old cars

[Coldworld]

we are suppose to be the top of this industry, so why are we using cars from 1975?? I'm sort of ashamed when driving a 32 year old vehicle that is smoking, brakes squeeking, then I stop the car and the engine continues to run, sputter and flutter then finally dies with a backfire. This might seem funny to some that have automatic 7's, but since this industry is so much about image, why is it still allowed. These older cars were suppose to be fazed out, but we received some back again, and am also running budget and u-haul rent a trucks. Talk about shoulder injuries. Is it so much to ask for a power steering car in 2006??????

 

[Fredly000]

Write up any unsafe vehicles as you use them..

We have some new Freighliner powered 500's I think
Automatics, damn they are nice and nimble vehicles.
unfortunately they go to the routes that will beat them
the hardest.

 

[wornoutupser]

Cold,
You talk about image problems?
I posted in another thread that we have to run an extra rental because the auto manager is mad at our center manager and not replacing an engine is the punishnment.
The rental has a nice picture on the side that tells everyone that "It is OK to curse at heavy furniture" and has a stick person doing that to a couch.

Talk about an image problem! This is on a UPS vehicle!

HELLO ATLANTA!!!!

 

[sendagain]

Our competitors in FedEx Ground buy and maintain their own vehicles, so I wouldn't complain too loudly.

 

[over9five]

Our competitors have no standard or manual steering vehicles....

 

[30andout]

We just had a front wheel fall off of a old p8 last week, thank God noone was hurt when that happened.

 

[dannyboy]

And we had a front wheel come off a two month old P, what is the point?

But I do think that it ought to be in the contract, no package cars older than the driver? 20 years at what we put them through is enough. And while some drivers dont want a newer car and prefer the old trap they have, I think it is like trying to see how many years you can go with the same paper lunch bag.

Safety is and should be #1.

d

 

[UPSmeoff]

I have been jerking around a 1986 GMC p1000 for the last six years.
235000 miles.
no power steering.
no automatic transmission.
new paint job in 2004.
I happen to like this car because its a damn workhorse. Its very rarely let me down.
The only problem i have is the part timers leaving their trash and shiiiiit laying around.
The first route i ever learned had an old 1971 Ford with a weird reverse.........to the left and up.
The frame of that truck was so bent that the rear end rode 8 to 12 inches to the left of the front. That made for some tricky situations on the narrow streets of where i live.
This morning one of the new diesel p1200's(which i do not want)was red tagged. I asked why and the mechanic said it was the turbo..
I told him my turbo button was broke also.....al8l i get outta my car is 68mph.

 

[UPSmeoff]

BTW that 1971 Ford was 3 years older than me.

 

[wornoutupser]

We just had a front wheel fall off of a old p8 last week, thank God noone was hurt when that happened.

We had a P8 (not mine) that had the front wheel fall off twice in a week. The mechanic said that it was due to the cheap Chinese bearings that were sent in to repair the car. It no longer has Chinese bearings and the wheel has not fallen off since.

 

[rushfan]

I drove a p500 last night. It backfires, like most of our cars do. Being standard time, it's dark when I get in to the center. I didn't know flames come out of the tailpipe when they backfire. It was COOL! I felt like Jesse James!

 

[mattwtrs]

I drove a p500 last night. It backfires, like most of our cars do. Being standard time, it's dark when I get in to the center. I didn't know flames come out of the tailpipe when they backfire. It was COOL! I felt like Jesse James!

You must have been driving an old GM 292 straight 6 cylinder. I thought they all were long gone! I can't think of any time that the V6 GM engines have backfired and shot flames out of the tailpipe likethat.

 

[dannyboy]

Matt

All our older cars have the straight 6's in them. We do not have any that have the V6 engines.

And yes, they do backfire, and at night will put out a display that sometimes frightens motorists that are in the next lane.

d

 

[scratch]

All the P500s that we still use have the 4.3 GM V6 in them. I can remember all the straight six engines were removed and replaced with the V6 because of emissions problems. Too bad all that money was spent on swapping engines and the front end problems or lack of power steering wasn't addressed. In downtown Atlanta, they have been using LP for years. We still have a couple of the high step P800s with manual steering, they are the worse things I have driven in years. The carwash spotted one in my spot one morning, it beat me to near death. The next morning, it was parked in my spot again, I went and found a P700 and switched cars, had to start early to reload it. I don't know how some of you drive them, they should be sold for scrap.

 

[rushfan]

Oh yah we have a few of the old gm's left. You can tell by the sound of the inline six instead of the v6 engines. Also, you can tell you are driving them by the smell of the exhaust.

 

[mattwtrs]

We have the old P800's too but a couple of years ago they put automatic greasers on them like the tractors have had for years. They handle like new and are almost as good as power steering. If someone would now lower the front end so the step to the ground was 10" or less i would be happy!

 

[Fredly000]

We have the old P800's too but a couple of years ago they put automatic greasers on them like the tractors have had for years. They handle like new and are almost as good as power steering. If someone would now lower the front end so the step to the ground was 10" or less i would be happy!

HAH thats funny, we have one, and they just put auto greasers on it...
and it still sucks. My shoulder and knees hurt for days after driving it.
Shoulders from steering, and grabbing the handle you know 3pt contact, but its too high, so its either hang on or land on foot with less support, so knees hurt from that.

I think I wrote it up once for the powersteering not working... the mechanic thought it was pretty funny.

 

[Bulkstop]

I just recently went from an old P-800 to one of those new, weird looking, Mercedes powered P-700s. You've never driven anything at UPS like this! Power steering, automatic, smooth ride, (I drive over a lot of dirt trails in the Arizona desert). It's almost like having a different job. I now realize that a lot of the work I did during the day was man-handling that old 8 around.

 

[browniehound]

Our competitors have no standard or manual steering vehicles....

AMEN to that brotha! And all the competitors trucks are half empty, but we're still losing volume?

 

[Ms Spoken]

I also drive an old P8 that loves to backfire in the AM. One day I was leaving and saw my sup behind me so I really gassed the truck and just when he got beside me she blew. The look on his face was like a deer caught in headlights.

I think my truck is the only one in the buld that still needs a new paint job so maybe this will be it's year.