The adventure Begins!

Also:

I was torn today, one of the guys, a good guy, a nice guy, a friendly guy, went out to the bar, had some beers, some shots, etc, and the rules of the school are "No drinking in or out of the house" I took that to mean no bars too, and like he is a good guy but he pestered me for TWO HOURS to go with him asking repeatedly, etc.

I dont wanna get no one in trouble, but....I dunno, do I rat him or...what??

 

Well, today was a good day, I got pictures of that megajacked up freightliner I told you about, inside smells like cat pee too now O.O

But, did some backing, pretrips etc, and did coupling and uncoupling a few times, but I gotta work on that more.

I have recognised my weaknesses in my pretrip (I will probably at some point type out, from memory how I do my pretrip, without everything in front of me I may miss things but I should not... that will be my next post )

I will attach those pictures soon, and I am all for awnsering any questions about this experiance yall might have, Once I finish my schooling I plan on starting a new thread in the swift section documenting my experiance from day one with swift.

 

Things to note:

My instructor, also the guy who gives us our road test said quote: "If you dont know the name of somthing, if you touch it, tell me what it does, and how its supposed to be, I dont care if you call it a red headed stepchild, as long as you know it, thats fine" So 'thingie' may come up, and yes, this is how I actually say it all to my instructor/partner who is testing me..humor helps keep me calm. All words are followed by gestures...I may make a video at some point.

"Alright, after getting my coffee, and morning constatutional, its time to go, I will approach my truck and try not to spill my coffee as I look under the tractor to make sure there is no leaks, or puddles, then I count my running lights, marker lights, clearance lights (He wants all 3 names for them) 1, 3, 1, all there, amber in color, not broken, hanging, out, filled with water, or walked away while I was sleeping...mirrors are there too, not hanging, broken, dirty, loose, they are adjusted and not damaged, my fairing on the roof is not going to catch wind and kill someone in a honda...my fender lights, amber, not broken, missing hanging, they blink, they stay on, they are functioning properly, headlights are there, clear, clean, not broken or missing or hanging, high and low beams work, my inner turn signals are clear, amber bulbs, blink, and function properly...."

<proceed to unhook hood and walk to passanger side>

"This is my air conditioner, its not on the test, but without it, I cook. Below that though, is my alternator, its there, 1/2 to 3/4 inch of play, or, deflection if you prefer, its belt driven, secured, mounted properly, not broken or leaking, right there is my water pump, it too is secured, mounted properly, not broken or leaking and is gear driven...my oil dipstick is here, and operating in <checks> normal levels., if you will follow me to the other side <walk> This here is my air compressor it is gear driven and secured, mounted properly, not broken or leaking all my hoses in my engine compartment are free of abrasions, buldges, cuts, leaks, and are secure, this here, is my stearing resivaur, it is secured, mounted properly, not broken or leakingand filled properly, and my coolant tank is here, its secured, mounted properly, not broken or leaking and filled to the proper levels. all of this big beast moves by this here, my stearing rod thingie! It has less than 2 inches of play its not cracked, broekn or twisted, its attacfhed to this thing here that links to my gear box, its not bent or broken or missing....this here is my steering box, its got all sorts of crap in it that makes me steer this big boy, and its securely fastened and not leaking or missing, its bolted solid. Attached to my pitman arm, that holds my drag queen...I mean drag arm. The pitman ahs no breaks, non-factory bends, or illigal welding, and my drag queen here is properly fastned by castle nuts held by cotter pins and secured firmly."

"now, this here is my brake and wheel, I'll go through it once, and do the same with all my other tires, ill includ the info for checking duals as well. This here is my brake shoe, its not worn dangeriously thin, it presses against my drum here, that has no rust, holes, cracks, breaks, welds, or dents, there is no forgin debris such as oil, grease or dirt built up. The drum is attached to the rim, this is a bud style rim, all ten bolts are there, it has no breaks, welds, cracks, or bends, it has a good bead seat that is properly fitted. My valve stem is there with no leaks. My sidewalls, have no abrasions, bubbles, or cuts, free of forgin objects, as this is my steer tires, they must have 4/32 worth of tread, my others must have 2/32, and thats minumums, my ubolts are here, they help hold my springs in place, my springs are not bent, broken, rusted, missing or scissored, with no illigal welds, the spring arms are mounted securely to my frame! Wich reminds me...this big 10 year old hunk of metal your training me on, is all bolted to the frame, the frame is not cracked, bent, twisted, rusted...ok, it is, but you ccant hold rust against me, its your truck, it has only factory holes, and is not illigally welded...that there is my cross member, its there, and not missing or broken or bent. These are the air bags, they are not leaking, cut , missing, popped, broken, or inoperable, and this here is my shock absorber, its attached firmly, bushings are good, its not broken, have holes, hanging wrong, leaking or cracked or broken. If this were a dual tire, I would point out that my tires are of the same size, and that there are no children, bikes, or hondas stuck between my tandems. My tires are evenly worn to boot....this way please"

<move to side>

"My door, its there, its seals are not cracked, missing or broken, my mirrors as stated in the front are clear, not broken, clouded, cracked, msising, are secure, free of debris, stickers or obstruction, my door opens, closes and hinges are solid" <demonstrate as such> This is my steps, or as I call them catwalk 1 of 2. You try standing on it and you will see why, its there, secure, and clear of obstruction. Behind it is my fuel cell, it has no dents, cuts, illigal welds, or holes, the cap is solid and seals tight with no leaks, the straps keep it secure to the frame. My running light here is amber in color, not broken, clouded or hanging, "

< move back some> This long bad boy here, is my drive shaft, its not broken, twisted, missing, welded or cracked, next to it is the dog bone, its there, keeps my frame straight, aint broken, twisted missing, small children or dogs dangling from it. Those are my hoses and plugs, <explane each, and its function, showing gladhand seals and such too> They are not cut, broken, missing, frayed, rubbing, chaffed, spliced, or being used in S&M practices. There is my catwalk 2/2 it also is secure having no obstructions. That there is my exuast, its what makes this #### thing so loud, or atleast, it helps. It has no leaks, cracks, rust, secured, no holes, nothing hanging. Those are my mudflaps there...they are 10 inches or less from the ground, making sure that I dont spit up asphalt into the head of some poor chump on a bike. Thse are my bobtail brake lights, they are red in color with white for backup indication, they are not hanging broken, missing or stolen, these make sure that the dog chasing me knows im about to stop so he dont run into the back of me, and for the jerk in the 4 wheeler to know im backing up and cant see his stupid ###..."






That is my pretrip for:

Front of tractor
Side of Tractor
Rear of TRACTOR.

Stay tuned for :

Trailer inspection
In Cab
Final Air brake check




How did I do drivers?

 

Part 2:

"This is my trailer, the bulkhead has no missing rivits, and all panals are there as you too can clearly see if you look up from the notepad. Down here, is the apron of my trailer, the visible parts of it are not bent, broken or cracked, its well lubricated, as is my kingpin and my fifthwheel here. The fifthwheel is flat and level, no gap between trailer and fifth wheel, the locking lever secure around my kingpin, safety is in place, the handle of my fifth release is pushed in and secure, this ####### here...is the pin that helps it pivor and this other thing here, is my safty pin that keeps that one where it belongs., My platform is securely bolted to the frame, and the lcoking pins are there and holding it so that my trailer dont fly off on the road and go to huston while im going to dallas. Its air controlled the air hose has no leaks, and is in proper functioning order...all of my trailer cross members are there, not bent, or missing, the platform has no illigal welds or cracks, or breaks....This way please.." <walk down side of trailer while speaking> My railer lights are all here, amber in color, on, not broken, missing or hanging, listen and you will find no leaks as well, you can more clearly see my brake canisters on the trailer than on the tracctor, they are sealed properly, no breaks, welds or broken bags inside. All panals are there, no tears or holes in trailer, DOT tape covering 51% or more of my trailer, and no rivits missing.....around back here <move> The doors as you can see are sealed, none missing, they open, close, and lock, <demonstrate> as you can see. The hinges are all there, secure, not missing, The tail lights are red, not broken, missing, out or clouded. My plaquards for hazmat as you can see, while not needed as I am not endoresed are there, and set to blank. My DOT bumper is there, secure, not on the test, but worth mentioning. I have mudflaps back here too..."

This way for my incab please:

<sit> "Close the door, and buckle up please, I wont start this tractor till you do, as you can see, the belts are secured, not torn, or frayed they lock and unlock and are adjusted...my mirrors too are properly adjusted not broken, cracked, are clean and clear and not loose as stated outside..." <buckle up...> Now for my safe start....<clutch, brakes on double check, neutral, turn key and push button if needed> All these bells and whistles are annoying but your gunna hear them again soon...My winshield has no cracks, chips, breaks, is there, and clean, clear of stickers and forgin objects, and obstructions. My wiper blades and system are in working order, smooth and the blades are in good condition, secure, not chipped or missing, the bug guts remover shoots properly and helps clean off the bug goo. Keeping us safe. Now, my gauges now that the noise is down. Oil is coming up to temp and holding properly, my warning light for it, and my water temp has gone off, as you can see the water temp is in normal op range as well, over here you can see that my Air PSI is within normal op range, and holding, but that will change soon enough as well, my battery volt thing is at 14, and charging as should be....my dash lights are on, and now to show you my neat lights...left, right, four way, high beam, low beam, they all work. My heater and defroster as well <demonstrate all of that> Now, parking brake check." <Red out, yellow in, let clutch out slow after shifting first, tug on trailer> "Brake works ducky, as you can see..." <red in> Now my service brake check" <let clutch out, roll forward, hit service brake" I did not pull left or right, thusly my brake check is complete. I proclaim that I am done with my incab inspection and moving to my final air brake test."


<next post>

 

"I forgot to point out my safty gear, but here it is, my fire extinguisher is there...its in date, and secure so it dont decapitate you in a wreck, I have 3 triangles, right there, extra fuses there, and my fuse box is here."


(THIS is a important one, so I try not to screw around, mess this up and I FAIL my test


Step 1) "I will drop my air pressure after pushing in red, and yellow, dropping them by pumping lightly my service brake till we hit 80PSI, Bring my RPM to 1500 and once I hit 85PSI I will make sure that I reach 100 PSI, within 45 seconds" <wait and time> "I will hold at 1500 PSI, until we reach the govener cutoff that happens typically at 125PSI..." <wait point out gov, kickout>

Step 2) "I will now, put myself in gear, keep clutch in, and turn off my engine. To proceed to do a leak down test...." <shut off engineafter shifting first> "I will apply between 20 and 40 PSI to my service brakes for 1 minute, bobtail I should lose no more than 3 psi in a minute, 4 if I have a trailer or in any other way a combi" <demonstrate>

Step 3) "I will now show that my warning buzzers function properly, by pumping my service brake till they come on, this should happen around 60 PSI or more..." <demonstrate, noting when they come on.>

Step 4) "I will now finish my final air brake test, by making sure my emergency spring brakes trigger for tractor and trailer...by pumping my brakes until these..." <point to red and yellow> pop out, typically around 20 to 40/45 PSI," <Demonstrate, take deep breath> "I am done with my final air brake inspection."



So tell me drivers.

Do I pass my pretrip exam?