I and I am sure that a lot of old M/E and continental drivers have heard stories that don’t ring true, not as I remember it 40 plus years ago.
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Just a question, call it a competition if you like, but.
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What did us M/E and continental drivers regularly do at the back of the trailer with a 13mm ring spanner and a hammer?
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No prizes, just for fun.
Rewind brakes every couple of days ?
Slack adjusters were ½ ot ⁹/¹⁶.
Make a customs seal ?
You needed pliers and a 50ff piece for that. 
I thought that you melted down a balancing weight off one of the wheels and made your own pattern. Sure i heard that in a drivers lounge, along with other assorted old Horlicks 
Dunno about all the drivers’ lounge horlicks or complan; but all I needed was a coin and the pliers. 
A balance weight on a split rim wheel?
Did they have them? Genuine question.
My memories were that there was so much vibration from the road, engine etc that anything that could be cured by a few grams of lead would go un-noticed anyway.
100% correct, slide under the axles and wind them up.
It was a while ago memories fade 100% correct 1/2 inch, to wind up the slack adjusters.
Sorry no effes for you.
Don’t you recall the old multi sided threepenny bit, squashed with pliers, One side had a Old fashioned gate,
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I’m told that when used looked “boney fido”
Mind you.
The spring loaded locking device, to stop the adjuster from moving was, and I reckon is, a very clever and fool*-proof idea.
Not wishing to be pedantic
1/2” is 12.7 mm
Near enough an old country job or not ■■
Balanced plenty of split rim and tubeless wheels when i was tyre fitting in the late 70s.
Fair enough then.
A long time ago, and I couldn’t remember being fussed about truck wheel balance, at the time, but it seems others were.
“Serefe” cant stand the fecin stuff 
I only had the steer balanced.
Bit of a ball ache balancing the wheels on the drive axle
The hammer to hit the spanner to knock the locking ring in so you could adjust the brake on the slack adjuster, Why No prizes ffs i know you will not have enough to give away lol
Maybe there ar not to many left of them Real Drivers nowadays.