Got your own example of a simple, do-it-yourself solution to a problem related to truck equipment or the owner-operator business? Send your story to [email protected] with the “highway hacks” subject line to be considered for this new monthly feature.Owner-operator and 50-year trucking vet Gordon Alkire, out of Riley, Kansas, engineered a system of hoses and aluminum blocks more than a half-decade ago that kept his back off the ground — and his history free of citations for excess grease.
Gordon AlkireAlkire has since retired, but his greasing system would do other owner-operators favors relative to the hassle of greasing suspension, brakes and other components, he says.
“All I do is put my rubber gloves on, get my grease gun and boom, boom, boom — done,” Alkire says. “I don’t have to lay on the ground … and the system works. When it comes to inspections, there is not a glob of grease they can pick at you about. This closed greasing system will save you a ticket.”
He modeled the system on that of friend and fellow trucker Bill Marciniac, who showed Alkire his system for greasing his suspension components without having to get under the truck.
Alkire drilled holes for mounting to the frame three aluminum blocks, two for the front and one for the rear, in places easily accessible from a standing position. The blocks are about 1.25 inches to 1.5 inches square and 6 to 8 inches long.
He drilled holes through each block, then thread-tapped them to allow for brass and Zerk fittings.
He connected quarter-inch plastic hose to each fitting, running the other ends to the grease targets, with UV-resistant plastic ties keeping the hoses secure. The hoses run to components shown here that typically require getting under the truck to apply grease.Attaching the grease gun to each point allows easy greasing of the components at the other end.
“Dealers that have worked on my truck applaud it,” he says. “I’ve had officers compliment me on it. One of them told me, ‘Thank you. I didn’t get greasy crawling under your truck.’”
Alkire says greasing with his system takes only five minutes and mitigates potential citations for excess grease. For more detail on the system, follow this link to Alkire’s past explanation of it.
