maxp68•7h ago

Hit 10,000 hours on the seat timer and it snuck up on me

My old rig had a seat timer that counted every second I was in the cab, and it rolled over 10,000 hours back in March. That number hit me harder than I expected, because my first trainer out of Local 12 used to say you don't really know a machine until you've spent 5,000 hours in one. When I started in 2009 we logged everything on paper cards, and half the older guys laughed at the idea of a computer tracking your seat time. Now the new cabs have touchscreens and load charts that tell you when you're close to tipping, which honestly would have saved a few guys I worked with years ago. My first boss ran a 1978 Link-Belt with no computer at all, and he could feel a bad pick in his gut before the horn ever went off. Curious if anyone else keeps track of seat hours, or if I'm the only one who still cares about a number like that.