Cold weather:helping other drivers when they breakdown

[Sonny Pruitt]

If you are compelled to help another trucker
Always start out with the phrase:
"you may need a tow truck"

never admit you have jumpers
If you feel you have to jump another truck
they have to provide jumpers
Why?
Very seldom will you actually start the other truck
especially in sub freezing weather
Now you are married to this guy
It can take hours to start a dead truck and you will have to wait
because they have YOUR jumpers

NEVER NEVER NEVER
attach a chain to your truck to pull another
NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a basic.
You can lend a chain but never be the guy pulling.
You are going to run into drivers who have no idea how to jump start
or how to get unstuck
Rule # 1
if the guy is stuck
and the fuel tank is touching the ground
TOWTRUCK

they may not know how to hook up a chain
or where to put the chain
straps will snap

watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo5S3W5KZ7E

If you lend a tool to someone repairing their truck:
assume you will lose that tool
I have lost moretools to fellow truckers.....
I gotta go and they are not finished with job...

Helping people back in......
Lot of discretion here but......

I will not help a guy if there is a driver sitting in his truck
in the dock next to his
He's the one who might get hit....its his call

I won't help if I think its a slam dunk but the driver is inexperienced
no my yob
If it takes 15 tries to a slam dunk back in
maybe next time it will take 14...

If you have a tough time backing in to the dock next to me
not only will I help
but I will drop my trailer in a heartbeat

Out of fuel:
Always carry a siphon and a 5 gallon container.
1 gallon jugs very messy

[rank]

LOL you are right about being married to the guy.

Couple of weeks ago pickup truck spun out at went into the ditch and I was first upon the scene so I stop. It's -20 degrees C, a foot of fresh snow and he has no cell phone. He has CAA so I offer him my phone to call a tow truck. Turns out HE doesn't have CAA, but his mother does. Oh brother here we go.

So he calls his mother. His mother calls CAA and we wait for his mother to call my cell phone back to confirm a tow truck is on the way.

Mercifully a cop arrives and tells me to be on my way because I am a hazard being parked on the slippery road.

[allan5oh]

1 gallon jugs are not messy, pour them sideways, they won't glug that way.

[RostyC]

Good post Sonny, and oh so true. It seems that the colder it gets or the deeper the snow gets it brings out the stoopid in people.

If you notice in that video, all they had to do was shovel the snow from behind the car and then push it out. It's more fun to get the straps out though, so they then proceeded to pull the car in the wrong direction. These boys will one day breed, that's the scary part. I'm usually out in the snow plowing so I could go on and on with the dumb things I see.

You're right it that "no good deed goes unpunished." I lent my tow strap out ONE time and it broke, you know why, the dumb***** being pulled forgot to take the transmission out of park! (he was in mud) My only involvement was the strap, I was not pulling. Lesson learned.

[jroqueman]

Ok, I guess I do not get it. Why would you not pull start another truck? I have had to have my truck pull started when the starter went out. I was no big deal and I was very glad to get another driver to pull me. I am very hesitant to leave another driver if I feel that I am able to help. I would pull another driver in a minute. I would ask him and confirm that the truck was ready to be pulled. ie - make sure the brake was off.

I will also jump another truck if it is needed. I would do what was needed if the driver was an O/O. I will jump a company truck, but not stay an excessive time. The company can get a service truck. If I know the driver will have to pay for a service call to his truck, I will be willing to go further. The drivers need to be willing to help each other out here.

[Doghouse]

I would help if I could, and have twice so far in the last couple of weeks.
I can understand why not to pull start another truck. Circumstances would have to be ideal, or I wouldn't pull another truck either, There are far too many drivers out there who have no concept on pull starting a truck,(let alone a car), and the damages to my vehicle are not worth the risk.
That goes for jumping as well,..if a truck won't start and the driver killed the batteies mindlessly cranking the starter till they killed the batteries,....I want nothing to do with this. If they left the lights on and simply drained the batteries thats a diff. story.
I have always helped people who are broken down,...and 75% of the time,...I am the one who has suffered while they go on their merry way. I still stop to help,..but with more caution than I used to.

[GMAN]

I would not hesitate to help another driver and have done so on numerous occasions. I have also been helped many times over the years. I have always been very appreciative to those who have taken time to help me. It seems that there are too many people who don't want to be inconvenienced these days. :?

[Sonny Pruitt]

fine with me
Most of the time it is bitter cold and getting started or getting warm
Replaces common sense.
I gave up being mr helper years ago
Will an ISX start with a pull start?
If you pull and plan to go left which side should the chain be on your tractor
What side on his tractor.
Do you realize he has very poor steering?
Does he realize he has very poor steering?
Lots of times you go left and he winds up going straight.
Leaving an unanticipated angle of the chain.
Did you take your mudflap off?
Is the attached chain going to do anything to his bumper if he turns?
Are you willing to jolt your frame rail 2,3, 4 times
Is the guy your pulling going to slam on his breaks if it starts?
The shorter the chain the more likely a panic application
Are you willing to put that jolt on your frame rail?
What gear should the other guy be in?
Did the guy your towing have the key on?
Does his chain have any repair links?
Did he secure chain or is it just the tip of the hook.
Good luck

[wildkat]

Sonny, sorry to say...you would DIE very quickly in the Arctic where I run!!!!

We live & work in extreme isololation & DEADLY cold, if I followed YOUR advice many drivers I consider friends would be dead now!

No thanks! I see ANY truck stopped where he shouldn't be I STOP! It could mean his life.

Deadly advice if you ask me! Do me a favour .... STAY DOWN SOUTH!!

[scooter823]

Amen, to what wildkat said, Sonny what type of rig do you drive, I will make sure if I see you on the side of the road to wave as I pass :shock:

[GMAN]

It is easy to find an excuse as to why we can't help someone in need. It usually doesn't take much to pull a diesel truck to start. All you need do is use common sense. When I started driving we didn't have cell phones or qualcomm. We either got ourselves out of a jam or others stopped to help. That is one reason this industry is in the shape it is in today. We are too concerned about ourselves that we can't be bothered to help someone else who may be in need.

I remember several years ago I was delivering in Massachusetts. There was about a foot of snow on the ground and it was freezing cold and the wind would seem to blow right through you. I saw a driver who was beating on his brakes while sitting on the icy ground. The driver had been working on his brakes for some time. He was Russian and spoke very little English. His trailer brakes were frozen. I put alcohol in his air lines and we were able to communicate enough to help him understand what he needed to do to free his brakes. After a little while his brakes released and he was driving around the parking area. His truck was an old beat up cab over. He was from California. Now following your logic I should have ignored him and let him fend for himself. I don't think so. I believe we need to help one another when we can. I spent a little time helping a guy who was in need. My guess is that he probably helped someone else who was in need. That is the way it works.

I had another driver hook to my truck once in Amarillo. I made a turn and got stuck on a muddy pull off. I nearly turned over. Another driver stopped and we used a short chain I had on the truck to pull me a few feet so that I could get some traction. It bent my bumper slightly, but saved me several hundred dollars for a wrecker. I never said anything about the bumper. He was kind enough to help me I saw no need. Not only only did he save me a wrecker bill he also saved me time. He did me a favor. There were other drivers who passed me by. This guy didn't. I have pulled drivers on several occasions over the years and never had an incident. You can pass others by if you want. I will continue to stop and help when I can. I am thankful there are still others who feel the same as me.

[Sonny Pruitt]

I am sure in the sub zero country people know what they are doing
I see these guys in the truck stop where I park all winter.
A lot of do gooders do not know what they are doing.
One guy pulled a truck onto hyway 17 it still did not start
So now the guy is out of the truckstop on the shoulder and needs a tow truck to boot
Then there is the ICC bar tower
Then the "spring shackle but under the bumper tower"
"Hey you bent my bumper!"
Some guys run the battery down because they have jelled fuel
and here you are yanking this guy around with no hope of starting.
If a guy gets stuck and digs into the mud
You are really asking for a days work.
I've helped my share so now its your turn
Thanks

[wildkat]

GMAN, I tthink we'va all found ourselves in a bind now & then, & have been glad of the help. I just think that the "me first" that has evoloved in our society really sux. All we think about is ourselves and not our fellow man or creatures. I find the lack of respect for other people & animals absolutely appalling.

As I have stated many times in this & other forums, the isolation & cold I run in can be & sometime is deadly.

There are no truckstops where I run, just pullouts, you're lucky to find an outhouse in a few, but wonder if you should get out, as the BEARS are pretty big up there! :wink: :wink:

I've had fellow truckers pull over just to see if I was ok wh I was so exhausted I had to pull over for a few minutes rest just to see if I was ok cause it was not a usual place for me to stop. (My truck was pointed north instead of south) Someone else saw me, called the next guy behind me & asked him to check on me. I was extremely grateful for the consideration, as if I had had trouble it could have been hours before the next one came by. I might have been dead by then.

I guess I'm very spoiled running where I do, we all know one another & look out for each other, cell phones & quallcomm thingy's don't work up there, we depend totally on one another to survive. I feel sorry for all who run south of the 60th parallel.

Sometimes the isolation gets to me, but I wouldn't trade this for anything down south...no sir, I'd rather deal with MY crap anyday of the week!

[choperbob]

gosh darnnit!! i am a rookie and drive otr and run every load assigned me. as a rookie i have managed to get meself in every nasty situation i can manage to find, ahh geee shucks, darnnit. after 3 years of mucking up the side roads and back shipper lots i have learned to carry a few tools. lessee now, i carry 2 lenghts of 25' of chain, 25' jumper wire, extra fuel jugs and hose. i carry every tool that has been used to get me out of the jams i managed to get into learning this trade. i am now doing a lease purchase deal that i have been advised about. yeah i will jump you but i ain't married to you. when i pull you out i give same advise i was given. when i give a pull start you will know when to slow down. as o/o we are out here to make a living, period. i will still stop and help any mororist alongside the road. pass me by when i need help, it is ok. there will be a good samaritan who will help me. and then i will learn another way to help another person.

[solo379]

Go easy on Sonny guys! All he wanted to say, is just that;-"No good deal, is goes unpunished"! And it's still your choice, but don't be surprise, if you get more, than you signed for! :wink:
Wildkat, i know exactly, what you are talking about! I've spend about 18 years, in a conditions like that! 8)

[GMAN]

I have gotten hung up helping another driver before. I have also had other drivers get hung up helping me. I understand what Sonny is saying. I am just saying that we have an obligation to help one another. I think one thing technology has done for us as a society is make us less willing to go out of our way to help one another. I recall a driver just helping me start my truck by spraying ether while I turned the truck over. It was a simple thing that didn't cost the guy anything but a few minutes of his time. It was a tremendous help to me. I tried to use the starter fluid and run around and turn the truck over but to no avail. His assistance made the difference between me getting back on the road or sitting. It was cold and there was snow on the ground. We don't always have to do something major to help someone. Often it is something very simple.

[choperbob]

yeah, no good goes unpunished!! dammit some of us guys that got all your help never give back. not neven once. sadly sometimes we even ignore those that need help because we know all the hustles. all new drivers gotta remember is that any time your truck stops is you are vulnerable for a hustle. maybe even a gun rippoff. if you ever stop to help please be sure you stay safe. this year as last year i will spend xmas with some highway bum buying him a shower first then dinner. has been done to me when i was on the road as a bum.

[geomon]

this year as last year i will spend xmas with some highway bum buying him a shower first then dinner. has been done to me when i was on the road as a bum.

ChoperBob...it was really gratifying to read that!!!

It's also great to hear how you've turned your life around...congratulations!!

[choperbob]

if they ever open i80 east bound i can get to iowa and pick up a load that will get me to san antonio tx. delivery is 12/24 at 0900. guess i'll be spending xmas eve there. staying with original topic tho, was stuck on cabbage patch at rest area when chain laws went into effect. never chained up before. i was given help learning how and was also given pointers concerning running with them. never used a jake in the snow before. sure helped.