What should students learn in a good Truck Mechanic school?

I believe good instruction in Heavy Duty Truck Technology should include four areas of study:

·         Teaching entry level core skills in the technical aspects of repair.

·          Helping give students the tools with which they can continue learning and advancing in the career.

·          Providing the experience of working with others as part of a group.

·          Instilling the habits of working safely and with consideration for the environmental impact of their actions.

Giving students the means to obtain the all-important first job and successfully performing in that job depends on the core skillset the student brings with him or her. Certain basic ideas and capabilities are paramount in efficient repair of any vehicle system. Among these core competencies are: knowledge of electrical circuit design and troubleshooting, brake system function and failure patterns, proper periodic maintenance procedures, and steering, suspension, and driveline function and design. These four areas encompass the bulk of the day-to-day workload in any repair facility, and competence here will give basic skills for job performance. Hand in hand with the knowledge of specific systems is competence in basic tool and equipment use. 

Continued learning is the means to advancement and as most training is now done online, students need to be able to efficiently navigate websites and diagnostic software. Besides formal training, student self-improvement will utilize online resources and these must be used discriminately in order to extract useful information. Diagnostic information is now accessed online, and in the future more of it could be based on social media, real-time type formats. I believe this will be one of the biggest changes that will be seen in the near future, as dealers and the aftermarket move diagnostics completely into the digital realm. The technicians who are ahead of the curve will be in the best position for advancement.

Working in groups is an important skill in any job, but mechanics tend to work as individuals and being helped only on an as-needed basis, not as a function of day-to-day operation. That said, working together is still an important part of working in a shop atmosphere. Wherever we work, a group effort is needed and all employers look for employees who demonstrate an ability to work with other personalities and in various situations. Everyone learns from fellow employees, and those who work best with others learn the most, and the most quickly.

Working safely is extremely important not only to the individual, but for all those he or she works with. The repair industry provides ample opportunities for injury from flying objects, burns from welding and heating, contact with moving parts and equipment, falls from ladders or vehicles, crushing or trapping injuries, chemical inhalation or skin contact, and from lifting, pushing, or pulling. Each year thousands of mechanics are killed or injured, and most of these incidents are completely preventable. Hazards are mitigated by the use of appropriate safety gear, by following proper procedures, and by notifying supervisors of dangerous situations. Students need to realize that workplace safety is largely in the hands of the employee. Safety also extends beyond the shop, to the larger environmental aspects of waste generation and discard product handling. Waste oil and antifreeze, used batteries, and takeoff brake chambers are among the waste items generated in repair, and students must learn to handle each one properly.

The repair industry is on the verge of change. Some changes are evolutionary, as new technologies enter diagnostics and wireless communication is expanded. Other changes will be more drastic, changing the way things are done on a basic level. Students who are prepared for all these aspects will be more employable, will command higher wages, and have more upward mobility. The responsibility of learning will be more focused on individual effort to keep up with change. School needs to be regarded as an essential starting point to a career, an opportunity to get basic but valuable skills for the future. The technician of tomorrow will be as accomplished on a laptop as with a torque wrench, and the best will earn a wage above that traditionally found in the industry.

Example field problem illustrating the diagnostic process

Awhile back I outlined a process I call VEHICLe , a general procedure for diagnosis and repair. Now, I would like to present an illustration of the process in action. What follows is documentation of an actual road call and the method used to diagnose and repair the problem. It is fairly representative of the type of problems encountered in the field, although this one turned out to be much simpler than many.

To review, VEHICLe stands for :

V:  a VISUAL check is the first step.

E:  check the EASY things next.

H:  HOOK up a scan tool for problems on a system monitored by the vehicle computer.

I:  ISOLATE the problem to a smaller area within the system.

C:  CHECK each item only once.

L:  the LAST action is to always verify the repair.

One Saturday morning a mechanic was dispatched on a road call for a tractor that wouldn’t run. The information given was that it would start, but would immediately blow a fuse and quit running. On arrival the mechanic found a fairly late model Western Star hooked to a trailer sitting on the exit to a manufacturing parking area. The driver confirmed the information already provided, and had removed the fuse panel cover and indicated that a 30amp fuse marked “eng ign” was blown. The fuse panel consisted of two parts, a main panel with most of the fuses and breakers, and another smaller one just to its left, but under the same cover. The blown fuse was one of those in the smaller panel.

After confirming with the driver that no recent work had been done on the tractor, the mechanic did a visual check under the hood, at the firewall, and under the cab/engine. There were no signs of harness chafing, damage, broken wires, or unlatched connectors. The blown fuse was temporarily replaced with a 30amp circuit breaker, to see if the unit would run until the breaker heated up. The tractor immediately started and stayed running. After a few seconds of running, the mechanic felt the breaker and found it cold to the touch. At this time he noticed another breaker in the same panel that was tripped. This was marked “tlr”, and after it was reset, it tripped again after about 3 seconds. Reset was tried again with the same result. At this time the driver volunteered that he had needed to reset breakers in the other panel marked for the trailer tail and clearance lights.

Since a problem in the trailer was indicated, the cord was unplugged from the trailer and breakers reset, after which they again tripped. When the cord was unplugged from the tractor receptacle, all breakers stayed set. The breaker in the ignition circuit was replaced with a fuse, which did not blow. The problem was obviously in the trailer cord.

The cord was a heavy duty unit with plastic end plugs, but the trailer end plug had been replaced with a metal one. When attempting to take the plug apart for inspection, the strain relief was found to be in pieces and the pieces fused to the ends if the pigtail wires. Obviously when the plug was put on, the installer cut the cord sheath too short and instead of the strain relief trapping the sheath, it clamped on the wires and over time and with movement they shorted out. The ignition circuit obviously powered the trailer hot lead (the blue wire), and that shorted, too.

The plug was cut off and replaced, the lights checked for function, and the truck run for a few minutes to confirm the repair. Total time elapsed was about a half hour, not including travel.

This story illustrates several important concepts to keep in mind during any diagnostic challenge. First, start off with a visual check to eliminate anything really easy. In this case nothing was seen, but it is remarkable how many times merely looking will solve a problem. Second, when you look at something, keep your vision wide and look around the area you are looking at. If the mechanic in this case had not noticed the tripped breaker near the fuse that was already blown, it probably would have taken longer to see the trailer circuits as contributing to the problem, and the driver may not have thought to mention the other problems he had. Third, isolating the problem to either tractor or trailer was easy here just by pulling the cord, but notice that the trailer was eliminated first, then the cord. This is a small point here, but it would have prevented backtracking if the problem had turned out to be in the trailer. Last but far from least, everything was checked one last time to be absolutely sure the problem is fixed. Nothing is worse than having to travel back to a job to fix what you failed to get the first time around, just because you didn’t check.

Hopefully this case was interesting to beginning mechanics or anyone else who may wonder what we do. It kind of illustrates the diagnostic mindset a person has to develop to be successful. Unfortunately, there is no book or chart to tell you how to do this, the only way to really learn by experience, and everybody develops the skill to a different degree.

Why should high school graduates consider a truck repair career?

There are several good reasons to consider a career in truck repair:

·         The work is interesting and varied.

Think about all the businesses and services that depend on trucks and you will see the variety of positions available. When you think about trucks, you may think of semis moving products from coast to coast, but what about construction companies using dump trucks and hauling equipment to jobsites?  How about local delivery companies bringing packages to your door?  Service companies providing linen, supplies, and uniforms to restaurants, hospitals, and schools?  Oilfield services delivering and setting up equipment and hauling sand and water?  Mechanics are needed to install dump boxes, cranes and hoists, utility bodies, pump rigs, and other equipment onto truck chassis. Someone has to repair ambulances, fire trucks, police vehicles, and armored carriers. These are just a few of the repair situations, and you could add many more just by watching the trucks on the road. In most jobs, you rarely do the same thing two days in a row and technology is constantly changing, requiring regularly updated learning.

·         Pay is good and job security excellent.

OK, you may not get rich working as a truck mechanic, but after a period of time to learn the trade and make a name for yourself, you will make more money than you would at a factory job, and you should always have work. After all, machines of any kind will always need repair and maintenance, and the work can’t be outsourced to another country or to a centralized location. Top pay for the industry is for engine specialists, who typically have been in the trade for more than ten years.  

·         Jobs in repair exist anywhere trucks are used.

 Wherever you live or want to relocate to, truck repair jobs will be available. You take your experience, knowledge, and tools with you when you change jobs.

·         The industry rewards initiative and knowledge, and the ability to think on your feet.

The mechanics who make the most money and enjoy the best jobs display these qualities, and advancement is granted based on ability over time served. This is not always the case in other occupations.