mercer transportation

Ok, my first pic here. The shelf is 22" wide and front is 9"

 

Fuel went up a lot over night. 2.80 in ky now

 

Looks good. I'm going to do that in a couple weeks.

 

Wow. That looks good with it wrapped in the carpet like that. I use my bunk as storage but would like to cut it down in size to something similar to what you have to give me a little more head room. Does that squeak at all going down the road? My top bunk definitely gets used LOL.

 

How often do most of you change out shocks on the truck? I changed mine yesterday which was about 14 months. Only had 2 that I noticed had been leaking both on different axles.


Had a guy come up to me at the truckstop while I was doing them who asked me how long I go in between changing them. I told him about a year would be typical give or take.

He stated on his Volvo hes had the same shocks for 5 years and had never seen any leakage. I'm no expert but I cant see any shocks lasting 5 years... Maybe I'm wrong though? I didn't ask what kind he had as I was trying to finish the job not sit and chat.

I went with Paccar from the dealer as they surprisingly were about $80 cheaper than the Gabriel's I priced out at fleetpride plus they have a 2 year warranty versus the 1 year that the gabriel...


I know shocks probably get overlooked by a lot of owners ops but boy you can sure tell the difference in the ride when you have new ones on. For the relatively small price and easy installation its definitely worth changing them out.

 

I do mine when I do tires or when I see them leaking. When I see them leaking they all get replaced as a set, either the steer axle or an entire drive set.

 

Waiting till they start to leak is like waiting till your engine puts a rod through the side of the block to do bearings.

Leaking is not the only way a shock can wear out. The seals inside go bad and allow the fluid to travel way to fast. A shock works by restricting oil flow as the cylinder goes up and down. The way to tell if a shock is bad is to take it off, and measure how much force it takes to collapse and expand it. Compare that force to a new shock. An easier yet much less reliable method is hit it with a infrared thermometer. Shocks get hot during the course of working. If after a coyote hours of running they haven't gone up in temp them they are worn out.

 

That looks mighty professional...well done sir!!

 

Ya, with the e exception on the 2 leaking shocks the other 4 had plenty of force left on them. I didn't measure though comparing them to the new ones. Just good practice to change out both on axle at same time.

 

Ok people I have been at Mercer since November and I just found this thread as I don't do a lot of social media. Couple questions if you don't mind
TruckerPete what engine did you get and did you get it at MHC?

Did they change oilbefoil you had a chance to look at the truck?

Can you take it to a mechanic around the area to have it checked with out them getting upset?

I have been talking to MHC in Concord NC and they are supposed to be contacting me this week with the amount I can finance.

Thank you