Truck mechanic tools
 

Any of you guys truck mechanics or work in a shop? I know there are some drivers here.
I'm looking for a truck tool supplier and some decent mechanic publications. Snapon and OTC seem to be getting away from the heavy duty line so somebody must be doing it. I'm starting to work on trucks now and dont know where to start. Have done lots of google searches but not much luck.

I would have to imagine that MAC,Matco, S-K and all the other high-end hand tool companies service larger sizes of wrenches and sockets. My NAPA catalog shows some 3/4 inch drive tools, and I seem to think some 1 inch drives too. Danaher makes most of the nicer NAPA-branded tools, so they should be OK.

The kicker is that larger tools get expensive! I needed a 30MM socket, had to buy a Matco impact socket, and it was $25 or more for a single socket.

How big do you need to go?

I dont need sockets or wrenches I'm looking for service tools like tierod end seperators and pullers.

snap on should have what you need. if snap on doesnt have what you need you may have to got to cat,sterling,ect. im not a truck mechanic but i am a forklift mechanic. snapon goes really big in pullers

Snap-on is extremely overpriced and you get little in return, other than your dealer's smiling face when he comes to collect his weekly payments (which you'll have lots of)

Stick with craftsman. Good quality, same warranty, same job results. The only benefits to snap-on are the brand name and convenience.

I have plenty of snapon and I like them. Seems to me prices are dropping with them. I dont care for craftsman I dont feel I can rely on them on a tight situation. Hate to have a socket break and round off a bolt.

theres very little craftsman that i will rely on at work. i do have their chrome sockets. if i need to put that much torque on something ill get an impact socket out. im very partial to matco. i only buy from snapon if its something matco doesnt have. the snapon dealer avoids me unless i stop him. (we got into it a while back)

also craftsman doesnt make alot of tools that snapon does.

What kind of shop do you work in. Whats your specialty?

i currently work in a shop that deals with forklifts both ic(internal combustion) and electric, all different kinds of aerial equipment (booms,scissors,ect) golf carts, things like that. i dont really have a specialty. i work on anything that needs repair. i was hired in with the intent to learn transmissions before the current trans. guy retires. but i am in the process of changing careers due to the fact that i am tired of this companies crap and theres really nothing open right now in the heavy equipment field. i used to work in a rental yard and worked on everything from backhoes,loaders,dump trucks,water trucks, as well as forklifts.

my tools will be coming home next friday as i will not have a use for them at work anymore

Fleet maintenance here. Bumper to bumper, from the tires to the sky. Everything with the exception of major machine work and injection pump rebuilding.

I've been doing this line of work since 1976. I have all ten fingers and toes because I spend my money where it counts. Snap-on is my line of choice for hand tools followed by Matco. I have a lot of OTC heavy duty tools for the really "grunt" stuff. A few oddball Craftsman pieces I have acquired over the years and "adapted" for specialty jobs.

Craftsman makes great tools for the "weekender". The odds of such a person having to apply 350 ft.lbs. of torque are nil. S-K tools make a good line.

I've actually been using the Duramax line of tools from Autozoo at home for the last couple of years. Decent quality, relatively in-expensive and they seem solid. I wouldn't use them at work.

I ve always said if my tools were stolen I wouldnt be able to replace because Idont know what I have. There are so many special little bent wrenches and welded sockets for 1 job I'd never remember untill I needed again.

Are there any decent magazines aimed at truck/equipment mechanics. How about flyers for shop equipment?

All of the tool companies have periodic flyers that you can access online, or get paper copies. You might want to try garagejournal forums...lots of information there.

Thankyou!

garage hangout is a newer, smaller version of garagejournal, you'll see the same guys on both forums.

I only work on my own cars, and am not much of a mechanic, but have somehow accumulated a large Matco rolling cabinet full of professional quality tools, including 80 ratchets...I can't imagine why I NEED that many ratchets, but I'm fascinated by the different designs. My wife would murder me if she knew what all that stuff cost. I have, however, outdone all of my neighbors...biggest box, most shiny tools.