How often do you do your pre trip inspections?

You'd be amazed at what you'll see , I saw Maverick get up turn on his lights and hit the road just yesterday. He didn't look at his tarp , load securement, etc

 

Pre-trip, Basic inspection, checking tires lights walk around and fluids each and every time.... post trip full on inspection at the end of each driving shift. Whenever stopped for breaks, fueling etc, at a minimum, walk around thump tires, look for anything obvious. Tug test before driving off anywhere to assure nobody pulled king pin.

 

Are you using that guys idiocy to justify not checking your own truck before running?

 

I just thought that was pretty balzy since it's flatbed. Iv justified not doing pre trips plenty of times. But for those who actually do them should give their ego a pat on the back. Most drivers won't admit it but go to a large truck stop from 0400 to 0800 and youll be able to count on half a hand the number of drivers who get out and do a pre trip. When I went to work for freymiller they had the orientation guys do a pre trip as part of their test. I popped the hood and the guy giving the test stopped me and said are you a mechanic? I said what do you mean? He said close that hood and let's hit the road, ain't got time for a rig rundown . I watched several drivers say alright the truck is upright let's roll and the examiner just laughed. Only one guy got sent home because he couldn't back or something odd like a drug test.

 

Me too!

 

Yeah, I agree about the number of guys not doing it. I see them all the time as well. Bad move that will catch up to them sooner or later.

Like others have pointed out in this thread, it doesn’t need to be an exhaustive check. That would be overboard, imo. But a walk around check, look under, and fluids on a regular basis is the wise thing to do. A lot can be known without taking all that much time. Spend even more time if it’s equipment you don’t drive every day.

 

Everyday, thats how you catch small problems before they become larger problems. Especially when it comes out of your pocket

 

After reading this thread it's no surprise. All you lazy guys here's a pro tip. Do a solid post trip so all you have to do when you get ready to roll is do a quick walk around

 

I check everything the night before so all i do is bing bam boom kick the tires and we ready to roll

 

I am the only one who drives and works on my tractor, except for the big stuff. I am the guy who crawls around under it frequently. Do I do a textbook pre trip every day? No. I do better than that, I look at the truck everytime I leave it and get back into it. And listen to it all the time. Are the brakes going to be materially different. No. Did the tires suddenly wear out? No. Are they low on pressure? Hand on the tire for temp tells me whether I need to stick it or not. etc. Prioritize on safety. An air compressor leaking a little oil is a heck of a lot different than a brake chamber leaking air or out of adjustment.
When I pick up a used trailer, I do a significant pretrip, and do the same thing, look at it everytime I leave it and go back to it. New trailers not so much, after a few miles. If they have a significant defect it shows quickly. I do check the left / right turn signals and brake lights separately, not just pull the flashers on.
If I get an equipment violation at a scale it is because a difference of opinion between what the inspector thinks and I do. It doesn't happen much in 45 years.