Ok so im a college student, and im going to be going to a TSTC (Texas State Technical College) and im going to be studying Diesel Equipment technology. Anybody have a job involving this? I just want to see if it would be a good field to get into

Thanks,
Brian

 

My dad's a class 8 diesel/truck mechanic. It's dirty, grungy, nasty, thankless, hard work.

 

that or i might go into Ac/Refrigeration Systems

 

If you work on diesels you will smell like diesel all the time no matter how much or with what you wash with you will smell like diesel it sucks I worked in a shop for nearly two years working on UD roll back tow trucks now i drive a big truck and I still get queasy when I fill the tanks on a hot day when that smell just jumps out of the tank and hits you in the face

 

I'm a class 8 mechanic and as Quintin said, it's a dirty, greasy, hard job for the most part. Depending on the shop you work at and what duties you perform it can be less or more dirty. If all you do is build engines it's not so bad. Get a loaded log truck in with a blown suspension air bag in the winter when you can't even see the frame because of the ice on it and you start re-thinking your career choice. I still enjoy it though. There's more good days than bad days and after all, someone has to do it to keep the trucks running.

In BC and Alberta there's a shortage of heavy duty mechanics so if you're in a big city you can pretty much pick where you want to work. Not sure how the market is elsewhere. If I had to do it all over again I would probably get into a/c and refrigeration instead.

 

I guess ice on the frame was a bad example for someone in Sugarland. :o

How about having to change rear motor mounts on a C15 that has the bolts siezed in the bushings and you have to cut them out with a torch laying on your back and melting rubber is dripping on you while it's 99* outside and you're trying not to burn the wiring harnesses and hoses running along the left frame rail but you can't see because of the smoke from the burning rubber?

 

my saving grace was the fact that the UD's are cab over's plus all of our customers were roll back tow trucks makes for much easier working when the entire body can disappear but crawling under a black flat bed to change a hydraulic motor when it's 110 out and the truck wont fit inside the shop

 

Here's the job I got last week. Brand new motorhome with 17K on it had the turbo puke out and the guy tried to drive it over the biggest mountain around with no oil. #6 rod bearing spun and it locked up. Took me two days to get it pulled out. No access from the top or right side. All had to be done through a door on the left side, underneath and from the front. We don't usually work on RV's but we're a CAT warranty shop so we took it on. It was a learn as you go kind of thing to get it out. Like the way we improvised with two tranny jacks to roll it out?
Replacing the turbo, DPF muffler, #6 piston and rod, all bearings and a new crank. It's halfway back together today and may be ready to install late tomorrow or Thursday morning.

 

some people just should not have nice things :lol

I dont have pics but one of the tow truck drivers drove all the way across town with the rollback extended and a 3/4 pick up on it because the hyd hose broke and instead of calling us out for a road call and a 15 min repair we had to replace the hose and a $1400 long ram since he bent the rod 15 degrees off true

 

This is the access available from the left side.

 

^Just more proof that 95% of all people that own MH's like that are complete morons.

 

yeah im thinking more of the lines of Ac or Maybe Machinist or Mechanical Engineering now haha

The bad thing is though is the classes are from 1:00-5:00 Tuesday and Thursday and the rest of the days 9:00-4:00 so im not gonna be able to put many hours in at work. but i shouldn't regret it once i finish the school hopefully

 

Im currently in a technical high school taking deisel even though it greasy and grimy i still love to do it. Except when it's 10 degrees out and snowing, the back hoe wont fit into the shop and i have to replace the ball joint other then that i love

 

I've done both in the past 38 years of maintenance and if I had do it all over again I would go with AC/refrigeration systems in a heart beat. The alternative just took to many years off my life.

 

Best job I ever had when I was a diesel fitter.