Who is responsible for checking oil in the trucks?

Brownslave688

You want a toe? I can get you a toe.
I have had 2 front flats and was accused of missing them on a pretrip. I check the front tires the same as I do the rears. There is no way I miss them on a pretrip.

I refused to leave the building one day because the metal band was showing on the rear tires. I wrote them up the night before and specifically said the band was showing. Next morning DVIR said "will order tires". My center manager said well ask the mechanic and see if it's a DOT violation. I said its a common sense violation. I'm not driving 250 miles on those tires. The morning mechanic was pretty mad he agreed with me and said there was no way the evening mechanic even glanced at the tires.
 

bumped

Well-Known Member
I've had an oil leak for over 2 year which leaks all day long at every stop. I write it up every month, and write up check the oil level once a week. I just get the usual "will schedule" in the DVIR. Its not my problem if there is no oil. The mechanics know all too well there is an issue.

Every once in a while the mechanic complains to me that it isn't his job to check the oil that we have people for that. I just tell him he doesn't do his job, because ITS NOT FIXED.

I only go to the line in the sand where they'll take the truck away and give it to someone that doesn't complain.
 
W

want to retire

Guest
Wow. A center manager that did not care about a blown motor. I cannot even imagine that. We have had PCMS where the center manager told us the cost of replacing a motor. $2000 for the old GM 4.3 and $12000 for a diesel (cannot remember which chassis he was referring to.) I have no idea what one of the newer gas engines would cost to replace, we have not had to replace any of the newer gas motors, so cost has not come up.

Maybe pretrips were stressed so much by us because of the POS trucks we have. When I 1st started driving, I was 'loaned' to another center for 5 or 6 weeks. I blew a motor there and the supe asked me if my center had so many dying trucks. He said that at their center it was a fairly regular occurrence and that a good pretrip could sometimes prevent a road call.

It's pretty easy to tell when I motor is heading south. If it is way down on power, using more than a qt a week and needing coolant constantly, it is probably not long for this world. The mechanics say that they are under pressure to wring every mile of life out of a motor, while eliminating on road break downs.



Wow is right! I guess in the northeast, they really do things differently. Pretty much do as you please, I guess. It's hard to believe. A blown feeder motor is enough to scrap a vehicle(depending on the age). I could imagine they would try to fire you for a new feeder motor. Feeders are hard to come by here.
 

oldupsman

Well-Known Member
Wow is right! I guess in the northeast, they really do things differently. Pretty much do as you please, I guess. It's hard to believe. A blown feeder motor is enough to scrap a vehicle(depending on the age). I could imagine they would try to fire you for a new feeder motor. Feeders are hard to come by here.
From reading these threads it seems a lot of drivers get charged with stuff that those up north just shrug off. And not just drivers
but managers too. I remember somewhere there was a thread about someone getting charged with an accident for a broken mirror.
A broken mirror? Are you kidding me? I broke at least 10 mirrors during my 30 year career. Cracks in 2 or 3 windshields. At least 1 side door window.
Came in, wrote it up, fixed by morning. That stuff was just the cost of doing business.
 

browntruckmechanic

Well isn't that special ?????????
Wow. A center manager that did not care about a blown motor. I cannot even imagine that. We have had PCMS where the center manager told us the cost of replacing a motor. $2000 for the old GM 4.3 and $12000 for a diesel (cannot remember which chassis he was referring to.) I have no idea what one of the newer gas engines would cost to replace, we have not had to replace any of the newer gas motors, so cost has not come up.

Maybe pretrips were stressed so much by us because of the POS trucks we have. When I 1st started driving, I was 'loaned' to another center for 5 or 6 weeks. I blew a motor there and the supe asked me if my center had so many dying trucks. He said that at their center it was a fairly regular occurrence and that a good pretrip could sometimes prevent a road call.

It's pretty easy to tell when I motor is heading south. If it is way down on power, using more than a qt a week and needing coolant constantly, it is probably not long for this world. The mechanics say that they are under pressure to wring every mile of life out of a motor, while eliminating on road break downs.


The MB-904 eng alone cost 15k, a T444E is roughly around 6k, the old 7.3 are warranty for life as we were told company buys them and internaational reemburses the cost to the company.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
The MB-904 eng alone cost 15k, a T444E is roughly around 6k, the old 7.3 are warranty for life as we were told company buys them and internaational reemburses the cost to the company.

You would think that with those kind of costs, the company would want drivers to do a thorough pretrip.
 

Shifting Contents

Most Help Needed
In our center there is a dedicated "oiler" he makes the rounds and if he does it right all of the PCs get checked twice a month.

Feeders do it themselves. If the tractor needs oil they pass by the mechanics bay on the way to hook up and the mechanic will put the oil in.

The only time we had a problem is when a new local sort sup cut the oiler position for close to a month because volume fell and he needed to cut hours. We had 3 700s with blown engines. No one got fired.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
To the poster who wrote about broken gauges----this is why I write the ending odometer reading on the DVIR every day. This lets me know if the car was used and if I need to refuel before starting my route.
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
From reading these threads it seems a lot of drivers get charged with stuff that those up north just shrug off. And not just drivers
but managers too. I remember somewhere there was a thread about someone getting charged with an accident for a broken mirror.
A broken mirror? Are you kidding me? I broke at least 10 mirrors during my 30 year career. Cracks in 2 or 3 windshields. At least 1 side door window.
Came in, wrote it up, fixed by morning. That stuff was just the cost of doing business.

Yes, in the Central Plains (in my area anyway), a broken mirror could very well cost you your years of safe driving. We've had package cars hitting deer that were counted as a avoidable accident, a feeder driver went through a large intersection on a snowy day, his back box nearly through the intersection when a car slid through an intersection and clipped the back bumper of the back box. Avoidable accident, six weeks off work. Another feeder driver, driving on an interstate, got in the hammer lane to pass someone, got stuck, couldn't get back over when another angry 18 wheeler cut in front of him and clipped his front bumper. Our guy was charged with an avoidable accident for "impeding the flow of traffic". The other driver just sped off.

This is why most of our feeder drivers go 61-62 MPH on the highway, and don't get much pressure to speed up. Here, you are only one accident away from losing your job. Many of the surrounding feeder guys tell us they are pushed to go over 65MPH, but they are a little less likely to get charged with avoidable accidents if it is borderline.

So, I guess the lesson is that different parts of this company have different rules and procedures. Personally, I think that is pretty stupid on the part of management, but then again, what is it they do, not?
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
In our center there is a dedicated "oiler" he makes the rounds and if he does it right all of the PCs get checked twice a month.

Feeders do it themselves. If the tractor needs oil they pass by the mechanics bay on the way to hook up and the mechanic will put the oil in.

The only time we had a problem is when a new local sort sup cut the oiler position for close to a month because volume fell and he needed to cut hours. We had 3 700s with blown engines. No one got fired.

Twice a month? Jeez. I've had many package cars that need oil twice in one week.
 
W

want to retire

Guest
From reading these threads it seems a lot of drivers get charged with stuff that those up north just shrug off. And not just drivers
but managers too. I remember somewhere there was a thread about someone getting charged with an accident for a broken mirror.
A broken mirror? Are you kidding me? I broke at least 10 mirrors during my 30 year career. Cracks in 2 or 3 windshields. At least 1 side door window.
Came in, wrote it up, fixed by morning. That stuff was just the cost of doing business.

Break a mirror here and it better be from being adjusted by hand. If you hit and broke your windshield or mirror or anything else.....it's an accident here. Any of that stuff unreported....gets you fired...here. A scratch to bare metal is an accident also, although the cars are so beat up nowadays, you could get away with it if no one saw you......unreported....fired....guaranteed. Matter of fact, if you find damage on your PRETRIP, good chance they'll ask your co-driver(if you have one) about it.
 
W

want to retire

Guest
Yes, in the Central Plains (in my area anyway), a broken mirror could very well cost you your years of safe driving. We've had package cars hitting deer that were counted as a avoidable accident, a feeder driver went through a large intersection on a snowy day, his back box nearly through the intersection when a car slid through an intersection and clipped the back bumper of the back box. Avoidable accident, six weeks off work. Another feeder driver, driving on an interstate, got in the hammer lane to pass someone, got stuck, couldn't get back over when another angry 18 wheeler cut in front of him and clipped his front bumper. Our guy was charged with an avoidable accident for "impeding the flow of traffic". The other driver just sped off.

This is why most of our feeder drivers go 61-62 MPH on the highway, and don't get much pressure to speed up. Here, you are only one accident away from losing your job. Many of the surrounding feeder guys tell us they are pushed to go over 65MPH, but they are a little less likely to get charged with avoidable accidents if it is borderline.

So, I guess the lesson is that different parts of this company have different rules and procedures. Personally, I think that is pretty stupid on the part of management, but then again, what is it they do, not?


The "hot" runs here have basically hopped up tractors and is known that they go as fast as they can. Plain sight of mgt. Encouraged? I'd say so. But you know they will hang em' if something happens.
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
Our mileage and sleeper teams go as fast as the tractors will let them (72MPH usually) but you're right, if they wreck at that speed, they're done. The management rides I've had, nothing has been said about my speed. Last one I had, I was closer to 55MPH for most of the time. My sup didn't pay attention because I got him talking about his family, friends, football teams, etc. Hell< I don't run my cruise control at night, in the rain or when there is any traffic at all. I told my sup why I did that, and all he said, was, "Good idea."

They have, however, tried more than once to speed me up during my pre and post trip inspections.
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
Break a mirror here and it better be from being adjusted by hand. If you hit and broke your windshield or mirror or anything else.....it's an accident here. Any of that stuff unreported....gets you fired...here. A scratch to bare metal is an accident also, although the cars are so beat up nowadays, you could get away with it if no one saw you......unreported....fired....guaranteed. Matter of fact, if you find damage on your PRETRIP, good chance they'll ask your co-driver(if you have one) about it.

Sounds like your management team got the same training our team got. I drive my sups nuts, because any trailer with any amount of dents, scratches or defects, I put my yellow vest on and go get one of them and make them come out with a Sharpie to mark the trailer with a date. They hate to see me coming with that vest on. Most of the time, they say,"Is it bad enough for me to walk all of the way out there?" Yes, it is. Enough to get someone fired.
 
W

want to retire

Guest
Our mileage and sleeper teams go as fast as the tractors will let them (72MPH usually) but you're right, if they wreck at that speed, they're done. The management rides I've had, nothing has been said about my speed. Last one I had, I was closer to 55MPH for most of the time. My sup didn't pay attention because I got him talking about his family, friends, football teams, etc. Hell< I don't run my cruise control at night, in the rain or when there is any traffic at all. I told my sup why I did that, and all he said, was, "Good idea."

They have, however, tried more than once to speed me up during my pre and post trip inspections.


We had a driver terminated(it stuck) for an accident in the rain. Which was odd in itself. Use of the cruise control was mentioned. I had up to that point, never heard or remember being trained not to. Of course pkg never had speed control. I guess you don't use it at night due to falling asleep? I use mine as much as possible as it does a pretty good job of regulating(consistent) my speed. Helps cut down on fatigue(fact). On speed limits: when I was a raw rookie(feeders) my trainer said "you will go the speed limit" as I was kinda still intimidated by the equipment and going about 50mph.
 
Anyone,

Where can I find the documentation that this is part of the proper pre-trip or law?

I have never seen a driver check the oil on a package car or feeder.

Thank You!

Sincerely,
I
Lay off of integrity people. Ive interacted with him and can vouch for him. His heart is in the right place in regards to his posts on this forum. I've crucified him for a while on here and I admit right now that I was wrong. He is a good upser and I've got his back.
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
I drive on a interstate that isn't lit, so when I don't have my brights on, I can't see ahead of my headlights. Also, that area I drive is known for deer. So, I keep my foot on the pedal in case I need to hit the brakes my foot is next to the brake instead of back and off the pedals. Keeping my foot on the gas, constantly adjusting the speed, keeps me more alert than relying on the cruise control. For the same reason, that is why I don't use the cruise in the rain. I want my foot on the pedals so I can adjust quickly if I need to.

The speed limit on the interstate I travel on is 70, but I'm nowhere near that speed.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
Lay off of integrity people. Ive interacted with him and can vouch for him. His heart is in the right place in regards to his posts on this forum. I've crucified him for a while on here and I admit right now that I was wrong. He is a good upser and I've got his back.

It's just that his persona is a pain.
That is what everyone reacts to.

I'm sure if he would just be himself, he would be well accepted.

However, one post from him generates 10 or more responses so it's good fodder.
 
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