Best way to learn the pre-trip inspection?

tscottme · Oct 31, 2016

Ke6gwf said: ↑

The best way I can recommend is to find a truck mechanic who is good at teaching.

The way I used to train guys who were working to get their CDL was to introduce them to the truck, and instead of just rote memorization, I would teach them to know their truck, to form the habits of actually paying attention to it.

Each time you walk up to the truck, you should be checking for leaks underneath, looking at the windows and lights and mirrors, the condition of the grill /radiator, the tire, etc.

Then you just go through building a logical progression of steps checking everything on the "list", and anything else your particular truck needs.

And as said, do it the same way every time.

I say to learn it from a mechanic, so you know what you are actually looking for when you check a fan belt, or how to judge a good or bad steering linkage.
You don't have to learn how to fix it, but you should learn how to inspect it so you can understand the problem to some extent.

The asking drivers at a truck stop to walk you through it may be a good idea too, if you can find a driver that understands it.

If you have no way to get help, then take the manual provided by the folks who will be testing you (probably the DMV, though I have heard some schools do their own testing) and take it to a truck, and start practicing it exactly as they word it.

And remember, if you don't say it, you didn't do it!
Click to expand...

The state pre-trip inspection isn't meant to be a mechanical check of thee truck. It's a check mark event. Best to learn that test the way they want it done, not mechanical completeness, IMO.

Ke6gwf · Oct 31, 2016

tscottme said: ↑

The state pre-trip inspection isn't meant to be a mechanical check of thee truck. It's a check mark event. Best to learn that test the way they want it done, not mechanical completeness, IMO.
Click to expand...

What I was talking about was teaching it exactly the way they want it done.

But once you have your CDL, now you need to do the same PreTrip, but with actual knowledge of what you are looking for, so that you aren't surprised when you get a level 1 inspection, and they write you up for things you claimed to be able to find and identify, but didn't know about.

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