New here - venting about Ground

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
You want the contractor to stock spare parts? That's pretty ridiculous. Hell, it's not uncommon to wait a week for a supplier to get their hands on a $500 part. Using rental vehicles isn't"shady" at all. And 250,000 miles is not that many. Anymore the body will rust away before the drive train fails.
 

Epoisode7

Well-Known Member
Out of all the silliness, you picked the spare parts comment to take umbrage to? Very well. Having spare parts is done by the more competent/fair minded contractors here. I live in Mayberry. The closest rental place is almost 2 hours away. There are only a few automotive shops in town, and 75% of the mechanics have mullets. Suffice to say, it is crippling when something breaks down. Most contractors (not mine) don't have spare engine blocks dangling from the roof, but they do keep oil, spark plugs, brake pads, etc. One day I was on the side of the road, changing my own brake pads (on loan from another contractor). It really is a ramshackle operation. You sound like a fair contractor bbsam, I wish you much success ($$$).
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Actually, I brought the spare parts bit up because you mentioned you were in Fred for three weeks. That's not unheard of for getting a rear end rebuilt.
 

Epoisode7

Well-Known Member
hehe. You are funny. Yes, I miss ole Fred. His backside was a bit bulky, but he could hold all of my walmart site to store packages without crushing everything else. Sporting a Uhaul certainly isn't the worst part of the job.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
I rented a Ryder Sprinter for two years straight just to see how it would hold up. Won't be buying one of those.
 

STFXG

Well-Known Member
500k on the original motor for my 05 sprinter... 400k on original trans. Newer ones have egr and sensor issues.

2014 model with a 4 cyl is expected to get 25-30 mpg.
 

Route 66

Slapped Upside-da-Head Member
I live in Mayberry. The closest rental place is almost 2 hours away. There are only a few automotive shops in town, and 75% of the mechanics have mullets. Suffice to say, it is crippling when something breaks down..
Isn't Wally's Garage there anymore?... perhaps he couldn't find any decent help after ol' Goob passed away (Goober never sported a mullet - just a ridiculous-looking hat)
 

STFXG

Well-Known Member
Prices for parts have come down significantly. They aren't as expensive to operate as they were 4-5 years ago. The 07+ models aren't bad either. Paying to have Mercedes scan codes is the worst part. OBD2 won't read the proper codes and some services have to be done by a dealer using the proper scanner.
 

Nick9075

Well-Known Member
Nick from NY, I wish I could say I was joking, but I'm not. Yes we routinely drive Uhauls. I just finished driving a 14footer for 3 weeks while my van had the entire rear end rebuilt. I named him Fred, in honor of the esteemed czar of cheap and unsafe package delivery. I was sad to see Fred go, because he actually ran and had a working radio and air conditioning. And Fred's rear door didn't smack me in the shins every time I opened it. We have 3 drivers and 3 vans, all with over 250k miles. No spare vans, no spare parts. All of the above shady practices do indeed happen. In fact, those are just the ones falling into the gray area. There are a few worse things I did not mention that have no bearing on my story, things that get people fired even at a place like FDXground. I'll admit, my terminal is small, very remote, and has little oversight... so it's probably as bad as terminals get.

I am lucky and I think have found some other lucrative employment. I hope FedEx Ground gets examined by the DOT the way the IRS is getting examined by the House. I hope Fred S gets his throne relinquished along with all of his lackeys. I then hope UPS and Express come in and split Ground right down the middle and each take half. I then hope to see all of the good Ground drivers offered a spot making a wage high enough to support a family with food not consisting of boloney and ramen noodles. The icing on the cake would be to scrape all the green vinyl lettering off of all the vans, gather all the pee bottles from all of the vans, along with the thousands of vision stickers that accumulate in the back of each truck, and melt them all into a giant green, vomit colored bow to send to Fred at his tennessee mansion.

Express ain't perfect, along with UPS I'm sure.... but I am a physics major in college and I can definitely say that in the world of math...
a job providing a living wage, benefits, and some time off here and there > (is greater than) the current Ground model. Peace!

That's one of the best anti Ground rants I've seen.

Bravo!!

Well I don't understand how the contractor still has a contract with all those issues. 3 vans with 250000 miles is a receipe for disaster. And a rental once in a while is ok but they will be riding your ass if you have a rental for weeks on end which also adds up in cost.
 

MAKAVELI

Well-Known Member
Prices for parts have come down significantly. They aren't as expensive to operate as they were 4-5 years ago. The 07+ models aren't bad either. Paying to have Mercedes scan codes is the worst part. OBD2 won't read the proper codes and some services have to be done by a dealer using the proper scanner.
Yea a generic scanner from pep boys isn't going to do it. But if you find a private garage with experience and the right equipment they are usually more reasonable than stealerships.
 

STFXG

Well-Known Member
They generally don't have a Mercedes star diagnosis computer... I haven't found one in my area other than the freightliner shop that's an hour away. Last I checked the computer was around $10k...
 

Grounded

Well-Known Member
That's the whole point...double violation. An 18 hour day with a regular start time equals 2 DOT violations. Sounds like nobody is watching the store at this particular Ground location. At Express, a 14 hour violation is an instant letter, for both the driver and the manager.

I rarely agree with MrFedEx, but I'm 100% for DOT compliance, you've got to say something to the route owner and/or senior manager(I'm sure at this point the P&D manager/coordinator knows) the DOT laws are there for you're safety.
 

northbound

Well-Known Member
I stock lots of spare parts for my van. The thing to do is have all the same vans so 1 part will fit 5 plus vans. I have almost everything except motor tranny or rear end which you can get over night. Rental cost add up really quick
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Our mechanic has established a great relationship with O'Reilly's. At first I didn't think they would be much of a source, but for brakes and gas motors and most things they have been very good. Even things like tThrottle Positioning Sensors and MAF sensors. Do alot of business with them and don't have the 40% markup we used to see from shops.
 

MAKAVELI

Well-Known Member
Our mechanic has established a great relationship with O'Reilly's. At first I didn't think they would be much of a source, but for brakes and gas motors and most things they have been very good. Even things like tThrottle Positioning Sensors and MAF sensors. Do alot of business with them and don't have the 40% markup we used to see from shops.
40 % is not bad when that is how a repair shop makes a profit. Dealerships markup is anywhere from 100% to 500% depending on the cost of the part.
 
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