Missouri Pretrip Inspection - Driving Portion Test Points

if your worried about failing the pre-trip id suggest you read this, although many drivers on the road skip pre-trips altogether,you will see these guys on the side of road frequently, but here ya go, read up
http://www.pre-trip.net/guide.htm

 

oops i missed that, what parts are you uncomfortable with in the driving part and what state are you in, some states driving tests are different from others. some deduct points for floating gears with the least bit of gear grind, know the things that are immediate fails before taking test thats for certain

 

Pretrip points depend on if you are assigned a portion or the entire truck.

Road test is -30 to pass, -31 and you fail.

 

Alley dock tips: setup about 1 width from the coned, DOT bumper 7 paces down range. Get to 90 and if as you go in, do your pull up to 45 degrees from the box and get straight. You will get it from there

 

Way back when.....I found it was helpful to approach the PTI with somewhat of a system.

Walking to the truck, check the exterior working from the top of the cab down - make sure the lights are are intact, nothing dripping from the engine, listen for air leaks, mud flaps intact, lug nuts on and tight, mirrors attached, axle seals, stuff like that.

Once the exterior inspection was done, I'd open the hood and work around all the major stuff like air lines, radiator / expansion tank caps, oil cap, check the oil level, steering gear, fan blades, etc. Basically, if it's under the hood and it holds fluid, moves, or has something to do with the air system (air dryer), check it out.

After the engine area, the rest of the tractor like the brake chambers, slack adjusters, brake shoe linings, oil drain plug is tight, check the hub oil level, air lines / tanks, etc.

From the bottom of the tractor to the sides and then the catwalk. Make sure nothing is broken / damaged, check the air lines and electrical line, make sure they aren't touching the catwalk, check any lighting or accessories on the rear of the tractor.

Move to the fifth wheel, check out all that stuff.

Move to the trailer and do the same thing...start on top and check the lights, check for damage, check the gladhands, make sure the gladhand seals are there, go underneath and check the air and electrical lines, the landing gear, move to the rear of the trailer and check the same stuff you would on the steer or drive axles of the tractor.

It's not an all encompassing list of EVERY SINGLE PART that you need to go over for the examiner, but it gives you an idea of what helped me. I broke everything down into smaller components and kept the same "route" going from exterior top of tractor, windshield / mirrors / doors, lower exterior on both sides of tractor, front of tractor, under hood, underneath tractor, rear of cab / catwalk / fifth wheel. Same system on the trailer.

I still remember this phrase 10 years later "I'm checking to make sure that there are no missing, damaged, broken, loose, or unsafe components on <insert part or system here>."

The PTI is one of the most nerve wracking parts of the whole ordeal since it can quickly overwhelm you and if you fail the PTI, you don't move on to the in-cab brake test or the driving portion.