Extra Spare Parts

That all sounds great until god forbid your in an accident and some scumbag lawyer convinces a jury to believe that because you were not a certified mechanic but you repaired the truck anyway that somehow that accident was all your fault!


C.Y.A.

 

yeah but i haven't seen anyone say you should be carrying new break shoes or wheel bearings, i doubt in any way a lawyer can get you for replacing a trailer air hoes or replacing a bad fuel filter or zip tieing a wire up so its not rubbing on something

 

Lawyers don't do anything shady.

I pack glad hand seals,medium duty zip ties, crowbar/prybar and thats it.

 

if you are a company driver, what spare parts IF ANY your company will give you is determined by how much inventory they wish to have and be taxed on at the end of the year.

parts cost money to stock, and to be kept on the shelf's till they are used, so many companies simply do not have a lot of stock anymore.

all you need to have with you (if you want) is ONE headlight bulb, ONE tail light bulb, 2 or 4 glad hand seals, and maybe a gallon of washer fluid..

now if you OWN your truck..??

well then whatever you wish to spend YOUR money on....

 

I see where a super heavy duty snatch strap

may be needed by a few folks !!!

 

GOOOOLLY....

 

I have my side box packed full of tools to be able to do pretty much any roadside repair that I could ever find necessary. In addition to that, a gallon of oil, washer fluid, and mixed coolant save money by purchasing them when & where I can get a good deal, not when I'm in a bind and needing them ASAP. I have a couple spare lights, but they really don't burn out often enough to need to carry TOO many of them....headlight, tail light...the rest can be picked up when needed.

Anything else, I can get delivered to me on the side of the road by ANY parts dealer (i.e. NAPA, Bumper to Bumper, etc...) that has vehicles available to make deliveries. Pay over the phone with a credit card and they'll run the part out to you wherever you happen to be just as they would deliver the part to a mechanic's garage.

 

Not to be rude, but with that mentality all you can hope for is to be a mediocre driver. The drivers willing to do more will be rewarded accordingly. In addition they will gain the skills to become a successful owner/operator down the road, if they choose that path.

 

That's right. Know all you can about the truck including the laws and rules for making adjustments on safety items. I've seen trucks held up at safety inspections because of cheap parts. One time I know I could have got $20 for one small light bulb but I showed the driver what I carried on the truck and I was mostly local. If I could fix a small problem and be back at the rack to load again it was much better than sitting waiting for repairs. To bad the schools don't teach minor repairs anyone can do.

 

I have no problem doing minor repairs.

However, the last company I was at only allowed for light bulb changes and fluids.


It was a violation of company policy to perform mechanical work and you stood the risk of being fired.