To Deep On Pre Trip?

So I have been going through the pre trip inspection study materials and have a question. Is there to much to look at during a pre trip? And is there a specific sequence it should be done in.? When I do preventive maintenance inspections I always start out checking the truck while walking to it than raise the hood and check the fluids belts hoses tie rod ends and and drag link ends,brake chamber's and.brakes on the front shut the hood.... anyway I sorta have a routine I got used to will I need to modify it for the testing?

Some places want you to do it in a specific order just to make sure you have it down. But when I took my test they only cared that I mentioned everything and didn't care what order or anything just that I checked it.

I've changed it still since I've been driving a while.

The order does not matter as long as you don't skip anything. If you have a system that works and you consistently don't skip anything, don't change it now because you'll probably just confuse yourself and start messing up.

And there is no such thing (in my book, anyway) as going "too deep" on the pretrip. Inspect your truck like you are a DOT inspector who doesn't like you and is trying hard to find something wrong with your truck.

One time I decided to do a much more thorough pretrip than normal and I even started trying all the bolts and screws with my hand to make sure they were tight--not something I typically check. Apparently the bushings in both front spring hangers on the driver side of my truck (for the tandems) were loose and I wouldn't have known until it was too late if I hadn't physically tried to twist them. I hate to think what could have happened if I hadn't decided to be super thorough on my pretrip.

I've had airlines underneath the trailer come unattached from the frame and start dragging on the ground. Once one of the "wings" on the back of the cab came loose during transit and broke off. These are things you aren't specifically told to check for, but you learn to check them anyways over time.

How do you check the brake lights? And for reverse lights I was always taught to put it in reverse shut the truck off and turn the ignition on is that frowned upon?

For your TEST - you are going to want to do things in GROUPS, and in a specific order (as CWC suggests - so you don't miss anything). Your test depends on which parts of the truck you are assigned - the test parts are selected at Random. You will ALWAYS do an In-Cab & Air Brake - and you could draw the entire truck from front bumper to trailer bumper - so BE PREPARED to do it all.

When you get into training, they are going to show you exactly how THEY WANT IT DONE.

Once you get it down, and you're out on the road - you aren't (necessarily) going to pull on the slack adjusters on every brake chamber every morning. A thorough every single item in detail PTI, could run 30-45 minutes. Most folks do a quick under hood, thump tires, walk around, check all lights.

You'll do it pretty much the way you were taught (because by this time the repetition of training will have you zipping right through it).

When you hook a new trailer - you are going to want to take a few minutes and go through the lights, brakes and tires - just to make sure there isn't anything that's going to get you pulled over or pulled in.

I was in a truck stop the other day - and a Prime Trainer was running his trainee through a pre-trip before they got rolling. I hung around, just to observe.

Rick

How do you check the brake lights? And for reverse lights I was always taught to put it in reverse shut the truck off and turn the ignition on is that frowned upon?

On the test, the instructor will walk around the truck and check the lights as you tell him/her what to check. In real life, I don't check the brake lights, but you could just out something heavy on the brake pedal and walk around the back. Reverse lights I don't check either (they're only on the tractor), but I suppose your truck would work unless it's an automatic.

How do you check the brake lights? And for reverse lights I was always taught to put it in reverse shut the truck off and turn the ignition on is that frowned upon?

On the test, the instructor will walk around the truck and check the lights as you tell him/her what to check. In real life, I don't check the brake lights, but you could just out something heavy on the brake pedal and walk around the back. Reverse lights I don't check either (they're only on the tractor), but I suppose your truck would work unless it's an automatic.

Your *trick* would work....sorry

Ok I wasn't sure what they expected or how they did it. The trucks I used to work on you could pump the brakes down with the ignition on and brake lights come on however they all not seem to be that way

How do you check the brake lights? And for reverse lights I was always taught to put it in reverse shut the truck off and turn the ignition on is that frowned upon?

Depends on where I'm parked. If I'm backed into a spot and have trucks on either side and behind me I'll step on my brakes and look in the mirrors. I also have a truck that puts a message on the dash whenever I have a faulty light. But I still like to check them. And I also carry a piece of a cinder block with me for doing my air brake test with. And for those times I can't cheat to check my brake lights I've got a pretty long "tire thumper" that I can put on the brake pedal and lower my telescoping steering onto the other end.

Ok I wasn't sure what they expected or how they did it. The trucks I used to work on you could pump the brakes down with the ignition on and brake lights come on however they all not seem to be that way

Newer trucks (like the KW-T680) have a "lighting self test mode" that you turn on, on the dash - and it runs all the exterior lights in a programmed sequence, so you can walk around and see if they're all working. Peters do it too. Pretty cool stuff. Don't think Freightliners have this feature yet.

Rick