How many have tried to help other O/O when broke down

Comes in handy for dismembering the bodies.

 

Its amazing what you can fit in the left sleeper box, closet floor, and the step box on the right side of this ol 359. Under the bunk plumbed to right side of sleeper is a 30 gallon plastic tank for an atv rack. With a 12 volt rv type water pump, course gravity fed worked good for a long time. 30 gallon of fresh water has lots of uses out here for sure. I don't run the extreme north so I can get by with a shut off where pipe comes out of the tank and opening water faucet after use to drain the line so it don't freeze.

 

I know when you put a truck into a shop and try to tell them why you brought it in they don't seem to care , usually have the attitude of your just a dumb truck driver, let us figure it out. I was running a Penske truck once and had to call in to get it towed. I explained to the people on the phone that I had 3/4 tank of fuel, that I opened the caps and sticked them to verify it. An hour later they sent a service truck with fuel to see if it ran out of fuel. Seems like the shops would prefer to deal with steering holders over drivers.

 

Its not so much that they prefer to. I have always turned wrenches for a living till lately and decided its now or never on being an O/O more to it than I thought by the way. Its best to start at the top of the known causes for condition and eliminate your way to the problem. Thru diagnosis and testing, especially if you inherited the job from another known good technician. Its best to start all over likeits never been looked at if possible. So its kinda along the same lines.

 

Being an O/O means very little at times anymore ( for some so called O/O's ) when it comes to knowing their equipment and being prepared when things happen , I have ran across quite a few that if the HEADLIGHTS were not WHITE and the TAILIGHTS RED they would have trouble knowing the front from the back of their tractors .

 

If that's your experience, Flatbed, that's your world. The major difference in my world is that O/O's don't have a safety net back at company headquarters, like, "road service, I need some help here." So, in my world O/O's are more prepared, more equipped, and more ready to do what's necessary to keep rolling. I was just thinking about this Saturday morning, laying on 2" of ice under a set of tandems, hammering out a rusted pin to re-attach a linkage arm that had broken loose, freezing the r/r pin locked with the tandems all the way back. I even installed a new flat washer and wired the linkage back in place so the next driver wouldn't have that problem. Company driver? Some would, but a lot would make the call. I think. For me, I want to make money, and don't want to pay any more than I have to for mechanics who may, or may not, know what they're doing.

 

that's your world

My world consists of having been an O/O and now a fleet operator fixed more equipment than you dreamed of over the years , sorry if you do not like the TRUTH about some ( NOT ALL if you read my post correctly ) truck jockeys in the REAL WORLD who call themselves O/O's but are no more than self employed wheel holders .

 

I always keep 4 vice grips that were big enough to clamp onto the trailer pins. We had so many trailers with broken pins that it was common practice to have one in my pocket and hammer in hand if I needed to slide tandems.