Stranded help!!

[389 Hood]

I guess if you work for a mega, help is a phone call away. I have no desire at all to sit on the side of any Interstate. I've seen too many sleepyheads drift off the road and the result is an extreme interruption into my delivery schedule.

I have a nice little kit that can be carried without taking up too much room. Not that a 389 day cab has any room to start with. Basic tools, a fuel filter, oil, sections of air line and connecting fittings. Something that can at least get me off the road to further correct the issue.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Ok I'm going to need you to chime in a litter faster than this next time.

I lost three hours of my life out there. Thanks to you biglaugh.

Yeah good ol' tape,, that's one thing I needed out there but did not really have.

You're welcome.

I knew immediately what it was when it went down that fast. I don't know the cause. Maybe road debris flew up and hit it or something. I pulled off the road, grabbed the tape, and was rolling within 10 minutes at most. Not even enough of a delay to bother dispatch.

One nice thing about having your own truck is you're more motivated to get to know what makes them tick than you might otherwise be.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Side of the highway.

Probably not to far from you.

Bout 6 miles south of Six Flags Gurnee, Il

About a hunnerd miles north of me.

But you were in @Uncle Birchy land.

I was at work don't even clock out till 3:30pm..

"Overtime" most this week & half of Today too because Monday or Tuesday machine broke sent us home lunch and 2nd was off too because took em that long get stuff going again & we fell "Way Behind" so "Over-Time" became "Mandatory" for ALL "production" employees so we could get "Caught Up"..

I'm sorry @quillcom I was maybe a Half Hours Drive from ya if ya had my phone number..

I will "PM" that to ya if ever happens again if I ain't stuck at work or after work I could come down see if I can help if not give ya a ride up to one of the Truckstops on Russel Road talk to the T/A or Loves guy before having em come out first



Damn I gotta check this place more often too

 

[Electric Chicken]

Another thing is most companies these days pay you during a breakdown, even if it's a modest sum. So between that and them paying the bill, waiting on road service isn't that big of a deal.

When it's all on you and your revenue depends upon it, you try to figure it out.

I had no choice but to pay something like $900 to have a road service tech come and replace a brake chamber along I-78 once. That sucked but I was too heavy to cage it. The leak was so massive I couldn't move. Barely made it to the shoulder.

Replaced the opposite side myself for like 50 bucks. Lol.

 

[Electric Chicken]

I was at work don't even clock out till 3:30pm..

"Overtime" most this week & half of Today too because Monday or Tuesday machine broke sent us home lunch and 2nd was off too because took em that long get stuff going again & we fell "Way Behind" so "Over-Time" became "Mandatory" for ALL "production" employees so we could get "Caught Up"..

I'm sorry @quillcom I was maybe a Half Hours Drive from ya if ya had my phone number..

I will "PM" that to ya if ever happens again if I ain't stuck at work or after work I could come down see if I can help if not give ya a ride up to one of the Truckstops on Russel Road talk to the T/A or Loves guy before having em come out first



Damn I gotta check this place more of

Glad to hear you're okay and back and didn't off yourself as recommended by @GAnthony.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Glad to hear you're okay and back and didn't off yourself as recommended by @GAnthony.

Im about "Half Dead" after the 8 hours "standard"..

The 10/12 hour days last week killing me...

I damn near fell asleep driving about halfway back to my house afew days ago

 

[Electric Chicken]

Im about "Half Dead" after the 8 hours "standard"..

The 10/12 hour days last week killing me...

I damn near fell asleep driving about half back to my house afew days ago

As long as I'm not on the shoulder when you careen off the side, it's whatever.

 

[quillcom]

I was at work don't even clock out till 3:30pm..

I always wanted to ask you this UB.

Did you ever work at Quad-Graphics.

I hated working there on the assembly line catching bundled magazines and palletizing them. On your feet for the 12 hour shift in one spot all day. I hated it. !!!

 

[quillcom]

As long as I'm not on the shoulder when you careen off the side,

Yeah, I freaked out just thinking about that as I crawled up underneath the tractor.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

I always wanted to ask you this UB.

Did you ever work at Quad-Graphics.

I hated working there on the assembly line catching bundled magazines and palletizing them. On your feet for the 12 hour shift in one spot all day. I hated it. !!!

That's more up by Milwaukee 40 some miles from my house..

Yes I did know a "handful" one "Loved" it the "rest" absolutely HATED the Quad

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Glad to hear you're okay and back and didn't off yourself as recommended by @GAnthony.

I'm "Unaware" I was supposed 2 "Off Myself"

 

[quillcom]

I had no choice but to pay something like $900 to have a road service tech come and replace a brake chamber along I-78 once. That sucked but I was too heavy to cage it. The leak was so massive I couldn't move. Barely made it to the shoulder.

You ever ask yourself, I wonder if that could have been prevented with a thorough pretrip.

I know some tire blow-outs and thread-outs could, but with 18 of them we often just say, ohh well.

I often wonder that every time I see a rig on the shoulder with its hood up, 4-ways and triangles on display.

Also I just remembered with those air bags. About a month earlier one of the bags was hissing loudly whenever I stopped and applied the springs. At that time I noticed air gushing from the side of the bag from the rear driver side bag. Called it in, they said oh its just the levelling valve letting out the excess, "keep an eye on it" they said.

Been driving this truck for over 4 years and never had that problem before. So that was probably the start of that levelling valve failing..

I did not even know about that valve or what to look for. They probably should have picked it up and inspected it and this never would have happened.

 

[quillcom]

I'm sorry @quillcom I was maybe a Half Hours Drive from ya if ya had my phone number..

No worries

I'm back and forth between the Illinois burbs including Chicago and the Milwaukee and surrounding burbs all the time.

We probably crossed each others paths many times over the years not even knowing it.

I regularly hit those truck stops off of Russell rd many times a week. We frequently hit that nearby plant, Fresenius Biotech or whatever.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

No worries

I'm back and forth between the Illinois burbs including Chicago and the Milwaukee and surrounding burbs all the time.

We probably crossed each others paths many times over the years not even knowing it.

I regularly hit those truck stops off of Russell rd many times a week. We frequently hit that nearby plant, Fresenius Biotech or whatever.

 

[quillcom]

.tttttt

Let me guess, you had a brain fart. lol

 

[Uncle Birchy]

Let me guess, you had a brain fart. lol

Eh something like that..

I was thinking "Tecomet" by Kenosha Airport ..

It used be another place years ago also made medical stuff too

 

[Electric Chicken]

Yeah, I freaked out just thinking about that as I crawled up underneath the tractor.

It was on my mind as well. Also the shoulder is barely wide enough for a truck there so I had to make sure I didn't stick any part of my body out the left side.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

It was on my mind as well. Also the shoulder is barely wide enough for a truck there so I had to make sure I didn't stick any part of my body out the left side.

Notice most don't even "Move Over" anymore..

I'd "expect" that from 4-wheelers but "Truckers" don't move over either "These Days"

 

[Electric Chicken]

You ever ask yourself, I wonder if that could have been prevented with a thorough pretrip.

I know some tire blow-outs and thread-outs could, but with 18 of them we often just say, ohh well.

I often wonder that every time I see a rig on the shoulder with its hood up, 4-ways and triangles on display.

Also I just remembered with those air bags. About a month earlier one of the bags was hissing loudly whenever I stopped and applied the springs. At that time I noticed air gushing from the side of the bag from the rear driver side bag. Called it in, they said oh its just the levelling valve letting out the excess, "keep an eye on it" they said.

Been driving this truck for over 4 years and never had that problem before. So that was probably the start of that levelling valve failing..

I did not even know about that valve or what to look for. They probably should have picked it up and inspected it and this never would have happened.

I've caught and fixed a lot of stuff on pre trips or basically just obsessively looking over my truck as it sits right outside my house.

These brake chambers never looked even remotely borderline. There were no visual indicators like rust or corrosion. The failure was not gradual, it was instant. Fine until they're not. The diaphragm inside failed, and that is why the air leaked out.

Lesson learned though either replace them based on age regardless or keep a spare in the truck.

You know the leveling valve is failing when it hisses constantly and never stops. A good one will let air out until it's level then shut up. That's when I knew to replace mine. The rod that connects to the axle housing though, when it snaps in half it dumps all the air at once because the leveling valve arm drops and that tells it to release all the air. So the valve itself is fine but the rod isn't connected anymore to tell it what position to be in.

I replaced my valve at the house because it wasn't sudden and catastrophic but the rod was a random fluke snapping off the eyelet like that.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Notice most don't even "Move Over" anymore..

I'd "expect" that from 4-wheelers but "Truckers" don't move over either "These Days"

That section is so busy they usually don't have anywhere to go, but they don't slow down either which sucks.

I could never be a road service tech and that's why I don't complain about their rates.

That guy who replaced my brake chamber on the side of the road at night on I-78 was taking a lot of risk. That shoulder was also barely wide enough for the truck, and the one that failed was on the driver's side.