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In the field fixes?

WildHeart

WildHeart

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Not too long ago truckers didn't have the benefit of calling for help, you didn't have cell phones or company radios. Sure you could get on the CB and ask for help, nowadays you risk getting some creeper that wants to fix more than just the short in that pigtail you have, but there are times when the threat of down time or just the desperate need to get your thingamabobit delivered yesterday and you have to resort to less than ideal fixes.

Some of the best, most informative and genius stories come from those inevitable out in the field fixes.

So what broke, and how did you fix it without having to call for help?
 
ABFer said:
I got tired of that routine...now I just make that call you mentioned. :17142:
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I never much had that option. If I didn't figure it out I could be overnight on the mountain before they found me the next day. Although I will say someone would come looking for me if it got too early in the morning ;)
Had to fix hoses of course..that's standard. Had side rails break on an old set of chains and wrap around the axle, lost part of the Chalmers suspension once..had a truck catch fire, that was a fun fix..had to start a truck by jumping it with a screw driver...limped down the hill with a set of duals on the trailer gone, chained the axle up on that one. Had to duct tape a windshield down when it blew a seal.

Wish I could have called somebody.
 
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I don't think I'd want a truck driving job where I might have to fix the truck. Times have changed. Get stopped running faulty equipment now a days could mean marks against your drivers license.
 
Well that might have been so out on the highways, and we ran them just a bit but when your miles out in the middle of nowhere on some mountain dirt road in the mud, ice, snow and dust things tend to go awry even when you take the best of care, when it would take hours and hours for someone to get to you after you walked around trying to find signal to get a call out.
A lot of old timers have good stories about the crazy crap they would pull :)
 
I fixed a leveling valve on the suspension on my Volvo. FYI some of the leveling rods have plastic connectors on the end of the rod. They are prone to break o the plastic. If so just go under the truck lift the rod and place the broken ends together, wrap it all in electrical tape and then put a zip tie around the tape to secure it. Have run from Paris TN back to the yard in Cleveland TN and had other drivers run from Tx back to TN like that. Saves a service call.
 
WildHeart said:
Well that might have been so out on the highways, and we ran them just a bit but when your miles out in the middle of nowhere on some mountain dirt road in the mud, ice, snow and dust things tend to go awry even when you take the best of care, when it would take hours and hours for someone to get to you after you walked around trying to find signal to get a call out.
A lot of old timers have good stories about the crazy crap they would pull :)
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I have seen a thing or two along those lines on Ice Road Truckers. Makes for good tales of old but I'll pass on it being my daily diet.
 
ABFer said:
I have seen a thing or two along those lines on Ice Road Truckers. Makes for good tales of old but I'll pass on it being my daily diet.
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Well it wasn't always easy, but I do have a few fun tales. Lol. Builds character so I hear.
 
20_yrs_2_go said:
back in the day You could afford the down time while your truck was being repaired Our gov decided to change all that
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Welllll...I have always been hourly..but they ran the **** out of us, we were all off road we could doctor a log and nobody was the wiser. It all depended on how badly you wanted to get home to your dinner or were left cooking canned ravioli on the engine block while trying to fix something.
 
Wrigley's chewing gum wrapper works well in a loose pigtail just shoves pieces of it in each hole and it will tighten up a loose pigtail.
 
I can do most cosmetic repairs and some major repairs. If I can fix a problem, I'm going to fix it instead of prolonging the process playing phone tag with the mechanic. Time is money.
 
Lost the top of my stack one day going up a bad washboard road. Had a good 90k in pipe, couldn't stop so I had to get the truck to the top of the hill without stopping, catch a ride down to the stack laying in the road grab it and catch another ride back up..I swear that company put me in Lego trucks, they just popped apart! Same truck blew a hose under the seat and I had to fold it over, zip tie it and put a couple of wood blocks under it so I could still see out of the darn cab. That was a rough ride down the mountain that day!
 
A section of a cross tie chained between the axle & frame of a trailer will get you a few miles if spring leaves are broken. Years ago the shop I worked in did this to a tractor to get it to the deadline while waiting on parts. Somehow it got hooked to a load & the driver drove it several miles before he realized something was wrong.
 
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