Out with the armstrong steering trucks and manaul shifters

[SWORDFISH]

I am very fortunate to be in a center that has all power steering automatics. We just switched over. However if your truck breaks down your right back to the stoneages.

Im curious as to many centers are still in the stoneages and the ones that are finally updated to the times?

Well I have many thougts but the one on my mind is because of this week. I was driving my truck Monday mourning and just had finished my NDA. I was driving through a parking lot(luckily) and the truck just died while I was driving(no brakes or steering). After transferring the entire p1000 over to another truck we got my truck started. The supe was dumb enough to drive it back to the center. He got very lucky because it didnt die on him till it got right in the middle of the UPS lot blocking the trafic one way. Some people where telling me about it while laughing later on because of where it was stopped. Anyway to the point I drove a manaul all week and noticed that I was losing about 20 mins a day compared to driving my auto. So it brings me to my last thought which is if it saves me about 20 min a day to have an automatic wouldnt that be a good investment for the company?

 

[brett636]

I work in a hub with 3 centers, and all three are about 40% autos, 60% manuals with about half of those with power steering. I'm only a PM air driver so 95% of the time I am driving an automatic if I can help it. Only time I have to take out the stone age trucks is during peak when nothing else is available. I keep hoping that one day we will be rid of the trucks lacking in power steering, but even as recently as this year I see them in the shop receiving new engines so the company must have plans to keep them for quite a while longer.

 

[hypocrisy]

The Company only ADA's vehicles when they reach a certain threshold of repair costs. Here again, proper pre-trips/post-trips could hasten the replacement of these 'stone age' package cars. I certainly remember not only how much faster a ps/at pkg car could be but it also put a lot less wear and tear on the body.
Do you job, solve 2 problems at once!

 

[chopstic]

automatic, power steering....... where's the fun in that?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

automatic, power steering....... where's the fun in that?

Next thing you know they'll be installing 3 point seat belts.

 

[Anonymous 10]

That high step makes it all worth while.

 

[probellringer]

where im at in northeast-the new auto /ps 500 or 600 whatever it is (starts with 510xxx)---these all go to the supes to ride around in=guess it makes sense to get the shuttled pkgs out in comfort,and makes it a pleasure to do observations in...but when you see one you know its a supe

 

[tarbar66]

Anyway to the point I drove a manaul all week and noticed that I was losing about 20 mins a day compared to driving my auto. So it brings me to my last thought which is if it saves me about 20 min a day to have an automatic wouldnt that be a good investment for the company?

My experience with automatics is similiar to yours. A new automatic on a rural route was usually 45 minutes a day quicker. A metro route was 15-20 minutes quicker.

My math figures the overtime and fuel saved would pay for the new car in 4 years!

 

[chopstic]

My experience with automatics is similiar to yours. A new automatic on a rural route was usually 45 minutes a day quicker. A metro route was 15-20 minutes quicker.

My math figures the overtime and fuel saved would pay for the new car in 4 years!

On the other side of that argument is....

Rural route = 45m (day) * $45(OT) * 5 days * 52 weeks = $8,775 raise in your paycheck

My math figures the overtime would buy YOU a new car in 2 years!

 

[upssup]

So a proper pretrip/post trip gets your car ADA'd faster? It does not make a difference, but if it will get drivers to do a proper pretrip/post trip inspection I am not going to argue.

 

[Old International]

Wimps. Real UPS drivers were manuel everything. Strong shoulders, and great looking arms from the steering wheel.

 

[hurricanegunner]

Stone Ages here. We'll get new automatics the week after UPS updates our trucks with the Telematics System.

 

[toonertoo]

Wimps. Real UPS drivers were manuel everything. Strong shoulders, and great looking arms from the steering wheel.

I have the shoulders, and strong arms to prove it. I got stuck in an old 800 with nothing power when mine broke down a few weeks back. My elbows, wrists, and knees are still recovering.

 

[pudg00]

All power steering in our in our center. About half or our pkg. cars are new CNG's.

 

[BrownArmy]

Most of the trucks in my center are old-school manual steering.

All of the tiny 'scooby' Air Driver trucks are automatic steering, as well as the 700's. 95% of the 800's, 1000's, and 1200's are manual steering. Out of 100 trucks in my center, there are less than a dozen of the newer automatic/power steering/low step rides.

No tellymatics here yet.

We have a huge mechanic shop basically on-site, and I've heard through the unreliable grapevine that they send the beasts to our center to die...many, many 350K+ vehicles.

I don't mind a workout, so I'm fine with the manual steering dinos. The 800's are the best gym around - this is where the push/pull steering method actually makes sense - not only do you get an arm workout but if you play it right you can get a great abdominal work out as well.

I'm not adverse to getting a workout, but I'm immediately bummed when I have to run a 200 stop two-town split in one of the manual beasties. That's when I want a p/s 700, even though it's usually 8lbs of **** in a 5lb bag...

 

[Babagounj]

According to our top mechanic, UPS is fazing out all the manual shift cars, only because they can't find enough mechanics who know how to replace clutches.
The bad news is that any time another building gets a new car we will be getting their old one.

 

[Coldworld]

Most of the trucks in my center are old-school manual steering.

All of the tiny 'scooby' Air Driver trucks are automatic steering, as well as the 700's. 95% of the 800's, 1000's, and 1200's are manual steering. Out of 100 trucks in my center, there are less than a dozen of the newer automatic/power steering/low step rides.

No tellymatics here yet.

We have a huge mechanic shop basically on-site, and I've heard through the unreliable grapevine that they send the beasts to our center to die...many, many 350K+ vehicles.

I don't mind a workout, so I'm fine with the manual steering dinos. The 800's are the best gym around - this is where the push/pull steering method actually makes sense - not only do you get an arm workout but if you play it right you can get a great abdominal work out as well.

I'm not adverse to getting a workout, but I'm immediately bummed when I have to run a 200 stop two-town split in one of the manual beasties. That's when I want a p/s 700, even though it's usually 8lbs of **** in a 5lb bag...

Isnt that nice....the year is 2010 and every other fleet of trucks in the country are powered steering except for ups....come on guys, you gotta let go of 1974 sometime or another. Sounds like a bunch of shoulder injuries just waiting to happen...and I dont want to see any decrease of production because of that either...no excuses...uphill both ways in the snow get it done!!

 

[Coldworld]

According to our top mechanic, UPS is fazing out all the manual shift cars, only because they can't find enough mechanics who know how to replace clutches.
The bad news is that any time another building gets a new car we will be getting their old one.

yeah, lets not faze them out because they are unsafe, but because theres nobody able to kick start them for another 100k...LOL, you cant make this stuff up! Sure makes you feel proud to work for a company that cares!!!

 

[soberups]

I could care less about whether it has an automatic vs a manual trans as long as it has power steering, a low step, a 3 pt belt and a full-length seat. One of the best pkg cars I ever had was a '94 P-700, #654573, a bubblesnose with the Ford Powerstroke and a 5 spd Spicer stick shift. It was kind of gutless, but it was an excellent work platform with plenty of legroom and good ergonomics. I had almost 300K on the clock, and they sent it down to Eugene. I still miss that truck.

 

[soberups]

According to our top mechanic, UPS is fazing out all the manual shift cars, only because they can't find enough mechanics who know how to replace clutches.
The bad news is that any time another building gets a new car we will be getting their old one.

The reason for automatics is to meet emissions requirements. The modern engines and transmissions are all computer-controlled for maximum fuel economy and efficiency. Older automatics would have never held up to the abuse that a package car puts them thru in stop-and-go driving, but the Allison heavy-duty 5 spd auto changed all that.