DIY

Pulled a 12 ft wide load from Texas to VA. Got into Tennessee and shut down because it got dark. Next morning, I checked over the truck, kicked the tires, tapped the securement, caught up the coloringbook, checked the brakes, tugged against the 5th wheel and started to go. Heard a pop and then something scraping the ground.

"This is going to be a bad day"

A driver runs up and tells me that I just lost a tierod end. I jump out and see that the passenger's side balljoint slipped out. I put the balljoint back in the socket, grabbed a couple bungees to keep it from falling out. I backed into the parking spot I'd just left and got on the computer. Found a couple nearby parts dealers and I called them up. Closest tierod for my truck was Tulsa,OK. "####!"

Told the clerk to overnight it and to bring it to me as soon as it got there and to bring a picklefork.

Next day 10am, guy in a pickup knocks on my door. I jump out and break out the tools. Pliers to remove the carter pin.1 inch drive socket and cheater bar to remove the nut. 3 lb hammer and the picklefork. Measuring tape. Grease gun. New carter pins. Had both sides apart and back together in nothing flat.
Guy in the truck says, "You've done this before." Not exactly...first time on a bigrig.

You dont have to be mechanically inclined to be an O/O, but you do have to carry your own tools. Want to keep costs down? Learn how to turn a wrench. An afternoon's work can save you thousands $$$$

Met a driver awhile back while eating breakfast at a TA that showed another driver and I a service receipt where he paid $900 for a truck service (no joke). He popped his hood and the first thing I noticed was his fuel filter was bad. I hurt this driver's feelings when I told him that the shop did not service his truck. Old filter, no grease, old air filter,...etc.

If you dont want to turn wrenches, at the very least know the tell-tale signs of a good PM service.

 

Thanks, V

I originally posted this thread in the O/O forum in hopes that the O/Os there would post a list of the tools that theye carry on the truck for those DIY jobs so the guys that are looking to get their own rig can have an idea of what to carry on their own rigs.

 

Some of the tools I carry
-1/4,3/8,1/2,1 inch drive ratchets with sockets
-box wrenches with ratchet ends
-3 ft breaker bar(for changing tires...I use the cheater bar for extra extension if needed)
-20 ton hydraulic jack (did a full brake job...new drums even...in a truckstop parkinglot)
-3 lb (BFH) and 20 lb hammers (for dunnage that tries to walk)
-4000 lb 'come-a-long' steel cable winch (for repositioning loads)
-2 spools of wire (have had to rewire trailers to get them to work.
-spare airbrake pod