Tricks of the Trade and Truckers’ Money Saving Trade Secrets

Experienced professional truck drivers have picked up “tricks of the trade” over the years to help them with the operation of their trucks.

Tricks of the Trade for TruckersSome trade secrets are self-taught; others are learned from fellow drivers.

Mike Simons has over 16 years of professional driving experience and shares these extremely handy tips to help you save time or money or both:

Do you have a great trucker 'trick of the trade'? Share it!

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axling out on a Certified Automatic Truck Scale or CAT Scale.
scaling out or axling out your load;

Trucks at a truckstop, in or pulled through the fuel bay where they pumped fuel at the fuel pump.
tip to prevent a diesel spill when pumping fuel at a fuel pump;

The fifth wheel assembly on the back of a commercial motor vehicle's tractor.
stuck fifth wheel;

The trailer tandem axles under the rear of a commercial motor vehicle.
stuck trailer axles or tandems;

A close-up view of the connector between the truck curtain and the track in which it is installed.
sticky truck curtains

The electrical cord or pigtail that carries power from the tractor to the trailer, shown plugged into the socket on the trailer.
trailer lights that won’t work;

The correct position of the landing gear crank handle behind a fixed hook.
correct landing gear positioning;

Pressing the button on the front of a 1500 watt inverter to turn it on.
performing inverter troubleshooting; and

Commercial motor vehicle with trailer tandems all the way back.
evening out weight between drive axles and trailer tandems for better pulling power and a smoother ride.

We even have pages on

 

Additional Resource on Tricks of the Trade

Some of these resources have been provided by others.


truck drivers money saving tip iconMoney saving tip: By using these time-tested tips, you may be able to save a significant amount of time, money and aggravation down the road.

For example, Mike is able to avoid any and all overweight fines associated with having too much weight on a particular set of axles on his truck by “scaling out” or “axling out” his truck.



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