost effective for me to find and fix in my driveway, then to find out about & have fixed on the road. Tow trucks can be $500-$1500+, OOS, roadside repair, tow trucks will make me late & upset my customers (they depend on the on time service i sell!),

Bottom line as the sole operator of a truck, you should know it inside & out. The truck is your paycheck.

 

Why would anyone driving a truck not want to do a pretrip, especially with the way DOT is anymore. 10-15 minutes can help you see any issues before DOT does.
Besides what wouldn't you rather take a few minutes let's say to replace a headlight or get on a dark unfamiliar highway.
You didn't notice the screw in your tire, now you're on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere waiting on expensive road call.

 

I'm like Kshaw and Green Pete, every time I stop, I'm looking and kicking and pulling, even if it's someone else's truck, I'm putting my life and everyone else's life on the line, if it's not right or if it's starting to look not right I'm on it or if it's someone else's fix it or find another driver. Sounds a little extreme but 80k is a lot of weight to be throwing around.

 

I pre/post trip everyday. I'm new to my first company so in part I'm doing the right thing and I guess I haven't developed any bad habits yet. My boss expects everyone to pre/post trip daily to include hoods going up yet I see the majority of drivers just walk up to their trucks and they are immediately started without checking any fluids. Mechanics could've come out and drained a fluid and forgot to notify a driver, now you're going down the road without critical fluids, hope it never catches one of the guys short one day