any road mechanics??????

[mech-tech]

Well fellas, I am in need of more advise. I work for a forklift company, and lately have been finding myself on the road quite a bit. I am often sent to locations for the typical small problems, but from time to time, I find myself driving up on location to find rather large (20,000 - 30,000 pound capacity) forklifts and end up struggling to do the the job due to lack of proper equipment out in the field. Is there any tools or equipment that you road guys have bought over time that have made your jobs easier? I am looking into getting a lever chain hoist for those HEAVY hydraulic cylinders. Thanks to this site, I have an entire hand tool department in the back of the service van now!!!! Any specialy items worth getting for road service? My employer already supply the jack and stands. I also recently got all my pipe wrenches together up to 36", and all the wrenches and sockets a tool fan could ever need, so it's mostly the "when I get done with this project, I am going get me a ..." kind of tools that I am asking about.

Any ideas would be helpful. It sure beats fighting the equipment in front of the customer and going

 

[smothers33]

comealong and ratcheting straps are very helpful, also a good screw/bolt extractor set, crowbar, cheater pipe, a couple different hammers, assortment of pullers, and bushing and bearing driver sets are great as well, tap and die set, chains and blocks, one of these... http://www.tooltopia.com/lisle-29200.aspx and if you got the cash to blow and cordless impact driver is an absolute timesaver when taking off dozens of those tiny little bolts. do you work for a dealer or a independant? if a dealer, what brand and do you do mainly electrics or IC or a combo of both

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

In addition to a bigger hoist, consider adding ¼ ton and ¾ ton comealongs and an assortment of rigging straps. You'll find a million and one uses for them and your back will end up thanking you. I don't know how I ever lived without my little ¼ tonner and a couple little endless roundslings (The purple Certex are the greatest thing since sliced bread).

If you've got the room in the van, make up a milk crate full of precut 2x4 and 4x4 cribbing. There is nothing worse than having to scavenge for cribbing in the middle of a job.

I recently acquired a Wilton "Bash" 12 lb sledge that has made my life considerably easier as well. Nice hammers, and if you can break the handle in normal use, Wilton gives you $1000.

 

[bobcatdan]

For me, I over planned on everything for what I needed when I took over the truck and in 3 years have removed more stuff then added. The thing to remember out there, there is nobody to borrow anything from. Tools are one thing, it is supplies that are important. Zip ties, propper size wire, the right spray. You can adapt when you don't the right wrench, but your sol when you have new battery bolts for crusty battery connections.

 

[mech-tech]

I work for a small independant dealer. I work on pretty much any gasoline, lp, or diesel forklift that needs repairing. No electric forklifts. I deal with a lot of heavy oilfield yard forklifts. From you guys experience, what size chain puller should I get? I have a habbit of over doing everything, but I dont want to be climbing on equipment and lugging around more than I need. I sometimes run onto the type of problems that would typically be dealt with in the shop, but with a lack of help and the fact that the forklift I am repairing is usually the customers biggest one in the yard, it is kinda hard to make repairs alone.

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

A 1½ ton comealong is about the upper end of what you are liable to need. If you need anything bigger, it is probably better to use a boom truck or another forklift to do the lifting. Once you get into the 3 tonners and up, they become more of a hazard than a help when one guy is trying to wrestle one onto an elevated anchor point, especially when on uneven or questionable footing.

Like I said before, an assortment of rigging will make a world of difference.

 

[smothers33]

i hear ya. im kinda in the reverse situation i went from the road to shop but i have nobody in the shop to lend a hand. it seems every job i do needs 3 or more hands but at the end of the day, even though its a pain, it makes you get creative which ultimately makes you a better/more valuable mechanic . as for the comealong i would get a 2 ton http://www.tooltopia.com/american-power-pull-72a.aspx
if you rather a chain than cable
http://www.tooltopia.com/american-power-pull-615.aspx
also get a couple different length and size chains

 

[bcradio]

If you've got the room in the van, make up a milk crate full of precut 2x4 and 4x4 cribbing. There is nothing worse than having to scavenge for cribbing in the middle of a job.

Cribbing? I am not familiar with this cribbing you speak of. Professor Google did not have an answer either.

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

Cribbing is just wooden blocks. I like having 12" to 18" lengths around for both positioning parts, and following the old mantra of "pack as you jack". A box crib of 4x4's (think Lincoln Logs) will hold up an 8 ton gearbox without any concerns.

 

[metaleltr]

Cribbing is basically wood blocks used to support something. http://boronextrication.com/2011/02/wooden-cribbing-basics/

 

[bcradio]

ahh thanks.. Learn something new everyday.

 

[atomicpunk]

Make sure that cribbing is hardwood, don't want the soft stuff to crush and splinter when your working under or on the machine. Have also heard cribbing called sleepers and sticks. Do you have a Porta-power set?

 

[mech-tech]

Ahhh, thats what I was over looking. A porta-power is on the list, but pricey!

 

[crewchief888]

i'm a field service mechanic for a const eq dealer, there are a few things that i keep in my truck, that are out of the ordinary for most of our guys.

16lb sledgehammer, just cuz sometimes 12lb'r just aint enough
5 ft tanker bar
5ft piece of 1 1/4 galv pipe, with one end smashed flat, and welded, sometimes you need some leverage, but the tanker bar is too much to hang onto, also serves as cheater
section of an old floor jack handle, open end supported with an old bushing welded on, one end open, other end is solid, makes for beating the **** outta something you dont really have the "right" tool for.
pin hammer, sometimes called a "backout" hammer
prybars, alignment/ladyfoot bars 10" to 36" i like mac's ladyfoot bars, and OTC round prybars, and a couple cheap import prybars
i keep 2 or 3 1" ratchet straps to pull and hold hoses and tubelines out of my way.

as the weather gets colder, i also keep an extra pair of insulated bibs, jacket, watchcap, socks, several pairs of dry gloves.
i have in the past stepped in water holes past my boots, slipped and fallen, gotten snowed and sleeted on while working.
it makes the day even more miserable when you're cold & wet].

 

[Futremechanic]

Do it on a frequnet basis which I love doing may I add I pefer working outdoors to be working in indoors in the garage,

My list I usually bring I bring if I was working on the road or on site with a quaillfied mechanic/tech.

A good pair of gloves
A wetsuit as Ireland as rain is Ireland is generally damp
Vicegrips,
Assortment of imperial & metric spanners and also sockets,
Wire Crimper
Wire Strippers
Assortment of Pillers
Assortment of Screwdrivers
Wirestripers
Ciclip pilers depending on the job
Torx socket set
Allen key socket
E-Torx socket depending on the job
Hammers
Pry bars
Rachet Spanners
1/4 inch rachet, 3/8 inch rachet, 1/2 inch rachet & 3/4 inch
3/4 socket set depening who I am working with

 

[bobcatdan]

Like Crewcheif said, keep warm clothes in the truck, it ***** freezing your *** off working on something. Also, I normally keep tall rubber boots in the truck. I took them out the other week to do some serious pressure washing on a farm machine and forgot to put them back. I had a service call this week to a machine, got there and it is parked dead in a foot of water.

 

[mech-tech]

Dang, soo many things I never considered. It's kinda like the pneumatic gasket scraper I thought I would never need, until the day I had to change an oil pan gasket that was glued to the cummins block on a case dozer. You fellas just gave me a reason to buy more stuff!

I love you guys

 

[Futremechanic]

Dang, soo many things I never considered. It's kinda like the pneumatic gasket scraper I thought I would never need, until the day I had to change an oil pan gasket that was glued to the cummins block on a case dozer. You fellas just gave me a reason to buy more stuff!
I love you guys

If there wasnt a week since I started serving my time I have to keep upgrading every week or two weeks as I would pefer having my tools & equipment

 

[greasemonkey44]

pin hammer, sometimes called a "backout" hammer
prybars, alignment/ladyfoot bars 10" to 36" i like mac's ladyfoot bars, and OTC round prybars, and a couple cheap import prybars

im curious what you do with a tiny pin hammer, with all that other stuff to move mountains(a 3 ft ladyfoot bar holy crow)

 

[Hammell]

tarps, bungy cords, and a diesel heater (hermen nelson). I make a little fort around where I`;m working, makes it sooo much nicer than the -20, -25 plus the wind chill around here.

x2 on a big sledge. I got a 20lbs hammer, best friend next to a torch and welder. Sometimes all I have to do is pull it out and without even using it, pins and such start giving up.

x2 on the chain *** along. just a .75 ton is great. Compact, great for pulling hydrolc pumps out of loaders, lowering and installing diffs on rock trucks.

 

[robe5000]

Finally, some forklift guys!
how about we get some pics of some service vehicles on the go
best i can do is this link, pics won't upload for me

https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A25oqs3qqDzUC

 

[robe5000]

Finally some forklift guys
how about we post some photos of our vehicle set-ups
heres mine, i just moved in this van, not set-up quite right yet
if any of you fellas have room for a hose reel, i highly recommend it!

my welder is going to sit on a shelf above the compressor, when i get around to it

 

[crewchief888]

im curious what you do with a tiny pin hammer, with all that other stuff to move mountains(a 3 ft ladyfoot bar holy crow)

my pin hammer is approx 7/8" d X 7" long, we have a lot of 1 1/4"-1 1/2" d pins on our equipment.

another thing i didnt mention, i have several old pins, with bushings (ground down O.D. so they will pass, through once the worn out bushing is removed) welded onto them to remove and reinstall cylinder bushings.

i try to keep my free hand away from my "go to" 8lb sledge.
i've broken my thumb and fingers more times than i care to remember

 

[Nak]

Get a web strap lug-all. You'll never use a come along again. Old fashion screw jacks come in handy and a really long length of quality lift chain with grab hooks will be indispensable.

 

[Futremechanic]

Finally some forklift guys
how about we post some photos of our vehicle set-ups
heres mine, i just moved in this van, not set-up quite right yet
if any of you fellas have room for a hose reel, i highly recommend it!

my welder is going to sit on a shelf above the compressor, when i get around to it

I really like and the way you have laid out you work van

 

[goodwrench]

robe500, how do you like that air compressor? what do you run with it? i have been looking at those, but people who own them are few and far between.. So whatcha think of them?

later!! chris

 

[robe5000]

I really like and the way you have laid out you work van

Thank you, I try

 

[robe5000]

robe500, how do you like that air compressor? what do you run with it? i have been looking at those, but people who own them are few and far between.. So whatcha think of them?

later!! chris

Well it's got a Honda on it, it doesn't get taken care of and starts every time, takes a couple extra pulls when it's below -0 C, I run it almost everyday for the past 4 years, i mainly use it for cleaning out rads, air tools are a hassle on the road for the most part, its the unit we run in all our service vehicles,I recommend it if the specs meet your needs (knocks my 1/2 impact around real good BTW)

 

[R W]

One or Two small comalong winches can make thing easier if you are working on your own.
Spare nuts bolts washers etc, the list is endless.

 

[spotco2]

I worked as a road guy for a Cat forklift dealer for several years and kind of miss it sometimes.

Forklifts are a little more delicate than some of the larger industrial equipment, but if you are like we were, you have to work on everything in the yard so you have be loaded for bear on every job.

A small chain fall or heavy come along made my life easy. One of my favorite hammers was a 10lb sledge with the handle cut down to about 18" for those tight places that needed a heavy hit. I carried a lot of chain in different diameters for multiple reasons. Most were 4'-8' long and had multiple hooks and connectors for each of them. Hardwood cribbing in everything from 2x4 to 6x6 in 1'-3' lengths save me many times.

The hose reel was always handy. I put a 3000 watt power invertor in my van so I could run plenty of lights, electric grinders and even a saws all. I carried a box fan in the summer so I could get a breeze sometimes. I mounted a couple of single tube florescent lights inside the van so I could see better if I was working inside. I also kept a small coffee maker in the van that ran off the invertor for those long, cold days.

I rigged up a 8" vice 2 different ways while I was on the road. One was mounted to a plate that was welded up onto a piece of square tubing that I could slip into the receiver hitch. Another van did not have a hitch, so I got 2 pieces of thick wall square tubing that would slide inside the other. The large one got bolted to the floor and the smaller one had a plate that the vice was mounted to that extended out the back of the van when in use and locked in place with a pin like a trailer hitch.

Ratchet straps and bungee cords were a must as well as a good supply of ropes for tying things out of the way.

Not sure how your van is set up with a cage, but I always put a piece of plexi over mine to keep the AC and heat up in the cab with me. It made for a nice place to relax for a few minutes on those rough days.

One thing that my dealer did not supply that always came in handy was a set of master keys. That way if you had to service something and the operator took the keys out when they got off, I didn't have to chase anybody down. You can buy them from a bunch of internet vendors now or of course Ebay.

One last thing I always kept was an empty 5 gallon bucket with garbage bags and toilet paper stored inside. I bought one of those toilet seats that mounted to the top also. Sometimes nature calls and there's just no place to go. Close and lock the doors, toss some cardboard over the windows and grab a magazine.