Roadside job in Bakersfield taught me to always carry a spare serpentine belt

I was out near the Grapevine last month on a call for a blown turbo hose on a Freightliner. Got that fixed, but the guy mentions his AC stopped working too. While I'm poking around, I notice the serpentine belt is cracked all to hell. No spare in my truck. Had to drive 45 minutes back to the parts house and lost half the day. Now I keep three different lengths in my service van. Has anyone else had a simple little part like that bite them on a service call?

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1 Comment

valgibson8d ago

Oh man, yeah that feels like the universe just testing you on purpose. I mean, it's like once you realize how much a stupid rubber belt can wreck your whole day, you start seeing that pattern everywhere. There's always some little cheap part that you never think about until it fails and suddenly you're stuck. It's the same in regular life too, like nobody ever carries an extra phone charger or a spare house key until they're locked out with a dead battery. I swear, the most basic stuff is always what gets you.

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