When to refuse a truck? What to look for in a good truck?

thats the first thing i thought when i read this thread. i was thinking "i didnt know you could turn down a truck" lol!

 

Cypher those are the basics that you asked about. As far as engine performance you won't know till you've been onn the road with the truck. Most trucks pulling a normal load of 30 to 40k should get 6+ mpg depending on the engine and normal driving habits(ie steady starts and braking, driving around 60mph). Anything less there is something wrong. I know that trucks pulling OD loads get less mpg, but to get one of those jobs you'll needs 2+ years experince to get or at least the ones I looked at.

 

Most of the time you'll just be stuck with an old truck starting out. I was in an 05 Volvo with 512k on it, but it ran, it wasnt much to look at, and it had some electrical problems, but after 6 months they put me in a brand new International. So keep your terminal happy when you hire on and they'll treat you right

 

I swear Volvos have the electrical problems installed at the factory, must be a special package. I know the one I had with Swift had some probs, and several of the folks I knew had em too.

When to refuse a truck? Starting out, it can be hard to know. If you feel unsafe in it, you don't need to refuse it, but at least get it fixed. That's why a deep and thorough pretrip is a must when picking up a truck. Take it for a spin around the lot. I know one truck I got for Marten had out of round tires. at 28 and 56 mph the rear end would buck like a pissed off bull on crack. But, because I didn't test drive it first, I didn't notice it until I got back out to PA (from our Indiana terminal) because it only did it when bobtail.

You can always talk to some of the other drivers and get their opinions too. Most drivers will be more than happy to help out.

 

The biggest problem that can happen is you get assigned a truck and the previous driver was a slob or a smoker and the company hasn't cleaned it out. I had that happen to once and it was a major mess. It took about 4 hours to clean it out. Fornatutely I smoke and the smoke smell doesn't bother me. I did get a small folding table and a fitting for Idleaire out of it.