New to Feeder. Need advice on essentials.

olroadbeech

olroadbeech

Happy Verified UPSer
Hammer comes in handy with a bar to break loose brakes in the winter. Hit the pads at a 90 degree angle works most of time. Can of de-icer too. Better yet before you park the trailer ride the brakes about a quarter mile to heat up the drums and that will dry them.

extra socks , flushable wipes can really come in handy in the boonies , whistle , pepper spray , cell phone charger, trail mix or protein bars , first aid kit , book or magazines to read in case of wait time or breakdown , swiss army knife , some tools to do minor repairs in boonies. large wrenches in case of changing small air line between trailer and dolly if exchanging trailers in middle of nowhere . done this 4-5 times because of pinched lines or bubble in line. carry spare air line with glad hand.

also winter , carry blanket or sleeping bag , extra water , etc. just think what you would need if you were broke down for hours. I had a water pump go out and had to shut off motor and it was zero degrees. had to wait 5 hours for tow truck but had sleeping bag . some of our runs were in the middle of nowhere for trailer exchanges so we had to be depended on to take care of any problems. saved a lot of road calls this way.

year round had one backpack but in winter had two. saved me many times to carry all this stuff and the other stuff that feeder drivers have listed here. you will also learn from experience what you need to carry.

it's better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it.
 
Dracula

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
olroadbeech said:
Hammer comes in handy with a bar to break loose brakes in the winter. Hit the pads at a 90 degree angle works most of time. Can of de-icer too. Better yet before you park the trailer ride the brakes about a quarter mile to heat up the drums and that will dry them.

extra socks , flushable wipes can really come in handy in the boonies , whistle , pepper spray , cell phone charger, trail mix or protein bars , first aid kit , book or magazines to read in case of wait time or breakdown , swiss army knife , some tools to do minor repairs in boonies. large wrenches in case of changing small air line between trailer and dolly if exchanging trailers in middle of nowhere . done this 4-5 times because of pinched lines or bubble in line. carry spare air line with glad hand.

also winter , carry blanket or sleeping bag , extra water , etc. just think what you would need if you were broke down for hours. I had a water pump go out and had to shut off motor and it was zero degrees. had to wait 5 hours for tow truck but had sleeping bag . some of our runs were in the middle of nowhere for trailer exchanges so we had to be depended on to take care of any problems. saved a lot of road calls this way.

year round had one backpack but in winter had two. saved me many times to carry all this stuff and the other stuff that feeder drivers have listed here. you will also learn from experience what you need to carry.

it's better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Click to expand...

I have many of these things, and I get them down to what I can carry, because I'm a cover driver. Which means I switch from tractor to tractor, week to week. It was easy when I had my own run, because I could just throw much of the stuff in the tractor.

Now I carry two pillows in one pillowcase, my tool bag, my thermos cup, and my lunch box. All in two arms.
 
olroadbeech

olroadbeech

Happy Verified UPSer
Dracula said:
I have many of these things, and I get them down to what I can carry, because I'm a cover driver. Which means I switch from tractor to tractor, week to week. It was easy when I had my own run, because I could just throw much of the stuff in the tractor.

Now I carry two pillows in one pillowcase, my tool bag, my thermos cup, and my lunch box. All in two arms.
Click to expand...
It was funny having a ride along in the winter. Your radio box in the middle and all the other junk all over and the supe trying to squeeze in somewhere. He would say "do you really have to have all this stuff?"

"ya, the stuff goes and you can stay at the hub if you want to."
 
FrigidFTSup

FrigidFTSup

Resident Suit
UpstateNYUPSer said:
Read this:

Google
Click to expand...
IMG_3663.GIF
 
G

guyinthebrownbox

Well-Known Member
Zip ties and tools (multi-tool) were mentioned. We are drivers not owner/operators. Anything that can't be patched with that and a knife or multi-tool is not my issue. We aren't mechanics and that's too much of a liability to give UPS that ammo to use against you.
 
brownburro

brownburro

Well-Known Member
guyinthebrownbox said:
Zip ties and tools (multi-tool) were mentioned. We are drivers not owner/operators. Anything that can't be patched with that and a knife or multi-tool is not my issue. We aren't mechanics and that's too much of a liability to give UPS that ammo to use against you.
Click to expand...
If I'm stuck in the middle of i80 with a ruptured air line I better damn well have the tools and parts necessary to get myself out of danger. I'm not waiting for a wrecker to save me.
 
G

guyinthebrownbox

Well-Known Member
Ok forgive me just poking fun at your "damn well" comment and that we did already mention zip ties and tools

Our shop doesn't hand out parts like that willy nilly. We have quite a few different tractors. In my experience so far, I've had more tires go down or a tractor have a motor issue than an airline or light cord. It's just not practical to carry all that stuff in my building. Too many variables to go wrong to try and mitigate every one of them
 
brownburro

brownburro

Well-Known Member
guyinthebrownbox said:
Ok forgive me just poking fun at your "damn well" comment and that we did already mention zip ties and tools

Our shop doesn't hand out parts like that willy nilly. We have quite a few different tractors. In my experience so far, I've had more tires go down or a tractor have a motor issue than an airline or light cord. It's just not practical to carry all that stuff in my building. Too many variables to go wrong to try and mitigate every one of them
Click to expand...
I've had an air line rupture while pulling a set of doubles at speed. Carrying a jumper line only makes sense. The same goes for a light cord. Your shop will give you one. My run is already a twelve hour run, I don't need it to be longer. A couple #8 crescent wrenches and some wire rope cutters. A big flat head screwdriver and a good multi-tool. It all tucks neatly behind the passenger seat. I've learned in 24 years of UPS service that I will not depend on management.
 
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guyinthebrownbox

Well-Known Member
I understand. Really. Unfortunately I've been burned my management too many times to think on my feet. It sucks UPS makes it that way, but being superman where im at doesn't pay off. If I had my own run with an assigned tractor, maybe it would be different. I'm vacation cover, so I jump from run to run and tractor to tractor like it's going out of style

I too lost air to a set at speed. The trailer valve popped almost instantly. Scared the crap out of me. Managed to drag the set over off the road. Turns out it was the valve on the rear of the front trailer. Set was useless and had to split the trailers and another tractor come get the rear
 
brownburro

brownburro

Well-Known Member
....and I'm done on this. The original post asked for advice which I gave. Good luck on the new career. Be Prepared, expect the unexpected.
 

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