Is there a tougher job than the on-the-road truck mechanic?
I see them along the sides of the highways and think about the times I’ve needed their help. Maybe I had to wait longer than I wanted. A breakdown on the road, especially when I hauled the extra-heavy loads, caused me a lot anxiety. I would worry about the shoulder under the truck – would it hold the weight? At this angle, would the load shift? Maybe I wasn’t the most pleasant trucker at that moment, but these mechanics always came through the best they could. They got me back on the road. I was always grateful.
As much as those roadside guys are invaluable, if you’re a fleet manager, I think your best friend is your in-house mechanic. What other piece of machinery is at work, day in and day out, putting a million miles on engines and trailers and keeps on working? It doesn’t happen without regular and conscientious maintenance. It’s not the regular guy that buys a set of tools and goes to work at the local gas station – this is a well-trained technician who has a feel for the machine, a love for the engine. Who else gets a sixth sense about that little, insignificant rumble and, by replacing one piece, keeps the truck on the snowy roads?
That mechanic is irreplaceable.
How do you thank your mechanic?
Maybe by giving him or her TruckingOffice?
We have one customer who uses TruckingOffice constantly and NEVER enters a single dispatch. We couldn’t figure out what he was doing until he called in to renew – he’s the head mechanic for a fleet and he tracks all his truck repairs and schedules the regular maintenance. He thinks that TruckingOffice is worth it.
As an owner-operator, you might do most of your regular maintenance. It’s a good way to save money and to get to know your truck’s special quirks. If you’re not using our maintenance scheduler, you might find this is one tool that you need as much as a good wrench.
So as we’re wrapping up our Winterize Wednesdays in November on Facebook and Twitter, we’ll take a minute to thank our mechanics for what they’re doing now to our trucks to make us safe and ready for the icy cold. If you feel you owe one a gift, we’ll recommend TruckingOffice, but we’re curious to know – how do you show your mechanic your appreciation? Just in case someone’s looking for a gift idea for next month…
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