Bangor - If you have an idea for an upcoming "Take This Job and Love It," email Chelsey at canderson@wabi.tv

Veterans Day is Friday. in honor of that, Chelsey Anderson took a temporary job with a local trucking company that has gone the extra mile for our troops. Chelsey...

Chelsey: "That's right, Hartt Transportation Systems in Bangor prides themselves in safety, the numerous regional and national awards they've been given, and their participation in the Wreaths Across America drive coming up next month. I decided to see what went into getting the truck ready for such a trip."

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(Melvin, 19 years with Hartt Transportation)- "Show you a few things about the truck and what we do to make sure it's safe to go down the road."

(Melvin)- When you walk up to the truck you look underneath to see if there is any oil, antifreeze, any kind of leaks at all."

(Melvin)- "Before you ever, ever go anywhere always pull out the registration."

(Melvin)- "You look at it to make sure it's registered to this vehicle."

(Melvin)- "This is the fun part."

(Chelsey)- "Okay, so how do I get in this." Melvin- "Plant your feet like this, grab right here." Chelsey- "Just give her a little bit of a tug and it should start to come right up on you."

It took a bit more work for me than Melvin, but I got it to lift, and now we could look over the engine.

(Melvin)- "Down in here is the brakes. The thickness of the brakes is really important."

We continued to look over the hoses, belts, wiring, and antifreeze levels.

(Melvin)- "Over on this side of the truck is where your oil is."

(Melvin)- "Pull it out."

(Melvin)- "Full."

The engine was in great condition so I closed up the hood, and moved to under the trailer.

(Melvin)- "You look for any chafing in the air lines, air bags that might have a hole in it. Saddles on these if there are big chunks out of these you have to replace them. Pretty much you have to make sure it's almost like a brand new vehicle." Chelsey- "yeah."

Melvin said some drivers look over their truck in as little as 15 minutes, but drivers for Hartt's Transportation are encouraged to spend the extra time for the safety of the driver and other vehicles on the roads.

We even had to check the condition inside the trailer before picking up our load.

(Melvin)- "Scuffed panels are good."

(Chelsey)- "Is that okay?" Melvin- This is acceptable if it was sticking out and going to rip paper or..." Chelsey- "Damage things?" Melvin- "Right."

Well, the registration was good, the engine was good, the trailer was good, now it was time to check the components inside the cab.

Using 3 points of contact at all time, for safety, I climbed into the cab.

(Chelsey)- "Am I going to sit here?" Melvin- "If you want."

Of course I wanted to!

From the driver's seat I checked all blinkers and hazard lights, and then checked them from the outside of the truck, making sure to check the lights all the way around.

Then I hopped back into the cab to start the engine and check all the gauges.

This truck was given Melvin's seal of approval for the road. It would soon be making the long trip to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. loaded with wreaths from Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington to decorate the graves of Veterans in time for Christmas.

After my help in the pre-trip inspection, did I have a future in truck driving?

(Rick Parisien, Dir. of Human Resources & Safety)- "I think that you have the attitude that would make a great asset to the company, however I would recommend is you have more training underneath your belt, another year maybe, and then come back and see me, and we'll talk employment."

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To learn more about Hartt Transportation visit: hartt-trans.com

And to learn more about Wreaths Across America visit: www.wreathsacrossamerica.org

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