5 Hours To Tighten A Nut

[d2dave]

Last Friday I was heading to Brisbane. It was ****ing down rain and when I got to Jerilderie the drivers side wiper decided to no longer wipe.

This was 8 PM. Rang work who organised a mechanic. As I was in NSW he had to come from Albury, due to covid.

By the time a mechanic was organised, he had to go to his work to get a spare wiper arm it was 1 am, 5 hours later when I left.

When he arrived he tightened the nut where the wiper arm attaches to the spindle, and all was good.

We the decided to fit the new arm as a precaution, which only added about 20 minutes.

If only I had a spanner in the truck.

[RANDLOVER]

Last Friday I was heading to Brisbane. It was ****ing down rain and when I got to Jerilderie the drivers side wiper decided to no longer wipe.

This was 8 PM. Rang work who organised a mechanic. As I was in NSW he had to come from Albury, due to covid.

By the time a mechanic was organised, he had to go to his work to get a spare wiper arm it was 1 am, 5 hours later when I left.

When he arrived he tightened the nut where the wiper arm attaches to the spindle, and all was good.

We the decided to fit the new arm as a precaution, which only added about 20 minutes.

If only I had a spanner in the truck.

That is appalling, remember the good old days when cars actually came with a tool kit, usually a couple of commonly used spanners and a couple of screwdrivers and even a pair of pliers.

[d2dave]

I was in a Kenworth truck though.

[disco gazza]

Thats happened to me and a few of the drivers when I worked at WOW.
Something simple would work itself loose and your stuck on the side of the road or at a servo waiting for the help to arrive.
One of the best O/T days was when I was leaving Orange. Just after I got to the 100kph sign I lost all power.
**** I coasted to where I could pull over safely and then I couldnt get ph reception.
Walked up to a slight rise on the side of the road and called work. Time was about 1730-1800.
Thought they would have someone from Bathurst sent out(scania workshop there), but no they sent a towie out from Sydney.
About 2300 the towie turns up. Its just after midnight when we get going. I told the towie to stop at Mt Lambie cause I was starving and wanted to eat.
We turned up at work just as dawn was starting break over the horizon.
After dumping the trailer in the middle of the yard and filling out the paperwork, I had 9 hrs double time up.(We used to get paid hourly when we did the country runs[biggrin])
Needless to say I had that day off(1300 starts)

DG

[Tombie]

You don’t carry a Leatherman? [emoji3166]

[Tombie]

That is appalling, remember the good old days when cars actually came with a tool kit, usually a couple of commonly used spanners and a couple of screwdrivers and even a pair of pliers.

That’s because they needed them, sometimes daily [emoji41]

[Gordie]

One trucking company I worked for, it was compulsory for us to buy a toolbox with specified tools in it and to take it with us. Made sense, especially as we were out on the Nullabor a lot.

[trout1105]

Seriously guys just how hard is it to carry a couple of shifters,a pair of plyers and a couple of screwdrivers in your workbag when you front up for work??

[V8Ian]

I'm surprised you don't have a small, basic handful of tools, Dave. An 8" shifter, pair of slip joint pliers and a Toyota changeable handle screwdriver will cover most minor emergencies.

[crash]

On the farm my dad always had tool boxes in all of machinery filled with an assortment of tools that he would have purchased at clearing sales. My brother would always complain to dad about his poor tools - until one day - my brother was working for the neighbour and driving their tractor and he required a hammer to remove a pin on a piece of equipment. As you do he went straight to the tool box on the tractor, opens it up to finds.......Nothing. As he was several K's from the farm house he spent the next couple of hours bashing this pin out with whatever he could find laying around in the paddock. When he finally got home he went to dad and said " dad I'm not going to complain about your tools anymore - At Least You Have Tools!"

[Gav 110]

On the farm my dad always had tool boxes in all of machinery filled with an assortment of tools that he would have purchased at clearing sales. My brother would always complain to dad about his poor tools - until one day - my brother was working for the neighbour and driving their tractor and he required a hammer to remove a pin on a piece of equipment. As you do he went straight to the tool box on the tractor, opens it up to finds.......Nothing. As he was several K's from the farm house he spent the next couple of hours bashing this pin out with whatever he could find laying around in the paddock. When he finally got home he went to dad and said " dad I'm not going to complain about your tools anymore - At Least You Have Tools!"

I keep an assortment of tools in all the machinery on my property, just a small toolbox with screwdrivers, adjustable spanners, a hammer, pliers (electrical and fencing), rags ( stops the rattling) and anything that is specific for that machine including spare pins, d shackles etc

When ever I go to the toolboxes to get the required tool, it never seems to be there.
Instead it’s either in the footwell/floor of the machine, on the ground somewhere around the farm, on the floor of my dads ute, in his pocket or on his bedside table back in Perth

He seems to have a thing about tape measures, no matter how many I buy, I can never find any until I go past his place and search his shed

The old fella just can’t get the jist of putting things back
After telling 4 boys for over 30 years the importance of putting things back you’d think he’d practice what he used to preach[emoji848][emoji848]
I have to keep reminding myself and my boys that I’ll (and they) will probably end up the same way one day☹️

[scarry]

He seems to have a thing about tape measures, no matter how many I buy, I can never find any until I go past his place and search his shed

The old fella just can’t get the jist of putting things back
After telling 4 boys for over 30 years the importance of putting things back you’d think he’d practice what he used to preach[emoji848][emoji848]
I have to keep reminding myself and my boys that I’ll (and they) will probably end up the same way one day☹️

Tape measures,and many other tools i paint with that bright pink paint that is available in spray cans.
I even prime some tools before painting them.
Works very well,i do the boys tools as well,yes they complain,but bad luck,the tools dont seem to get lost as quickly.

SWMBO is the worse i have known,she will take something out of the van,and doesnt put it back.
Then later that day or the next i am miles away on a job, looking for something that should be in the van....[bigsad][biggrin]

[Gav 110]

Tape measures,and many other tools i paint with that bright pink paint that is available in spray cans.
I even prime some tools before painting them.
Works very well,i do the boys tools as well,yes they complain,but bad luck,the tools dont seem to get lost as quickly.

SWMBO is the worse i have known,she will take something out of the van,and doesnt put it back.
Then later that day or the next i am miles away on a job, looking for something that should be in the van....[bigsad][biggrin]

That’s how I find the tools laying around farm
I use bright red
I tried blue but blue seems to blend in with greys and green even brown and blue seems to blend
Also proof the tools belong at the farm when I find them in the old boys workshop

The wife takes tools from my workshop and then expects me to put them away🤬

[350RRC]

I have about 6 socket sets, including my grandfather's complete 1947 snap on set in its original box.

You know you're a responsible adult when the good sets are still complete after 20+ years of use. [biggrin]

DL

[josh.huber]

I keep an assortment of tools in all the machinery on my property, just a small toolbox with screwdrivers, adjustable spanners, a hammer, pliers (electrical and fencing), rags ( stops the rattling) and anything that is specific for that machine including spare pins, d shackles etc

When ever I go to the toolboxes to get the required tool, it never seems to be there.
Instead it’s either in the footwell/floor of the machine, on the ground somewhere around the farm, on the floor of my dads ute, in his pocket or on his bedside table back in Perth

He seems to have a thing about tape measures, no matter how many I buy, I can never find any until I go past his place and search his shed

The old fella just can’t get the jist of putting things back
After telling 4 boys for over 30 years the importance of putting things back you’d think he’d practice what he used to preach[emoji848][emoji848]
I have to keep reminding myself and my boys that I’ll (and they) will probably end up the same way one day☹️

My dad steals my tapes aswell..I write my name on the meter mark to sort him out.. He rubbed it off once..I now do it at 3m aswell..

[Tombie]

Tape measures,and many other tools i paint with that bright pink paint that is available in spray cans.
I even prime some tools before painting them.
Works very well,i do the boys tools as well,yes they complain,but bad luck,the tools dont seem to get lost as quickly.

SWMBO is the worse i have known,she will take something out of the van,and doesnt put it back.
Then later that day or the next i am miles away on a job, looking for something that should be in the van....[bigsad][biggrin]

Did similar on mine sites I work at.
Nobody steals your gear if it’s bright Pink!

[d2dave]

I'm surprised you don't have a small, basic handful of tools, Dave. An 8" shifter, pair of slip joint pliers and a Toyota changeable handle screwdriver will cover most minor emergencies.

There will be from now on. But work isn't to know. We are not allowed to do anything, not even change a light globe.

[d2dave]

You don’t carry a Leatherman? [emoji3166]

Don't own one.
When in my own vehicles I always have plenty of tools.
SWMBO often reckons the driver is also one.

[V8Ian]

Don't own one.
When in my own vehicles I always have plenty of tools.
SWMBO often reckons the driver is also one.
[bigrolf] You're not Robinson Caruso there, Dave. [bighmmm]

[BMKal]

You don’t carry a Leatherman? [emoji3166]

A few years back, I was approached by a new "enthusiastic" Safety Advisor" at work one day and told that I was not allowed to carry a leatherman nor to have it on site (he had obviously seen the one on my belt). I advised him that I had worn one every day on that site for about the past 7 years, and if he expected me to stop, he could take it up with the mine manager. He obviously did so, as I was shortly thereafter summonsed to the mine manager's office and told that I could no longer have a leatherman on site, because someone had recently cut his finger with one.

I told him to shove his job where the sun doesn't shine and left their employment after giving the minimum required notice. I think I've been around long enough to know what is "safe" and how to use tools safely, and really can't be bothered being told what tools I can and can't carry by some "highly qualified" desk jockey and his equally "highly qualified" safety advisor - neither of whom had likely ever completed any form of "hands-on" work in their lives.

Unfortunately - safety and training has become an industry in its own right these days, with so many of these otherwise unemployable ******* creating new rules and procedures on a daily basis for no other reason than to justify their own existence. I'm bloody glad to be back working for an organization with "old school" values and standards.

[BMKal]

And just to keep on topic - at that same mine site I mentioned above - a fitter damaged his knuckles badly one day when installing a new hydraulic hose in a difficult to reach location on a loader or dozer. The open end spanner he was using slipped off the fitting and he slammed his hand into something solid.

The very next day in his "safety" briefing to site - the same mine manager I referred to above issued a mandate across the site that - "from now on, open end spanners shall not be used on site to install hydraulic hoses and pipes - only ring spanners are to be used for this purpose".

Believe it or not - this "mine manager" is now the Managing Director of a large mining company. Obviously goes to show that you don't need to have too much between the ears to be promoted up to senior management in some companies at least. [bigwhistle]

[V8Ian]

And just to keep on topic - at that same mine site I mentioned above - a fitter damaged his knuckles badly one day when installing a new hydraulic hose in a difficult to reach location on a loader or dozer. The open end spanner he was using slipped off the fitting and he slammed his hand into something solid.

The very next day in his "safety" briefing to site - the same mine manager I referred to above issued a mandate across the site that - "from now on, open end spanners shall not be used on site to install hydraulic hoses and pipes - only ring spanners are to be used for this purpose".

Believe it or not - this "mine manager" is now the Managing Director of a large mining company. Obviously goes to show that you don't need to have too much between the ears to be promoted up to senior management in some companies at least. [bigwhistle]
:Rolling: And this is the type of genius who earns a million bucks a year.

[RobMichelle]

It’s all about lost time injuries, to keep contracts [emoji849][emoji43]*[emoji94]

[crash]

And just to keep on topic - at that same mine site I mentioned above - a fitter damaged his knuckles badly one day when installing a new hydraulic hose in a difficult to reach location on a loader or dozer. The open end spanner he was using slipped off the fitting and he slammed his hand into something solid.

The very next day in his "safety" briefing to site - the same mine manager I referred to above issued a mandate across the site that - "from now on, open end spanners shall not be used on site to install hydraulic hoses and pipes - only ring spanners are to be used for this purpose".

Believe it or not - this "mine manager" is now the Managing Director of a large mining company. Obviously goes to show that you don't need to have too much between the ears to be promoted up to senior management in some companies at least. [bigwhistle]

So now all the replaced hydraulic hoses have a ring spanner attached.

[350RRC]

[bigrolf] You're not Robinson Caruso there, Dave. [bighmmm]

The opera singer?

[Gav 110]

So now all the replaced hydraulic hoses have a ring spanner attached.

That’s how they keep people employed at the mines

Do up the hydraulic hose

Undo the hydraulic hose to remove the spanner

Do up the hydraulic hose

Undo the hydraulic hose to remove the spanner

Do up the hydraulic hose

…………………[emoji848][emoji848]

No wonder the price of iron ore has gone up[emoji12]

[Tombie]

It’s actually come down… a lot [emoji1787]

[Gav 110]

It’s actually come down… a lot [emoji1787]

Price of the finished product hasn’t
Bloody steel prices are through the roof

Just heard on the radio today about WAs 5.4 billion dollar surplus ([emoji765][emoji765][emoji765]) because of the royalties from the price of iron ore

[Tombie]

More like steel prices are correct, rather than bashed by **** imports.

[Hogarthde]

[QUOTE=Tombie;rather than bashed by **** imports.[/QUOTE]

I was helping a friend repair his stockyard t’other day, the gates would be 30years old.
Good, thick walled 1.1/2 gal. pipe, the new stuff?.... sheesh, could cut it with my grannie’s butter knife.

now then, do I get a prize for off topic ?

[V8Ian]

I was helping a friend repair his stockyard t’other day, the gates would be 30years old.
Good, thick walled 1.1/2 gal. pipe, the new stuff?.... sheesh, could cut it with my grannie’s butter knife.

now then, do I get a prize for off topic ?
They don't make butter knives like they used to.

[Hogarthde]

Well.... I didn’t think that big tough ol ,deep north, cog swapping, league loving,black sorrow loving,hippies, would know what a butter knife was.😇

[DiscoMick]

I met an old bloke the other day who is a retired fitter and turner who now keeps busy around the yard at his son's interstate trucking business, which specialises in caravans and is taking our former camper trailer to Sydney.
He mentioned he had been driving forklifts for over 30 years, but recently had to stop because an inspector said his certificate was not current.
He took a test, but failed because some of the questions seemed to have strange answers.
He said the inspector said a trainer would have to come from Canberra would you believe to recertify him.
As a retired trainer myself, not in forklifts, I know the aim should be, not to trick people with smartarse questions, but to ask questions which allow the person to demonstrate their competency e.g.
'Show me you can safely move that load from A to B.'
It's called Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
There's some old tradies working in Bunnings although they have skills because some young trainer didn't understand how RPL is supposed to work.

[3toes]

I was working in a place where you had to do retraining each 12 months to confirm competency. This was a 60 question quiz. Each question with 5 potential answers and 60 minutes to complete

Not really that difficult if you knew what you were doing. When the results came back there was one question where I was marked as wrong. Went back to the questions to see why I had not got this one right.

Rereading the question and answers was sure I was right. Happened to know the person in the company that set the questions so rang them to see what I was not getting. Seems I was right and it was an error that had been in the test for a couple of years. I was the first person to point this out to them

No real harm to me but what if you had failed the test due to that question? Or operated based on the answer that the exam said was right?

Fortunately people who do this test do not take it very seriously seeing it as a box ticking exercise which may go a long way to explaining why no one had spotted or reported the error. Sad thing is someone somewhere is paying for the test and the database to record the results and who did the exam

Or should the above be in grumpy thread

[Tombie]

I was working in a place where you had to do retraining each 12 months to confirm competency. This was a 60 question quiz. Each question with 5 potential answers and 60 minutes to complete

Not really that difficult if you knew what you were doing. When the results came back there was one question where I was marked as wrong. Went back to the questions to see why I had not got this one right.

Rereading the question and answers was sure I was right. Happened to know the person in the company that set the questions so rang them to see what I was not getting. Seems I was right and it was an error that had been in the test for a couple of years. I was the first person to point this out to them

No real harm to me but what if you had failed the test due to that question? Or operated based on the answer that the exam said was right?

Fortunately people who do this test do not take it very seriously seeing it as a box ticking exercise which may go a long way to explaining why no one had spotted or reported the error. Sad thing is someone somewhere is paying for the test and the database to record the results and who did the exam

Or should the above be in grumpy thread

Had the same thing when I was 16 at Motor Register dept.

Sat the theory part of my test. Handed it up and was told I had one wrong, even though I still passed I asked which one (back then they marked by placing a template over it).

Reread the question, and pointed out my answer was in fact correct. There was an awkward silence as my test was corrected.

Wonder how many people failed by one question over the years…..

[V8Ian]

Had a similar situation, at three different sites of a multinational fuel company. They used same induction, for every Australian terminal. When I pointed out the error, they refused to admit it, claiming everyone knows what they mean.

[Saitch]

The opera singer?

He only performed solos once a week, on Friday.

[1950landy]

I'm surprised you don't have a small, basic handful of tools, Dave. An 8" shifter, pair of slip joint pliers and a Toyota changeable handle screwdriver will cover most minor emergencies.

I carry a basic tool kit in my 80" seat box all the time , but have never had to use it in 35+ years.173528 "O" i tell a lie once leading the grand parade at the Malany Show with the director of the show standing in the back, some Lucas smoke started leaking from behind the dash & needed the screwdriver . Found I had pinched a wire between the dash panel & bulkhead housing some 25 years earlier[bigsad]. With the dash hanging out I continued the parade.[biggrin]

[Bulletman]

I met an old bloke the other day who is a retired fitter and turner who now keeps busy around the yard at his son's interstate trucking business, which specialises in caravans and is taking our former camper trailer to Sydney.
He mentioned he had been driving forklifts for over 30 years, but recently had to stop because an inspector said his certificate was not current.
He took a test, but failed because some of the questions seemed to have strange answers.
He said the inspector said a trainer would have to come from Canberra would you believe to recertify him.
As a retired trainer myself, not in forklifts, I know the aim should be, not to trick people with smartarse questions, but to ask questions which allow the person to demonstrate their competency e.g.
'Show me you can safely move that load from A to B.'
It's called Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
There's some old tradies working in Bunnings although they have skills because some young trainer didn't understand how RPL is supposed to work.

A well know freight company where I was doing some work a couple of years back had a driver who had his forklift ticket for 30+ years and when a new manger started told him it wasn’t valid anymore and he had to renew to the current ticket at his own cost and till he did he could no longer drive forklifts.

We were doing supermarket deliveries and very often you would drive the forklift to help unload and when returning to the depot you would unload your backloading if the yard was busy.
Well he refused to re-sit his forklift ticket , and his productivity became half of what any other driver was , and he would sometimes wait at a supermarket for several hours longer than usual because he couldn’t help.

My simple brain tells me that the company could have put him thru the course , along with a few others and things would have tracked along nicely , but no they must have lost thousands $$ in paying him to sit around waiting to get loaded/unloaded and he is still working there to this day. And that manager is now the territory manager and they are wondering why they are loosing work and workers

Bulletman

[RANDLOVER]

A few years back, I was approached by a new "enthusiastic" Safety Advisor" at work one day and told that I was not allowed to carry a leatherman nor to have it on site (he had obviously seen the one on my belt). I advised him that I had worn one every day on that site for about the past 7 years, and if he expected me to stop, he could take it up with the mine manager. He obviously did so, as I was shortly thereafter summonsed to the mine manager's office and told that I could no longer have a leatherman on site, because someone had recently cut his finger with one.

I told him to shove his job where the sun doesn't shine and left their employment after giving the minimum required notice. I think I've been around long enough to know what is "safe" and how to use tools safely, and really can't be bothered being told what tools I can and can't carry by some "highly qualified" desk jockey and his equally "highly qualified" safety advisor - neither of whom had likely ever completed any form of "hands-on" work in their lives.

Unfortunately - safety and training has become an industry in its own right these days, with so many of these otherwise unemployable ******* creating new rules and procedures on a daily basis for no other reason than to justify their own existence. I'm bloody glad to be back working for an organization with "old school" values and standards.

Doesn't surprise me, I saw an ad for a Safety Officer at a large organisation recently, and the only qualification you had to have was a driver's licence!

[1950landy]

Company Brother & I owned , we paid for any of the long time employees to get there F/L Tickets if they wanted to .

[DiscoMick]

Just continuing the forklift thing, the basic principle for good training is you can't question someone about a topic unless you have previously ensured they have been taught the correct information about that topic.
You're not trying to trick people or get them to come up with original thinking. All you are doing is confirming if they know the correct answer or can competently perform the required task.
A good training system would have a handbook with paragraphs covering all the essential topics. Each paragraph would state the correct answer.
The questions would be based on the paragraphs and might even direct the candidate to read the relevant paragraph.
The candidate's challenge is to identify the correct answer in the paragraph and then tick the correct answer in the question.
I can remember times when I was reviewing proposed tests against course content and I couldn't find the correct answer in the course material, so I would reject the question and ask the author, 'How would someone know the answer to this question?' Usually the tester was assuming the person knew the answer, but had not checked if it was in the course.
In theory, someone who has never driven a forklift, but has good study methods, should be able to figure out the correct answers to a quiz test just by reading the course material.
However, being inexperienced, they would come unstuck in the practical test when asked to demonstrate they were competent to move loads.
That's when the trainer-assessor stands well back in a safe position!

[RANDLOVER]

Much less complicated safety procedures for back hoe/excavator assessments than forklifts, as any evidence of accidents can be buried. [bigrolf]

[Tombie]

Much less complicated safety procedures for back hoe/excavator assessments than forklifts, as any evidence of accidents can be buried. [bigrolf]

Even worse…

Back Hoe and Excavator are two different competencies [emoji41]

Same with Telehandlers - retracted, it’s a forklift.
Extended it becomes a Crane.

The number of bloody tickets I hold is insane.
3 tickets just for FELs… and I did the first one on a WA900. Then they made me do the smaller ones!

[V8Ian]

Even worse…

Back Hoe and Excavator are two different competencies [emoji41]

Same with Telehandlers - retracted, it’s a forklift.
Extended it becomes a Crane.

The number of bloody tickets I hold is insane.
3 tickets just for FELs… and I did the first one on a WA900. Then they made me do the smaller ones!
An excavator can require a crane ticket too, when fitted with an electromagnet, or hook and chain for laying pipes etc..

[4bee]

Seriously guys just how hard is it to carry a couple of shifters,a pair of plyers and a couple of screwdrivers in your workbag when you front up for work??


Don't forget bag of assorted length Cable Ties & a roll or two of PVC Duct Tape. Black preferably as it stands up to UV much better.

[Hogarthde]

Tombie, and Ian, my first quick thought was ,“ Shirley you jest”.

Then I remembered the Fire Service of 20 years back and the flippin competency tickets I theoretically needed, ....ye gods and little fishes.....’ an excavator with sling a crane!

[350RRC]

Don't forget bag of assorted length Cable Ties & a roll or two of PVC Duct Tape. Black preferably as it stands up to UV much better.

As an expert in 'crisis maintenance' I can advise that cloth tape (like gaffer) is faaaaar more useful than duct tape.

The Aldi one can be torn along its length and has superior glue, and the Bear N one tears across the roll.

I always have a roll of duct tape on board, but haven't used any for yonks.

DL

[V8Ian]

Back in the '90s I was towing a low loader, with the bulk of my work moving earth moving gear. There was uproar when it was suggested that drivers doing this type of work should hold tickets for every piece of equipment they loaded or unloaded. The cost of all those tickets was prohibitive for a one man band, such as mine. The idea was quietly dropped.

[Hogarthde]

I suppose behind all this competent operator ticket requirement, are some very good reasons,...and a few other reasons.

The good reason: be kind to your self, your environment , your machine.

Other reasons: jealousy ,unions, insurance ,litigation ,elf and safety, money ,making some one feel important

[Tombie]

I suppose behind all this competent operator ticket requirement, are some very good reasons,...and a few other reasons.

The good reason: be kind to your self, your environment , your machine.

Other reasons: jealousy ,unions, insurance ,litigation ,elf and safety, money ,making some one feel important

Mainly insurance and liability.

Likely introduced with good intent - make sure people know what they’re doing and are safe.

Like everything, just pushed the wrong way.

[superquag]

That is appalling, remember the good old days when cars actually came with a tool kit, usually a couple of commonly used spanners and a couple of screwdrivers and even a pair of pliers.


Gosh, you are..... (as) OLD !

[austastar]

My side valve Hilman Minx came with a full workshop manual, including illustrating all the jacking points and measurements to straighten the chassis and body if bent.
Cheers

[Tombie]

My side valve Hilman Minx came with a full workshop manual, including illustrating all the jacking points and measurements to straighten the chassis and body if bent.
Cheers

Should have come with an Extra “L” as well [emoji41][emoji12]

[Discodicky]

Even worse…

Back Hoe and Excavator are two different competencies [emoji41]

Same with Telehandlers - retracted, it’s a forklift.
Extended it becomes a Crane.

The number of bloody tickets I hold is insane.
3 tickets just for FELs… and I did the first one on a WA900. Then they made me do the smaller ones!

WA900....... not exactly a little bugga...[bigrolf][bigsmile]
From memory it takes about 10 days to assemble one on the worksite.

[Discodicky]

I met an old bloke the other day who is a retired fitter and turner who now keeps busy around the yard at his son's interstate trucking business, which specialises in caravans and is taking our former camper trailer to Sydney.
He mentioned he had been driving forklifts for over 30 years, but recently had to stop because an inspector said his certificate was not current.
He took a test, but failed because some of the questions seemed to have strange answers.
He said the inspector said a trainer would have to come from Canberra would you believe to recertify him.
As a retired trainer myself, not in forklifts, I know the aim should be, not to trick people with smartarse questions, but to ask questions which allow the person to demonstrate their competency e.g.
'Show me you can safely move that load from A to B.'
It's called Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
There's some old tradies working in Bunnings although they have skills because some young trainer didn't understand how RPL is supposed to work.

Some years ago I was party to watching a very competent hydraulic excavator operator about to be "tested" by a very pompous (Govt.) Dept Inspector. The Operator very calmly dismounted from the cabin, handed the keys to the Inspector, and told him to firstly show us how it should be done. To his credit, the Inspector handed the keys back to the Operator and said "Pass". Was the best way to defuse a potential embarrassing situation for the Inspector.

[scarry]

Don't forget bag of assorted length Cable Ties & a roll or two of PVC Duct Tape. Black preferably as it stands up to UV much better.

And a code reader if the vehicle or machine is full of electronic crap,which most modern ones are.[bigsad][biggrin]

Surprisingly the late model vehicle under our carport has a few tools in the OEM tool kit,apart from wheel brace,jack handles,etc.

Reading the vehicles handbook,i have worked out one is a screwdriver type device that goes into a small slot in the center console, to get the vehicle out of park if the battery is flat.
The same tool,using another slot, opens the rear upper taigate,from inside, in the event it has a broken lock or the vehicles battery is flat.

[Tombie]

And a code reader if the vehicle or machine is full of electronic crap,which most modern ones are.[bigsad][biggrin]

Surprisingly the late model vehicle under our carport has a few tools in the OEM tool kit,apart from wheel brace,jack handles,etc.

Reading the vehicles handbook,i have worked out one is a screwdriver type device that goes into a small slot in the center console, to get the vehicle out of park if the battery is flat.
The same tool,using another slot, opens the rear upper taigate,from inside, in the event it has a broken lock or the vehicles battery is flat.

Are you forgetting what those old ones with tool kits did?

Very regularly that tool kit was out being used!

The damn things hated hot weather mostly, especially hills….

They played up regularly.

All that “electronic crap” actually makes vehicles inherently reliable. When they fault it can be frustrating for sure, however it’s significantly less likely.

[3toes]

While they are far more complicated with little that can be done without the computer the operator has little to do maintenance wise.

The old weekly and monthly maintenance is a thing of history spoken about by a few who can still remember how it used to be

[4bee]

While they are far more complicated with little that can be done without the computer the operator has little to do maintenance wise.

The old weekly and monthly maintenance is a thing of history spoken about by a few who can still remember how it used to be


I remember, kick the tyres when you thought of it when passing, hit it with the Nylex Garden hose when you did the lawns after cutting same with the good old VICTA or POPE.


Dip the oil now & then.


Yep I remember.:BigCry::Rolling: