Over my lifetime I’ve had many jobs, but one that I won’t forget is driving a truck for an oil company in South Texas. One morning, after it had rained all week, I went to pick up a travel trailer from one site and move it to another with a Ford F250 4×4 (love this truck).
The road was washed out and there was a dozen 18-wheelers stopped in various spots on the road. A couple trucks were stuck in the mud. I pushed past the trucks that were stuck. I found the site boss, who was out directing traffic about a mile from the site. He told me it was too busy and there was no way I could get to my trailer so come back in a couple days. Which was good because there was no way I could have made it out of there with a trailer.
I turned around and left after waiting my turn for a couple more pickup trucks and 18-wheelers to go out. They made the road worst. Another truck got stuck in the same spot and I pushed past throwing the truck in 4×4 and standing on the gas. I had to go to the high side of the ruts through the soft part to get out. The ruts were so deep that I could hear the rocks scraping on the undercarriage of the truck as I went.
Someone fallowed me trying to stay in my path, but didn’t always make it. He followed the ruts. Once we escaped the mud I stopped to check on my truck. I blocked the road and the guy behind me had someone point out that his bumper was falling off. He had caught it on some rocks or mud and pulled the plastic half off.
I walked around my truck and found no damage and went on. If the guy behind me hadn’t stopped he would have never know that bumper was falling off and it could have done significant damage later if it came off while he was on the highway.
Everyone needs to check their vehicles from time to time. Professional drivers will walk around looking at their trucks multiple times a day. You probably don’t need to be that diligent, but should get into a schedule of walking around your car about every 500 miles. You should also walk around your vehicle when you feel the car doing anything weird, or when you feel a thump-thump of running over something on the highway.
Look for:
- Anything falling off,
- Tires worn or damaged or under inflated (you can tell by the bottom of the tire where it meets the road will budge out),
- Missing lug nuts,
- Puddles of fluids that weren’t there before,
- Or anything else that looks different from the last time you walked around your vehicle,
- if you aren’t sure, ask someone else’s opinion.
Most of the time you will find nothing wrong. When the weather changes take a close look at your tires. They tend to leak a little when the temperature changes. No need for alarm, just go to the gas station and fill them up (use the gauge on the hose and look at the side of the tire it says right on it what the tire should be inflated to).
Stay Safe,
Ben