Keep a close eye on those fuel tank straps

Good point, I found a bolt missing out of one of mine and they had done a DOT inspection the day before.

 

A DOT inspection isn't worth the paper it's written on sorry but it's not. I'm finally to the point I quit paying $100 for a shop to do it and I do it myself I'm qualified for it so why not.

The way I see it I can slap the sticker on just like they do only difference is I actually look at the truck daily as a matter of fact. I had a DOT done a week before I started a new gig. That owner was supposedly a mechanic and started throwing fits over my tractor...this needs fixed that needs fixed Yada Yada blah blah I said screw it and ripped his name off my doors right then and there. Funny thing is I check his safety score this happened sept of 14...in 2 yearshe's run that score into the ground with log and maintenance violations and I'm just sitting here thinking in 3 years I've only been inspected 2 times had 1 maintain violation and it wasn't on my unit it was on a trailer I didn't own. But he was throwing fits over my tractor sorry to get off topic just thought thay raised the point on DOT inspections as well as so called "Mechanics"

 

Oh I agree. Some of the crap that gets an annual inspection sticker slapped on it scares you at times. Even when we had the Feds in our shop doing inspections, they missed a lot of stuff. Or they were just flat out wrong. They tried to tell us that the brackets for the outriggers on our cozad trailers were the securement points. These trailers have no D rings so you are to use the holes in the frame rails. We even called Cozad to confirm it.

 

Yes it is to bad. Those guys took extra care and put together a well built truck.
I used to haul some of the Australian spec trucks down to the docks in Vancouver for them back then.
I think as it stands they still build the interior and the fiberglass hoods in kelowna.
Main production is in Portland Oregon now. There still a good truck just the quality control has gone down hill.
I had to go over a lot of little things like hood ajustment and Windows leaks and loose bolts here and there. Not really the trucks fault it's the people they got on the assembly line. Just no pride anymore.

 

Yep that's why I do it myself. I've fixed enough bad work that I've spent hard earned money on. Now if something goes down its my fault. I'd rather be mad at myself and lose a day of money, than be mad at a shop, lose a day of wage, and have to eat another repair bill after already eating one to begin with.

I remember selling the first flat I bought. Sold it to a farmer for 5k, they came up picked up the trailer I told them it was just DOT'd but it had cracked cross members (I'd already had it welded once) and would need to be fixed. Guy made it 10 miles down the road and got nailed for speeding and they did a walk around.I guess dot noticed the welds, because he looked at the cross members and the kid got wrote up.

He wanted money back to cover the fine haha good joke I told you that before it was sold buddy, and you just got a combo flat for 5k that is probably going to have tanks bolted to it and move a whopping 100 miles a year I don't think so bub.

 

Thanks for the info