Pre-Trip Inspection - My Way! A Must See!

When an issue is found what is required and when is an issue required to be fixed? Some things are more obvious than others.

Read, when the driver is comfortable that everything is safe. But we aren't experienced enough to know. We ask our carrier and the typical response is to roll and fix later.

Found a nail in tire and they pushed to repair at the next truck stop. Found crack inside one bolt hole on steer wheel, not as concerned.

Are these 2 examples safe? Will roadside inspection result in citation?

When I find a nail in a tire, what I do depends on the situation.

If I'm picking it up to drop it off at a terminal or yard that has a shop or is generally serviced, I roll with it. Once I get there I try to pull the nail out with a pair of needle nose pliers. If I'm successful and it doesn't leak, that's that. If I can't get it out, or it starts leaking air, then I write it up to be repaired.

Tires get nails all the time. If I'm picking the trailer up at a yard or terminal and I find it on the pretrip, i do the same thing, then request a different trailer if needed/ possible.

A cracked steer wheel is a different story. I would write that up as soon as possible.

Are these 2 examples safe? Will roadside inspection result in citation?

The short answer is they’re most likely completely fine to roll to the next truck stop but it depends what they look like. But if you had a roadside inspection yes they could result in a citation. Unless it’s pretty obvious or the inspector is being really thorough chances are he might not even find them.

Without being able to see it myself I don’t know if I’d roll to the next truck stop or not. Unless the nail ended up in the sidewall somehow I’d almost definitely get to the nearest truck stop with it. Tires are tough and the likelihood of you having a blowout before you get 20 miles down the road to the truckstop is really low. Plus most of the time nails don’t get deep enough to cause a leak unless your tread is getting pretty low or they went in at just the right angle. As far as the cracked bolt…or bolt hole? I’m a little confused what is cracked exactly. Either way it depends where exactly the crack is and if it’s a hairline fracture or falling apart. If one of the bolts has a little crack in it yeah I’d just get it to the truckstop. Chances are you’ve been driving it like that for a while and didn’t even know. If it’s bad I’d call roadside and wait.

Tl;dr you’re probably fine to drive it to the truckstop. Also if you’ve sent your company pictures and they told you to get 20 minutes down the road to the truckstop that’s usually your best bet

Here's a crack in wheel starting at boot hole. Thinking safe enough for many miles, that's why so many bolts. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZsAkJyHHssTAjbhf6

Not sure what that is above the Crack, looks like a balance weight, but not sheets they usually go, maybe some kind of reinforcement.

I would request a new wheel.

I'm sure it's fine for now, but I would request a new wheel myself, and document it so you can show the request is pending if you get inspected.

If that thing above it is some kind of repair... I would find that out.

If I found something like that on my steer wheel the company would replace it.

They put on a shinny new wheel last night. The crack was completely hidden by road salts. A little water cleanup needed for authorization pictures.