So am thinking making career chang

[Matt Conklin]

I thinking about going into heavy equipment. I thought things change for better Well that only lasted soo l g in till they transfer me to other shop. But now I just getting frustrated with this crap. I just wanna get out of this before I loose too much I have lost $$$$ Because I haven’t done any kinda service besides tires & lof Am just have find new path too go down Sooo I just wondering if there is any other guys in here that work on heavy equipment that give me idea of some tools are going need for making switch. ..

Thanks guys

Topic

[James O’Hara]

I work on big rigs my foreman was previously a heavy equipment cat mechanic. You are going to need a good hard hitting 3/4″ impact gun that is approx $700. 3/4″ Drive sockets normally deep that is like $1200. According to my foreman 6 point wrenches are a must on heavy equipment and they have to be a good brand he recommended matco and he cheater wrenched them all the time. You are going to need an assortment of line up bars and pry bars. I use 4ft pry bars to put tires on and take tires off all the time. I highly suggest mayhew. The other thing is I would not be buying tools until you are at the shop. They normally will supply tools though it will vary considerably on what they provide.

You had better be one hell of a strong guy as well. Torques on heavy equipment is normally really really high.

Btw, Big Rig mechanics are normally 2x as strong as regular mechanics and heavy equipment are 3x. So keep that in mind. You also have to be really aware of the forces you are working with. Tires in big rigs and heavy equipment will kill you if you are not aware of what the hell you are doing. Also they are normally hard companies to work for. There is a reason why big rig mechanics are strong and heavy equipment are even stronger. To give you an idea a tire for a big rig highway hauler with steel rim is between 350-400lbs. Break drums range from 65lbs to over 125lbs and you have to bear hug that unless you really like red stripes on your fingers. Trust me they are not as fashionable as they look.

In heavy equipment you have hydraulics. If you don’t know what an injection wound is or how it works you want to look that up before you go into that field.

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[quote=”MDK22″ post=134617] The other thing is I would not be buying tools until you are at the shop. They normally will supply tools though it will vary considerably on what they provide.

You had better be one hell of a strong guy as well. [/quote]

As far as buying the more random tools remember the rule of 3:
Need it once, borrow it.
Need it twice, borrow it.
Need it 3 times, buy it.

I spent a year doing medium truck tires and man did I get jacked. I was down about 20 pounds and none of my sleeves were loose. It was awesome when it wasn’t -40 outside, or when I wasn’t waking up in the middle of the night with both arms completely numb.

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