Breakdown X4, New Truck, Rinse And Repeat
Topic 33155 | Page 1
It's crazy that the dealer could not come up with anything, but your home shop could. I was a HOW driver for 4 years; I always felt that the shop in Wisconsin did a great job.
Idk how true this is but I’ve heard it several times and it makes sense…that dealers don’t like to prioritize warranty work because it’s not profitable for them so they put the lower paid people on warranty work and save their better technicians for better paying work. If that’s true, that could help explain why they didn’t find the issue and your own mechanics did. Either way glad you got the issue fixed.
Reminds me of the time years ago when I worked for Swift my truck started randomly shutting off while I was driving. And when I say “shut off” I mean the entire thing completely lost power—engine off, lights off, nothing on the dash—completely dead. Scared the hell out of me because I also lost power steering. Turns out it was something with the battery disconnect switch—something coming disconnected or unplugged because it was loose
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Oh Hi Deb.
Yeah, they are always pretty good. But having been an aviation electronics tech, I understood how hard it can be to find intermittent electrical issues. But I’m pretty sure all Freightliner did was scan for codes. It sat outside the shop all day as far as I could see.
It's crazy that the dealer could not come up with anything, but your home shop could. I was a HOW driver for 4 years; I always felt that the shop in Wisconsin did a great job.
It’s true. Warranty work pays crap
Idk how true this is but I’ve heard it several times and it makes sense…that dealers don’t like to prioritize warranty work because it’s not profitable for them so they put the lower paid people on warranty work and save their better technicians for better paying work. If that’s true, that could help explain why they didn’t find the issue and your own mechanics did. Either way glad you got the issue fixed.
Reminds me of the time years ago when I worked for Swift my truck started randomly shutting off while I was driving. And when I say “shut off” I mean the entire thing completely lost power—engine off, lights off, nothing on the dash—completely dead. Scared the hell out of me because I also lost power steering. Turns out it was something with the battery disconnect switch—something coming disconnected or unplugged because it was loose
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
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So about March 2021, I got a new(ish) truck. My friend drove it 24,000 miles and left to go with a local company.
By January 2023, it had broken down or needed repairs that took a week or more at least four times. The final straw was a week in Wisconsin to get the bunk heat fixed (annual issue) that took a week, then a week later I had a def pump issue. Towed to Freightliner in Albany NY, where they said it would be two weeks before they looked at it.
I told my FM I was renting a car and going home, the truck is a lemon and I’m tired of being broke down and not earning.
She said nope, had me rent a uhaul, empty my truck, drive to Wisconsin and pick up a brand new truck.
20,000 miles later, the tach and speedo gauges started sweeping up and down, caution lights flashing off and on, trans wouldn’t shift, and weird errors like “please apply brakes” would pop up.
I was able to drive it to Freightliner in Maine and sat for 5 days, to be told we can’t recreate it. I had to stop 7 times in 3 hours and shut the battery off for 10 minutes to make it there.
So they had me bring it to Wisconsin and our shop found a major wire bundle behind the dash that didn’t have enough slack, and was partially unplugged.
So far it has been working fine, 1,000 miles or so later.
So now I just started a new dedicated run. I pick up in Avon, NY, drive to Fremont, IN, swap trailers with another driver, and return. Repeat Tuesday through Sunday.
Just started today, so we’ll see how that goes. But it can’t be worse than delivering to grocery DCs that want you to unload at 2 AM, but can’t stay after (or before) and no truck stops in the area.
Dedicated Run:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.