Truck break down on a Friday

Handcart or handtruck. :)
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Purplepackage

Well-Known Member
Thats because we're Express... not ground. I'm sure the ground peeps have the same walkway issue that you do. Do your air drivers still have a blocked aisle at 11?

Yesterday was light. I did 4 routes in total because DRA went split crazy.


Did you have a newer reach? I didn't think the older ones had a cig lighter.

You have a point, we are express which is a more expensive service so less bulk.

But I'm not sure if you were around during the days when Express saver first came out, we were so busy they bought everyone a 700 or grummun(mini 700) and they were packed, before 9/11 we are busy as hell
 

Star B

White Lightening
Nope, I came into the picture very recently when there were only two 700s left. Manager said that the air quality got a thousand times better without 40 of them starting up in the AM.

So are we.

SOME trucks have lighters. Most have AC unless it's real old and mechanics won't fix it.
Our big thing is that all trucks have AC, but the cig lighters are a toss up. 90% of them work in vehicles under 200k.

Which voids out every single van in our fleet.
 
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Purplepackage

Well-Known Member
Nope, I came into the picture very recently when there were only two 700s left. Manager said that the air quality got a thousand times better without 40 of them starting up in the AM.

Yeah now they have those very well put together reaches. High quality construction right there.

But yeah after 9/11 our buisness severely dropped to a point where they were collapsing routes just to keep people working. But contrary to what everyone here preaches we are getting pretty busy again
 

Star B

White Lightening
Those reachs are good. For downtown Tokyo with smooth roads, moderate climate, no rain, and never having to go from 0-60 in less than 30 seconds.

The reaches could be better if they put more money into the actual vehicle part of it. Some suspension, stronger heating/air conditioning, more powerful engine/smarter transmission, and less plastic. That would cost more money though and we know how allergic Memphis is in spending smart money.

Our station is mostly Sprinters though. Only a few reaches.
 

Purplepackage

Well-Known Member
Those reachs are good. For downtown Tokyo with smooth roads, moderate climate, no rain, and never having to go from 0-60 in less than 30 seconds.

The reaches could be better if they put more money into the actual vehicle part of it. Some suspension, stronger heating/air conditioning, more powerful engine/smarter transmission, and less plastic. That would cost more money though and we know how allergic Memphis is in spending smart money.

Our station is mostly Sprinters though. Only a few reaches.

Every station is different, around one half of our belt is 700, 1 900 and reaches and the more rural side is all
Sprinters. Of course there is only about 30 routes out of my station
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
Those reachs are good. For downtown Tokyo with smooth roads, moderate climate, no rain, and never having to go from 0-60 in less than 30 seconds.

The reaches could be better if they put more money into the actual vehicle part of it. Some suspension, stronger heating/air conditioning, more powerful engine/smarter transmission, and less plastic. That would cost more money though and we know how allergic Memphis is in spending smart money.

Our station is mostly Sprinters though. Only a few reaches.

The only vehicle uglier than the Reach is the Dodge ProMaster. Perhaps the manufacturers should talk to the actual people who drive these pieces of crap in real life. I always liked the 700/900's when I was a courier. Lots of room, decent power, and designed for the job. I didn't appreciate all the sharp edges and cuts, but these were very good trucks.

Sprinters are crap, but I do hear good things about the Nissans, although I've never driven one.

Truck breakdowns should always be a Code 24, and on Fred's time, not yours. I once had a 700 break down on a long residential driveway at the bottom of a steep hill. It took the tow truck 2 hours to get there, and another 2 to figure out how he was going to get it up the hill, which was by calling for a second, bigger wrecker. In the middle of this, I get a message from Dispatch to call my manager, which I do. He says I should be on a split at the very least...LOL. I hung up on him, and took a no lunch and got 12 hours.
 
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Cactus

Just telling it like it is
Truck breakdowns should always be a Code 24, and on Fred's time, not yours. I once had a 700 break down on a long residential driveway at the bottom of a steep hill. It took the tow truck 2 hours to get there, and another 2 to figure out how he was going to get it up the hill, which was by calling for a second, bigger wrecker. In the middle of this, I get a message from Dispatch to call my manager, which I do. He says I should be on a split at the very least...LOL. I hung up on him, and took a no lunch and got 12 hours.
Shoulda' called the department of labor on that manager. Sounds like a real weasel wannabe.
 

59 Dano

I just want to make friends!
Our big thing is that all trucks have AC, but the cig lighters are a toss up. 90% of them work in vehicles under 200k.

Which voids out every single van in our fleet.

Cig lighters are a super easy fix on the MB Sprinters. I could show you how to fix it in 2 seconds but couldn't put it into words for all the tea in China.

There's a one-size-fits-all for any vehicle. Buy a cig lighter at a parts store. Pull a fuse from the fusebox; choose one that always has a current when the ignition is on. Get a couple of pieces of wire (regular ol' speaker wire works fine). Cut the ends off of the 2 pieces of wire and strip about an inch or so of insulation off of each end. Wrap one end around the positive (or "hot") terminal on the lighter and wrap the other end around the fuse blade and put it back into the fusebox. Wrap one end of the other wire around the ground terminal of the lighter and ground the other end.

It will be ugly, it will be messy... but if you MUST have it, it works. This also works for anything else that only needs a hot wire and a ground wire. The other option is a portable charger. They're cheap these days.
 

59 Dano

I just want to make friends!
Shoulda' called the department of labor on that manager. Sounds like a real weasel wannabe.

That's some great advice. DOL asks the manager if he did what he did. He says no, the investigation is over, and the courier is screwed. Brilliant.
 
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