Finally, summer is here! School is coming to a close for another year and graduations are promoting our students to their next level. Potential seems to be blooming every place you look. Some of those soon-to-be-former students are facing life changing decisions regarding their possible potential for employment. I still remember those days in a galaxy far, far away and a long, long time ago, but the choices were still the same! Get a job or move into the basement of my parent’s house, sleep till noon, and then party till the early hours of the morning. Reality check: staying at home was never an option in our house.
I knew from an early age it was 18 and out – with “out” meaning you don’t live here anymore, come by to visit, stay for dinner, but life is on you now, so go start living it. Just two weeks after my graduation I joined the military and began the next chapter of my life. From then until now, I never spent another night under their roof – or in their basement.
Many of you who know me also know I am not an advocate of kids going directly from high school to college. I have said before, for every 100 students, 10 should attend higher education in the fields of science, medicine or technology, and only those who have not only the potential to comprehend this advanced material, but also the means to cover its cost. You and I, Joe and Jane Truck Driver, should not be responsible for the repayment of college loans for kids who studied underwater basket weaving and now can’t find a job or refuse to pay back their educational debts.
Now, before any of you start with the name calling and berating me for discriminating against anyone, hear me out. Of the remaining 90 of those 100 students, 35 should go into a structured vocational program – trade schools with an apprenticeship schedule or preferred work program for up to four years. That should also include an introduction to transportation with a pathway to your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). After all, we are considered to be a skilled trade. They can expect to get a real education on the job from people who not only know the course material, but that can actually do the job, as well. All while they are earning a wage to maintain themselves.
In my experience, most college “professors” have never done the job, nor can they do the job, that’s why they teach. Too many have only learned from a book and not actively worked for any length of time in their field of expertise. I truly am an advocate of the hands on work experience since it exposes people to other opportunities in trades besides the single one they may be pursuing.
Now, for the remaining 55 of those 100 students, they just need to get a job, and any job is a good place to start. Just the basic tenet of employment is going to be a considerable adjustment to most young people. When taking this route, the purpose is to see where their interests lie and, if nothing else, they will learn the jobs they don’t want to pursue. Then, when life has given them some sort of experience, they will be better prepared to decide on “if” or “where” to seek a possible higher education.
I really hadn’t intended to write about education this month until I got a copy of the local newspaper. In it, they reprinted a page from March 19, 1975. The front page headline read “Five Blissfield FFA Young Men Named State Farmers” – and to my surprise, there I was, 50 years ago, standing with a group of very prominent successful farmers of today. Not all of us took the same path in life. Three of the five today head multi-generational farming operations, two of us went into the maintenance and repair fields, and unfortunately, we lost one to an industrial accident. That leaves me as the odd man out.
I was raised in a farming family, and when I returned from my military service my grandfather wanted me to take over all his land and farm it in partnership with him. One of the hardest choices I ever had to make was telling him it just wasn’t going to work. I was a young man with a wife and there wasn’t enough land to support another family. Yes, I could have taken out more debt to buy more land, but with more land, it would have required more equipment, and that cycle never seems to end. That’s the difference between an 18 year-old kid wanting to chase their dream and someone who has lived through the harsh reality of disappointment.
I was only 23 years old at the time, roughly the same age as most university graduates, but the difference was that I was not saddled with a huge debt around my neck, pulling me down every time a wave of opportunity passed. There really is value in work experience – even if it’s not the job you dreamed of. In just a few short years on the job, most of us can separate our dream from a fairytale. This reenforces the old adage: if you catch the right wave, it will carry you wherever you want to go.
Normally, during the month of June, we have the 72-hour Safety Blitz. However, this year the DOT changed things up and scheduled it for May. I don’t know if it had anything to do with the number of drivers taking time off and vacations at the same time (who knew that some drivers would run 60 or 80 miles out of route just to bypass a scale). I have even heard of a driver purposely taking his ex-wife and four kids from the neighborhood on a week’s excursion in hopes of avoiding the Blitz. Well, that may not be true, but it could happen.
I for one may have on occasion sent my drivers home for the week and used that time to do routine maintenance on their trucks and trailers. I figured the cost of just one out-of-service violation would more than cover the cost of all repairs. I never considered it “cheating the system” because I was doing exactly what the purpose of their exercise was for – to make sure our equipment was safe and in compliance.
I have been following the Iowa State DOT on Facebook for a fair amount of time, and the violations they find are horrendous. If they weren’t dangerous, it would almost be comical. I have to ask myself, how is it the driver never noticed? More importantly, does the driver even realize it’s broken? I don’t know, but if you are missing both tires on the same side of an axle and the rims are scratching the pavement, “Houston, we have a problem!” Maybe the new school repair is for the driver to turn up the radio enough to drown out that loud screeching noise. Another one of my favorites is when the brake chamber and slack adjuster is tarp-strapped out of the way using an old rusty set of vice grips. If they have been on there long enough to rust tight, you’re probably not on your way to the repair shop.
I have always been fanatical about tires. For starters, they are expensive, and I don’t like to replace them any sooner than I need to. Secondly, there is a lot of truth in that phase, “Where the rubber meets the road.” Anything done with or on or by a truck is done using the tires. Therefore, they should be given extra attention during an inspection. In most cases, when we are referring to our tractors, they are called wheel ends. That’s more than just the rubber tires, it’s the complete assembly, including the brake mechanism (brake chamber, s-cam tube, and slack adjuster), wheel end bearings, brake shoes and drums. They also have an inside seal, along with an outer axle shaft seal, too.
I wrote an article a few years back where I had a brake shoe malfunction that cost me both tires on that wheel end because the brake lining separated from its base, locking up the axle, and flat spotting the tires. It happened in a single lane construction zone, and by the time I could stop safely, those tires were trashed. Not all repairs are preventable, and in that case, I paid the price. I have, however, since changed my maintenance program to include physically removing the drum and inspecting the brake shoes any time I have the tires removed. This is not something that can be done during a pre-trip. I usually do it a couple times a year during routine checks, tire rotations, or when dealing with other issues. There are a lot of you that remove the rims to polish them, but don’t go the extra little bit and remove the brake drum and look over the shoes – but you should.
A few months ago, I mentioned I had purchased new drive tires for my tractor. Since I get best price if it’s cash and carry, I always mount my own tires. Yes, I still need to dispose of the old ones, but most of the time I can sell the used tire casings for recapping (unless the casing is too old or has been previously repaired). My local shop is seven years old max, and then it depends on the condition of the case. I have had younger cases turned down due to checking or cracking. I’m not a salesperson, but it was once explained to me as the new tread may not chemically bond to the old stiffer and often drier casing. This can contribute to their early failure and be a leading cause of those “gators” we see all along the highway.
I have talked to some inspectors to see what triggers them to target a truck for inspection, and tire tread depth and rim condition were the most common answer. Even new tires can indicate a wear problem, or an uneven pattern can indicate some other trouble (a flat, low pressure, or a broken axle mount). Over the course of my time driving, I have had reason to attend far more tire shops than I planned to. And not always for getting repairs done – sometimes just to observe the process and see how others do it. Very few shops will inspect your rims or clean them. They might casually look them over and then try to con you into replacing one here or there, but that’s about it. As always, buyer beware!
Most of these inspections can be done in a single day if you have the right tools – a wheel wench, a ten-ton jack, and some small hand tools are all that are required. Anytime I dismount a tire, I go over the rim as if I was seeing it for the first time. First, I soak it with diesel fuel to cut the road grime that builds up over time, removing any oxidation or corrosion on the inside lip of the tire base (Scotch Brite or steel wool will also do a nice job of cleaning these surfaces). I pay special attention to the valve stem area – not just the stem, but the platform where it seats into the rim. I never reuse a valve stem or the inner core, as they are cheap and disposable, and not worth the trouble caused by a slow leaking tire. Lastly, I clean the entire rim, front and back, down to the bare aluminum. I would rather find a cracked rim at home where I can replace it easily without a costly road repair or tire change, not to mention that expensive out-of-service citation on my safety rating.
To finish the inspection process, I recommend a complete and thorough review of the axle hub and wheel stud area. This is an area few of us see very often because they are covered by hub caps and nut covers. Busted wheel studs are more common than one would think, along with loose lug nuts, but I’m not surprised, given the overuse of high torque wheel wrenches with the potential to apply over 1,200 foot-pounds of twist! Most lug nuts are stamped with 350-450 foot-pounds max torque. We have all heard if some is good then more must be better, but that may not apply here. Lastly, since I have everything apart, I clean and inspect the brake drum, too. We spend money on high-dollar tires, wheel balancers, and continuous tire pressure monitors, but few ever look at or service the drums. Brake drums can have considerable corrosion build up or scaling caused by time and moisture. I keep mine painted to slow that process and I also wire brush the inside wheel face to ensure a good flat seat. More than once, I have found cracks early and replaced drums before something more catastrophic happened.
We will have plenty of time this summer to enjoy at least one backyard cookout or picnic at the lake, but don’t let lack of maintenance spoil your home time. Just because you didn’t get tagged in the 72-hour Blitz doesn’t mean you are home free. The scales are still going to be open all year, and the roving patrols will be watching for faulty equipment, as well. Don’t be that guy, parked behind the chicken house with a big red sticker on the windshield, or on the side of the road waiting for a repair crew.
With just a little pre-planning and some basic understanding of the DOT’s requirements, you can “Blitz” through every inspection. As a side note, this would be a great time to introduce a young person to the trucking industry. There are plenty of opportunities to enlist their help with these maintenance projects. Each of you can be a mentor to someone who has no idea where the road to life starts or will end, 10-4!