There was a few things I couldnt live without on the road.
1) my multiman tool. Gerber makes an excellent one. With it I was able to re-hang mudflap arms, rewire trailer lights. Change glad hand seals and fix landing gear arms.
2) rubber bungee cords. Get a few packs of them. Use them to help keep your doors open. Prevents them from getting caught on anything. I also used them to hold tandem release handles in place and the metal S hooks can double as the nut and bolt on the landing gear arm.
3) laminated truckers atlas. No gps for me. Okay to use both as long as the gps isnt your only means of guidance.
4) small sledge hammer. Used it as a tire thumper and to beat on things that needed loosened.
5) a basic tool kit with wrenchs, standard and metric, a socket set and a wire stripper with the wire nuts to hold wires together. Electrical tape and duct tape.
6) a head lamp for pretrips at night. A maglight or good sturdy flash light.
That is all I can think of now. If I think of anything else I will let you know. Good luck.
Things to have when going solo
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Lpirtle, Dec 15, 2019.
Page 7 of 9
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Driving gloves. Fingerless, padded palms (weightlifting gloves.) Frequent use.
Fueling / maintenance gloves. Rawhide or heavy leather. Throw them away when they turn black on most of the fingers and palms, because that's when they have stopped protecting your hands from diesel/oil/grease exposure. Frequent use.
Package handling gloves. Cloth with rubberized grip for friction. Rarely used but #### handy at times because pulling out greasy nasty work gloves will make receivers upset. Especially for produce or meat loads.
Cold/wet weather gloves. Thin cloth, used with windbreaker. Used occasionally.
Severe cold weather gloves. Sheepskin. Used with sheepskin coat. Almost never used. -
A headlamp. Sometimes you may require both hands and a having a flashlight can be a PITA.
Can never overcompensate on cleanliness.
Talk with your mechanic while at a terminal and ask what all you can do to help them out. They may give you some spare headlight bulbs, fuel filters, hose clamps, etc.
Buy a pair of bibs or just a plain shirt and pants to do your pre-trips in so you don't get your regular clothes dirty.
You'll never regret keeping baby wipes and baby powder at hand.Farmerbob1 and Odin's Rabid Dog Thank this. -
As far as the mechanics go, the company doesn't have a mechanic at my terminal; almost all of the trucks are leased though ryder so they take care all of the repairs. I presume the procedure is the same with ryder? -
I keep a tube of dielectric (conductive) grease for the pigtail connectors. It helps a lot, especially in winter with all of the salty road spray.
88228822, kemosabi49, tarmadilo and 1 other person Thank this. -
Odin's Rabid Dog and Lpirtle Thank this.
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Airborne chewables or tablets and a big tub of Vicks Vaporub... been sick for 3 days and missing those items dearly.
Odin's Rabid Dog Thanks this. -
if you get fired while away from home, how are you gonna get all that crap home?
gotta think what "might happen", as i know, i read it a lot right here on this site, of drivers getting fired while away from home.Farmerbob1 Thanks this. -
You might also need to fly or take a bus to go get your first truck, if it isn't at a terminal.
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