The economy is on the rise, and America is once again feeling confident in our nation. With the renewed confidence, spending is also on the rise. Supplies of all kinds of goods are dwindling down, and suppliers are restocking them. How does goods of all types get to the suppliers? You guessed it, the over the road truck and driver. One indication of a strong economy is how many tractor – trailers are moving freight up and down the roads. As of lately, that number is sharply on the rise. The tractor that pulls that load has to be in top operating condition at all times. Enter the diesel technician.
Diesel engine repair is more than a person and a tool box. These techs. are highly trained, and extremely knowledgeable in all the different systems found on a class 8 semi truck. Long gone are the days of a mechanic walking out to a truck with a hand tray of tools. Modern diesel engine repair technicians most often start a proper diagnosis with a lap top computer. Like a skilled surgeon in their field, the problem is quickly identified, and a repair is made correctly the first time. Experience plays a major role in this repair process, and a technician with years of experience is a good person to be friends with. This type of experience is highly sought after in the world of truck repair. Competition between businesses that employ these people is, not surprisingly, quite fierce. Because of the knowledge base a diesel engine repair technician is equipped with, they can usually write their own ticket as where in the country they wish to work.
Along with the knowledge a diesel technician has, their home away from home is the tool box they own. Not your standard tool box found in most home garages, this type of tool box is usually three to four times larger. With all the specialty tools required to diagnose problems, storage for these expensive items is very important. While the wage that a diesel engine repair technician receives is well above the minimum wage requirements, keep in mind that the tools used are also purchased by the technician. The investment made by a highly trained diesel engine repair technician will easily run into six figures. A good rule of thumb at a repair facility is that if one has to borrow a tool from someone else more than twice, it should be bought and put into personal inventory.
The down side to being a diesel engine repair technician is that it is hard on a body. Everything on a class 8 truck is big and heavy. Brake drums alone weigh in at close to one hundred pounds. Ask a gear man the weight of a 15.5 inch clutch. Then ask them where it goes. Lifting one of these monsters in a confined Wartsila VASA 12V32 LN crankshaft repair space certainly builds character, to say the least. Cylinder heads, pistons, crankshafts, intake and exhaust manifolds. All are on the larger scale and need to be wrestled around on a daily basis by the diesel engine repair technician. These people have brawn to go along with their brains.