Mechanics of trucks for new.

In the old days the answer was much more, yes you do. Anymore, you call road service and pay them a ton of money to come fix it for you. In your case, having no technical ability or knowledge, I’d go with a new truck so you can just focus on driving.

 

Honestly? If you know how to change the oil on your car, you are ahead of 50% of the truck driver recruits.

Seriously? There are some jobs that are physically demanding in this industry. Some jobs require unloading (say, food service). Some jobs, say flatbedding, require some physicality loading / tarping that may stretch your ability, or desire.

Most jobs, however, are no more physically demanding than having to crank the landing gear up or down, and pushing the "drive" button.

 

You get paid to drive them, not work on them. Something breaks, call the breakdown department.

 

As a company driver you generally just call your dispatcher and they will send someone to fix the problem. It may take several hours for them to show up, but they are generally very quick once they reach you.

With experience you will learn the things you need to know and and be able to fix or nurse problems on your own. I once got a radiator leak on the hills north of Los Angeles. If I would have called it in I would of waited for a tow truck, spent a few days at the nearest Freightliner dealership for very little pay (they NEVER have radiators in stock for some reason) before going home. Instead, I bought several gallons of antifreeze and pulled over every 4 hours to add some to the radiator. Made it home on time and dropped the truck off at the local shop for my weekend off. For a serious leak, a heavy load or steep hills that would not have been possible.

 

I got paid to work on them. Not much though so I stopped doing it.

 

If you are an owner operator you tend to do things that you think you can fix on the side of the road so you don’t have to pay the outlandish fees of road side. But sometimes you can’t avoid it.

if you are a company driver you just call someone.

 

Right. If you break down, message your company and they'll send a repair truck or tow truck. You don't have to do any more than that.

 

Looking at your avatar/screen name; do you live in Arizona?