How to keep rolling when truck has issues.

Spent the day chasing down and fixing air leaks. It would not be so bad if it was not 30° with 30 mph winds and snowing. Found the fitting on the bottom of the dryer was leaking. It was one of those push type connectors for 1/2" plastic hose and there were none to be found. Told them to just give me a 90 and a straight compression fitting. Leak fixed.

Still losing air though on the secondary tank. No trailer hooked up but it was dropping fast. Idling would not even keep up with the air loss. Shut the truck off a few times and could not find the leak. It sounded like an air tank filling but there was no tank near the sound. I am under the truck 3 times to try and find the leak, all the while pulling on airlines to see if the sound would change but nothing.

Finally on the 4th time I could hear it better and it turned out to be the airbag under the back of the sleeper had rotted out. The truck has been sitting for over a year and I was getting her road ready again. Got her greased and all the brakes adjusted while I was at it. Still have a few more things to do tomorrow. I just pulled off the hoses to the airbags and capped them as there are none in stock in the state at the moment.

If you want to keep rolling you have to do what you need to, to fix little issues without a shop. Now I can roll tomorrow if needed but it would have taken a couple of days if it had to go to a shop. Now the bags are on order and will be at the dealer when I get to Colorado Springs in a couple of days.

Some will say well I don't get paid to wrench on my truck. No you probably do not but if you don't do it for free you will pay not to do it. Huh? How do you pay? Lost wages my friend. Every minute you are not rolling it costs you money. Had this happened on the road, I would have just clamped the airbag hose with a pair of vice grips and headed for the barn.

 

LOL... If I had to I would have... With the airbags deflated it keep you from rolling out of the bed.... LOL

I have crimped lines and caged brakes on the front axle of a belly dump to finish out the day then drove to Napa to get the parts to fix it.