workhorse P700

[1BROWNWRENCH]

struth! hope we never get any (isuzu) either! try [email protected]

 

[TooTechie]

interesting. for some reason they don't look too secure.

They are garbage, its a constant hassle with envelopes and small packages getting wedged in and stuck in them.

The cars they come on are also crap. We call them "skinnys", they are supposedly P-700's but they are about 12" narrower than a conventional P-700, and 2 or 3 feet longer. They have the turning radius of a freaking school bus.They do not have duallies in back; with only the single rear wheels they are at serious risk of getting stuck on wet pavement or grass and are therefore worthless on a rural route or in hilly country where snow is an issue. The other drawback to the single rear wheel is that the wheel well in the package compartment is only about a foot wide, so any package you try to set on it simply slides off onto the middle of the floor where you spend all day tripping over it. They also have a very mushy, wallowing suspension. Pure junk, whoever designed these damn things obviously never ran a route or delivered a package in their life.

This 700 has the doors pictured but has dualies. It has that rear step down in the back that adds the 2 to3 feet youre talking about but is wider than the workhorse 700s and has a higher ceiling so more room on the top shelf.

 

[badpal.]

This is what the sliding doors look like I was talking about.

I drive this truck as my first truck of the day and I despise this truck. Those doors never stay latched and always freeze shut if they get wet and it's cold enough.

 

[TooTechie]

The ones I drive with those doors stay shut as long as you test them after each time you close them to make sure it latched. I'll take those doors all day long over the stupid barn doors that require you to stop and go back to open them up before backing up to a dock (or staying 2 feet off the dock to open them). Obviously the overhead doors are ideal but these are better than the barn doors.

 

[cosmo1]

.....Obviously the overhead doors are ideal but these are better than the barn doors.

Until the spring breaks in the middle of your morning, (and you're lucky enough to not be underneath it when it breaks).

 

[1BROWNWRENCH]

the operator is most likely to break when the door is down. that is when spring tension is highest.

 

[cosmo1]

the operator is most likely to break when the door is down. that is when spring tension is highest.

​I've had them break on the way up. Not fun.

 

[soberups]

I prefer barn doors. They are simple and they work and they dont require an awkward end range motion to operate. Plus you dont have packages getting mangled by the overhead door or stuck in the tracks of the pocket doors.

 

[TooTechie]

I prefer barn doors. They are simple and they work and they dont require an awkward end range motion to operate. Plus you dont have packages getting mangled by the overhead door or stuck in the tracks of the pocket doors.

Unless you close the door from outside the truck it does require awkward end range motions to close barn doors. You have to reach outside the truck and try to pull the door in when it's in those rubber stoppers. Only way around that is if you close the doors from the outside or start to close the doors from the outside then finish from inside. Usually if I try to close the barn doors from outside one of the doors won't close all the way on the top even if I slam it and I'll have to go back inside to close it from inside anyway.

 

[soberups]

Unless you close the door from outside the truck it does require awkward end range motions to close barn doors. You have to reach outside the truck and try to pull the door in when it's in those rubber stoppers. Only way around that is if you close the doors from the outside or start to close the doors from the outside then finish from inside. Usually if I try to close the barn doors from outside one of the doors won't close all the way on the top even if I slam it and I'll have to go back inside to close it from inside anyway.

What you do there is to reach inside the door before you close it and pull up on the handle.

This "unlocks" the door and allows you to then pull up on the outside handle, which retracts the latch up on top and allows you to fully close the door without having to slam it or kick it. Close the door, let go of the outside handle, and its shut and latched. Piece of cake.

 

[TooTechie]

Ahh hadnt thought of trying that

 

[Dr.Brownz]

Well if it is an consolations Workhorse has gone out of business.

I always chuckle when the "....a new breed of workhorse..." message pops up when I start a few of the cars here

 

[rod]

I got the first new International P700 at our center. I thought I had died and went to heaven. It actually had power steering. After spending many years in an old P600 and a P800 it was a dream to drive.

 

[Tough Guy]

Scraped it at 450K? Heck, it wasn't even broke in yet. I've had one package car that was close to a million miles on it and a couple with over 750K miles on them before they were scraped. My air car now has about 500K on it and still going strong, probably about the best package car in our fleet! Talk is that UPS has purchased a bunch of those new 'plastic tote' styled package cars and I'm going to get stuck with one. Hmmmmm.

Are those the ones that look like a space ship? With the "adjustable" shelves? I've seen a few of those popping up in the building. Usually are the shelves are in the up position when I see them? And they're being utilized as mini-bulk vans.

 

[1BROWNWRENCH]

I always chuckle when the "....a new breed of workhorse..." message pops up when I start a few of the cars here

An extinct breed...

 

[oldngray]

An extinct breed...

A breed that couldn't die off fast enough.

 

[1BROWNWRENCH]

What you do there is to reach inside the door before you close it and pull up on the handle.

This "unlocks" the door and allows you to then pull up on the outside handle, which retracts the latch up on top and allows you to fully close the door without having to slam it or kick it. Close the door, let go of the outside handle, and its shut and latched. Piece of cake.

A bit of lube on the latch engagement areas and snugly adjusted cables does wonders.

 

[Harry Manback]

What you do there is to reach inside the door before you close it and pull up on the handle.

This "unlocks" the door and allows you to then pull up on the outside handle, which retracts the latch up on top and allows you to fully close the door without having to slam it or kick it. Close the door, let go of the outside handle, and its shut and latched. Piece of cake.

Or, you could go Macguyver on it and jam a pen in that latch...


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[TooTechie]

I miss my workhorse 700. It got red tagged after the engine died on area and that route has had a new freightliner 800 ever since. My current route has a 28 year old 800.

 

[soberups]

I miss my workhorse 700. It got red tagged after the engine died on area and that route has had a new freightliner 800 ever since. My current route has a 28 year old 800.

One of the old GMC Iron Maidens with manual steering? If you want it off your route, a little sugar in the gas tank will solve your problem for good...