Taking a Mid Trip inspection

Last fleet I worked for, dispatch could care less about oil changes. Just saying.

 

I know there is a difference being close in a truck stop situation. But you’ve got to admit tho that train horns 1/4 mile away are still louder than a lot of the horns they are putting on fleet trucks. You get used to it.
My dad was a mudlogger/geologist in the oilfield and lived in a trailer on locations. When I was growing up in the 70’s-80’s I would spend a lot of summers with him on the locations (back when you could do that). If you can sleep when they wind that platform up with the big Detroits or Cats during a “trip” at 2am you can sleep through anything.

 

Ive been hearing uncle pete for so many years now (#### near 30 including two lines in the east... make that 45+ years... I don't hear the normal required blasts anymore such as the crossings. Now if you introduced say a steam engine or a series of short 0's in fast sequence then yes I perk up fast because that is telling me someone or something is blocking that track and we are a 80 mph main so it's not to be good for anything but trouble. Especially with those tank cars of hazmat, chlorine and such.

One thing I cannot help doing to this day and accepted long ago is to run my eye allover the rigs on the road. Even the fuel tank gauge (Reefers). Or the flat that is getting worse or whatever. You can see a thousand things just by looking with big eyes.

For me one of the most touchy problem with my own rig was when people pulled next to me and pointed below. So I stopped and take a look see. Turned out one of my chain got out of it's headache rack and was trying to wrap the shaft.

I for one am very happy it never did.

 

Load of ####...just a waste of money and time.

 

So is a driver at your company allowed to do minor repairs themselves and get the expenses reimbursed???

Me personally, if I camt fix my own lights, air leaks, and other such minor repairs I'm not interested in driving for that company. I'm not wasting 3 to 6 hours of my time to sit at some 3rd rate shop for a 15 minute repair.

I have saved my company thousands of dollars in labor charges by repairing anything I can myself... Including alternators, brake chambers, lights, air leaks, and other on the road repairs. And I usually can make the repair in WAY less time than I would waste at some #### shop or waiting for road side assistance.

I see these repairs as "Paying myself" because I'm not making money sitting waiting for a repair. If I can get the wheels turning again faster than waiting for someone else to do it, then it is in my benefit to do the work myself.

And for thise that say "I'm not a mechanic, thats not my job."... Well you're not a Driver while your sitting there waiting on repairs either!

 

That’s part of the problem Today’s truck can go months before it hits the mileage for a required oil change.. back in the 12 to 15000 mile oil change era the trucks saw the mechanics more often who caught repairs sooner..

 

Check out section 396 in the FMCSA book. It explains inspections (pre/post trip, daily DVIR, and the likes) and perhaps you can use that information to work with your “drivers”.
I’m sure there’s more sections, I didn’t keep reading the book. Good luck

 

Your right. But it was back then. Every monday morning dispatch got a list of trucks due in the next 2,000 miles. We would still see ones with 30,000 on oil changes. Heck the greased trailers twice a year.

 

In my day there was a box of wire, lenses, light bulbs, cutters and strippers along with a few doodads, bolts, valves for tanks and so on. A scrounge box. Whenever a shop at company in particular fixes something minor I ask you have a few more of those parts? Sure, in the box it goes. Plus a few tools.

I was such a hamster in my time gnawing on busted lights and such. Learn as I go in the old Iron.

Todays LED lights and such? HA, forget it. I'll have someone take a work order for them. If its not the light it might be a computer problem deep in the truck. I wont mess with it.

The payoff is in two ways. Inspector sees that box next to the fire extingusher and then sees that Ive been working on the rig front to back with new doodads here and there. OR cross a nazi scale and they give me the green with nothing obvious wrong.

 

Pay them for their time. Then they'll do it.
I don't know if someone else said this, or not. I didnt read all of it.

That's how you get it done.
PAY THEM TO DO IT
Free won't cut it.