yes wilz most of the time you have the key..but their are times when they can't find the key ..this has happened to me on occasion..so that was his point..what do you do?..suggestion??
by MrChip
Honestly, i have never been in a position to do a repair with the vehicle locked up. I don't think I would feel comfortable doing so anyway unless maybe if it was something like a bullseye.
Since the majority of my accounts are trucking companies, there's no way I'm going to get the keys and spin a rig around with doubles attached just so that it's out of the sun.
I've found that the towel and the alcohol works well enough for me.
Regarding inside access, very few of the rigs are unlocked and it isn't feasible to run to the shop foreman each time I am ready to repair a windshield. When I find one that is unlocked, great! But most of the time the rigs are secured and I've somehow developed a solid sense of when the repair is working and when it isn't. When I remove my equipment I and have trouble seeing the chip, I figure that it turned out OK.
To be a little more specific, the vehicles I'm referring too are mainly fleet trucks, like crewskb just described in his recent post.
I'm limited to working on these during evening hours of the week or weekends. 95% of these cabs are always locked and parked in direct sun. Can't really blame the drivers because this is Detroit and anything left open is finders keepers around these parts.
I've been handling these accounts for years with no entry access working under all temps. Can it be a pain at times, yes it can, especially when working on Volvo trucks with top center hits (hood only opens from inside release latch, have to do some cab climbing).
The forgiving part of trucks shields is that glass is somewhat thicker than passenger vehicles shields and much less prone to running out during a repair. Depending on the damage, many times I'll repair these hot to extremely hot without any cooling applied. The ones I have to be concerned with and cool are stars or crack hits 2"-3" from boarders. Major amount of stress in these areas.
If you service these type of accounts many times you only have two choices. One is to provide the locked vehicle repair service or two.....just give it up to one of your competitors. I personally prefer the first one!
I didn't intend to have my post go from cooling shields to why would you work on a shield without vehicle access. I was only looking for alternative cooling techniques different from that I already utilize.
the shade works fine but only to the point of the outside temp and is slow. a combo of the cooling spray and then shade works best for me the 3 days a year that we actually have sun here
Two huge white towels layed over the windshield is very quick and very safe. The WS wants to cool down by itself but the bright sun won't let it happen. Block the sun, and in 2 minutes the WS is safe to work on.
Working in the UK, it is pretty rare to experience those kind of temperatures, but I appreciate your problems, working on trucks with no access. There have been some good suggestions for heat reduction of the glass, but have you considered talking to the owner/s about working with you to ensure you have the best chance of achieving good repairs i.e. arranging access, parking away from the sun, etc. I am sure this will not only make your life easier but should also help to reinforce a good working partnership with the customer.
Is a customer always right? - No, but they are always the customer.
Yeah, speaking of the dome.... do you users think it is a good thing .... worth the expense of purchase and shipping?
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by Shepard
That dome costed me a fortune to get here in Fijian dollars, but you know what, i never regretted investing in it. It just is much more convient to use than the other UV shield. I would highly recommend for every tech to invest in one.