How can I get out of driving this POS truck?

Finish the ol' girl off..."I have no idea how the oil drain plug fell out boss. Better go talk the mechanic"...That'll fix em.

 

If you are really concerned about driving the truck then refuse to drive it until it is repaired. But, from your post it is more of an annoyance than a safety issue. I would talk with your dispatcher and express your concerns and see what they say. It may come down to either dealing with the problem or walking.

 

Did ya ever think maybe it their test truck ?
Like if you can't hack it in the old truck they won't keep you long enough to need a new truck.

You are the newest hand on the ranch so you get the oldest horse in the barn !
Show them that you are a hand worth keeping around long enough to get a newer ride !

 

Yes he is the new hand on the ranch and does get the worst horse in the barn, but not one that is going to get you involved in an accident.

My thoughts are to write the truck up on every Pre-Trip Inspection report for the engine issue.

You haven't given any info on the brand of engine or model number or year of the truck, so nobody will be able to help you fix the problem yourself.

How can this lead to an accident? At the moment you physically need three feet to operate the the foot controls of this truck and only have two to maintain proper control.

Sooner or later it's going to stall on you while your try to navigate an intersection and you'll lose steering control. Can you maintain your direction of travel around the corner with NO power steering on an overloaded front axle? 99.9% of all car carriers with an overhead rack in the USA have a 5.0" drop front axle designed for a 12,000 lb weight load. The problem with this is they only have a single power steering box and are not designed for the weight of 15-16,000 lbs they normally carry on this axle. Good luck staying ion your lane as you navigate around the corner with no power steering. Hopefully nobody is around for you to run over.

Is your job worth that much to you that the risk of killing someone isn't considered a reason to fight with your boss?

Your job isn't worth the risk your taking. If you get involved in an accident and you haven't written this up on every daily pre trip inspection........you are as liable as your boss for not fixing it. First off if you are involved in an accident and you haven't written it up, your boss is going to say that you never notified him of the mechanical deficiencies of the truck and he has the paperwork to prove it signed by you, the daily operator of the vehicle. This will be his way of limiting his liability in the lawsuit that will follow after the accident. I'd also write on the pre trip inspection report FORCED DISPATCH this will help yopu to limit your liability if you are involved in an accident. This will also bring this to the attention of any DOT Inspection Officer at a random road side inspection, he'll be more than happy to get your bosses attention with an OOS inspection report...........in fact you can always stop by a scale house and volunteer for an inspection without saying to the officers that you have a problem that the boss won't fix. They'll look at the previous pre trip inspections in you logbook and know what to look for without you saying a word about a mechanical problem.

 

Doesn't anyone use an inspection report anymore?? It is a federal document.

When a driver fills it out and signs it, the company has no choice but to fix it and a certified mechanic sign off that it is fixed.

Turn the top copy in and keep the bottom copy.

Then if they give you a hard time refer back to: FMCSA Rule § 396.7 Unsafe operations forbidden

No job is worth your CSA2010 report getting damaged. No company is worth forcing you to drive garbage.

Trucks like this is what the DOT is trying to get off the road.

 

Yep Follow the rules and if they don't like it. MOVE ON! there is too many trucking jobs to drive POS trucks

 

Any company that would leave a truck like that in ghe fleet isn't worth the time. Yeah being new means you do not get the new 2012 rig with all the chrome and light, doesn't mean they shouldn't provide a properly functioning truck to any employee.

 

Something just isn't quite right here. In your profile you state you have 15 years driving experience. In another thread you say you have 6 months driving experience, which is much closer to what your posts are showing. I don't know if you entered your profile in error or what, but it throws a big red flag up, at least for me, after reading your posts.

Be that as it may, and not withstanding that you say you can't leave your job. . .

If your truck is unsafe, then you refuse to drive it. If they fire you over it, so be it. There are other companies around. Just document the hell out of everything that is happening.

 

You could stop in a scale and ask for an inspection, but what will you tell the inspector, that the truck stalls sometimes? It isn't something that would turn up in an inspection. Nor do I think that it is something that would put you out of service unless there is something in the regs that I don't remember.

If it were me I would talk to my boss and see if he will get it in to a shop to be checked and repaired. If he is unwilling to do that I would ask for another truck. If that was not an option then I would find another company. More than likely the problem could be diagnosed by connecting to the truck ECM. It probably would not cost more than $25-50 to check the computer.

 

I think I would let the boss know your having a problem driving the new truck because your not used to it. Ask him if HE could come with you and show you the trick to ensure the truck is not a problem. Too many people complain about small things I think some employers have a hard time believing that when the drivers tell them there is a problem they just ignore it.

Best thing I could think of to do without upsetting the boss is get him in that truck with him driving. Then maybe once he sees how bad it really is he will do something to fix it.