BECOME A PRO

BY PEYSON SHIELDS

When you’re out on the road, safety and efficiency are key. While the maintenance teams at rime s terminals in ittston, ennsylvania, Salt ake ity, tah, and Springfield, issouri, are always willing to help, sometimes appointments can delay getting drivers back on the road for routine maintenance and uick fixes. Worse, you might find yourself miles from a terminal and relying on a local repair shop that can be both timely and costly. uckily, the rime maintenance team has come up with a fix for both scenarios hey re teaching drivers how to make basic repairs themselves.

It s a win, win. rivers learn how to handle small repairs and get back on the road uickly and without paying for time in the shop, and the rime maintenance team doesn t get bogged down with small repairs. he class is dubbed the ro aintenance lass, and as aintenance anager rent hariss will tell you, the program is far from new. It launched in , but there are still drivers who don t know rime is there to teach them the art of basic repairs.

rent is responsible for developing the class curriculum as e uipment is updated and changes roll out. s he explains, “Inspiration for the class came from driver feedback. It saves the driver time to perform their own repairs instead of waiting at a shop for hours, he says. “It can not only save them money, but it can generate additional money for them.

In lieu of paying a repair shop, rime will pay the driver a competitive market rate to do their own trailer repair while on the road. or those small repairs done on a tractor, the driver can not only save that money otherwise paid to a repair shop, but save the time as well.

“We love to pay drivers to do their own repairs, rent says. “It gets them more ac uainted with repair e uipment and saves everyone a lot of time and effort. We also very much prefer to give those repair dollars to a rime driving associate versus giving them to a shop out on the road.

he in person training consists of multiple modules that range from addressing reefer issues and changing headlight bulbs to fix- ing tandem slide and tire issues. rent and his team now host the ro aintenance classes daily at p.m. in Springfield, issouri. ach class lasts a few hours, and they are free to all rime drivers. he robust class will empower you to make small repairs on your own, and they can provide you with an additional skill that can generate a little extra revenue in a pinch if needed. rent even provides a list of recommended tools for drivers to purchase and keep in their truck.

“ nowing how and where to check for developing issues makes us safer and can prevent potential catastrophes, rent says. If you are interested in signing up, reach out to your rime leet anager.