Do you know the history of the truck you’ve been assigned?
 

I’m brand new to this industry and curious if, in general, company drivers are given the opportunity (if they ask for it) to review a trucks maintenance and inspection history prior to assignment to that truck. This information would come in handy for a number of reasons particularly if you breakdown and need to troubleshoot. Thank you :)

I guess I would be more concerned on who lived in it, than what happened to it! But thats just my opinion. :shock:

Yeah, it was brand new. :P

Heh - I bet mine would have a heck of a history...

It started out in 2001 by being owned by USXpress. My company purchased it in 2006. Hard to tell how many different a$$es have sat in my seat (no wonder the cushion is worn out).

Re: Do you know the history of the truck you’ve been assig
 

I think you'd witness the maintenance department faint dead away! :D :lol:

As a newbie, I’m guessing I won't be put in a new truck. I won’t complain if it happens though :lol:

Do the larger OTR outfits (the ones that hire recent graduates) make this kind of information available to their drivers? Before jumping in a truck and heading across country it would be nice to know the trucks trouble history.

Re: Do you know the history of the truck you’ve been assig
 

[/quote] I think you'd witness the maintenance department faint dead away! :D :lol:[/quote]

I take it this wouldn't be a request the maintenance dept is used to hearing :?

For the major carriers, most trucks are only ran 3-4 years then they replace them, so you really shouldn't have many breakdown issues. For smaller carriers they tend to keep the "running" part of the truck in good condition as they can't afford to have one of their trucks broke down along the interstate 1,000 miles from their only shop.

Don't be surprised if you are assigned a brand new truck right out the gate. Even if it isn't brand new, most companies trade them in around 3 years old so you most likely won't get a clunker that breaks down every 100 miles, however, that happens from time to time also. If a company put me in a truck that didn't allow me to make the kind of money I need I would just request a different truck. Drive by any medium to large sized company terminal and you will likely see many many trucks parked waiting for a driver. This should really be a non-issue with most companies.

As for my company's maintenance records, I slip-seat so I don't care to request a copy every day. One advantage to slip-seating, our trucks are inspected generally every other day by a driver, a yardman and if anything is wrote up by one of the previous, they are run through the shop by a mechanic. Breakdowns happen on occasion, but they are extremely rare. My biggest concern when I get my truck assignment for each run is how well will the seat adjust and how hard will it be to unhook the radio antenna so my XM will work properly... I rarely find anything worse than a marker light out during my PTI.

Thank you so much everyone for all your info and insights. Sounds like not too many drivers really feel a need for the trucks service history. That’s a good sign! :D