Taking the plunge. My journey as an O/O.

Your thinking is correct if you don't know a screwdriver from a wrench, or drum brakes from an engine brake.

 

Good point. I never claim to be a mechanic nor pretend to be one. I learned a few things in highschool for 3 years in auto shop back in '88 later learning by taking a brake adjustment course during trucking school in '95. After 25 years I know a thing or two about trucks but far from wanting to be these guys at a truck stop I see all greased up in overalls trying to fix something on their beat up 2001 Freightliner etc. It really makes No sense IMO to be wasting so much of your time towards something that could be avoid in the 1st place. Yes, not everyone has good credit or the 1/3rd of a deposit to put down on a new truck for lesser payments but in the long run it save people headaches and time (Note: 'Money in LIFE can always be made..but Not TIME..time can never be given back so why waste it?..) Another reason why mechanics are there as well.

 

You are essentially owning a motor carrier. Maintenance is part of the business. If you think you're nothing but a driver then stick to being one.

And you act as if it's a full-time job to maintain one truck? A whole in-frame can be done over a weekend. An oil change a hour tops, another 30 minutes to grease your truck once a month, and diagnosing a no start is something you should have learned as a teenager.

I'm not saying you should be rebuilding your transmission and doing your own body work after hitting a deer, but you'd rather give a shop thousands of dollars and wait all day or two for them to get to your truck when you could have done it yourself saving thousands in maintenance costs every year and having more free time than you have right now walking around the TA store like a zombie while the shop pulls your truck in and will wait 4 hours before they get to it for 30 minutes to change the oil, top fluids, and grease the truck?

You are a motor carrier by definition. If you're paying $300 for an oil change, $25 a week for an accountant, and paying everybody else to do your job while you just drive, then no wonder so many complain they don't make more than a company driver.

 

I Learned to diagnose a no start when i was a teenager.

30 years later. Computers and relays and sensors and 5,000 miles of wire are added.

What I Learned is now obsolete.

 

It is not quantum physics. I get that the older generation is always right and refuses to learn or listen but that's not justifiable excuse for me to spend $1,300 for somebody to tell me I need new batteries.

 

Some people just don't have the desire to turn a wrench.
I used to be a wrench. These days I pay a shop to fix my motorcycle. And may see the dealer about replacing my cabin filter. May. I just moved. I need to gather up my things.

 

Replacing bulbs. Rotten electrical wires. Air Filters. Batteries. Mud flops. etc. I would want to do it myself - too trivial not to. But not much more than that due to limitations of the parking lot rules and perhaps physical constraints. For instance, replacing turbo is not a rocket science either but it takes time, tools and space - with these new sorts that have actuators, you need to be able to program them too. I am a believer though that knowing how to fix and what to do - if you had to do it yourself is essential in this profession. And it should a be a job prerequisite. For instance, during a CDL exam there should be a repair "fix it" test:" Ma'm or Sir here is a flat tire, there are the tools needed. Please replace the flat withing 25 minutes."

 

Fixing a flat on a semi can be a pita.

Them 22 tires are tough.