Broke down in Beloit, WI

MSinger · Feb 27, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

I believe they call it Murphy's Law but it tends to apply to me more often than not.
After a very slow two weeks I called the dispatcher on Friday and said I need something.....anything. So later that day they sent me on a van load from Lafayette, IN to Virginia, MN which is 65 miles north of Duluth. I picked up the 190# skid and headed up for an 11:30 am delivery on Saturday. I was headed north on I-39/I-90 between Janesville and Madison, WI at about midnight. I started hearing a squealing noise and felt like the truck was pulling to the right. I got out and looked but could not find anything too out of the ordinary so I thought I would try to drive slowly to get to the next exit. I didn't make it. At the 165 mm my front passenger wheel came off and was attached only by some of the braking mechanism. Broken spindle due to frozen up wheel bearings.
Could not locate a wrecker service in Janesville that would actually answer their phone so was referred to Dewey's Towing out of Beloit. They also have a small garage where they mainly work on cars but they said they could also handle a truck my size since it is just basically a beefed-up pickup. I hate being broke down that far from home because of the gouging that can take place. I considered having it towed back to my mechanic at Exit 51 on I-70 west of Indy but the tow bill alone was going to be $1000, so I just left it and told them to call me when it was done.
Another van driver from our company came and we transferred the freight to his truck. He offered to pay me to go with him since he had just returned from a roundtrip from Salem, IL to Cambridge, Ontario and was extremely tired so I did that. It saved me from having to get a rental car to get home since I had to be on duty at my full-time job at Fire Dept Sunday night. We made the delivery at 3:30 pm yesterday. Four hours late but they didn't seem to upset. Dispatcher must have schmoozed them over before we got there. Driver dropped me back at my house at 6 am.
Does anyone know anything about Dewey's or Eastside Mobil Service in Beloit, WI. The guy seemed pretty honest but I am at their mercy.
Thanks for all replies. Hope everyone has a better week than what I am going to have
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FireGears · Feb 27, 2005

Sorry to hear about your misfortune but glad you were not going
warp-speed when the wheel came off. That would have made less that
a happy ending. Hoping your repair bill is not too painful.

I'm interested that you're full-time at the "Fire Dept"...
What is your position and your work week..
Where is your Station..??
I'm an Engineer (Truck-11.A, 10-wheel drive, 100-footer)
and work a 48/96 at Lake Tahoe, NV.

How many hours do you work in your van each week...??

FireGears - joining you in public safety

payline · Feb 28, 2005

I have used Eastside Mobil Service in Beloit, WI in the past. They were very honest, the could have very easily sc---ed me over, but final bill was cheaper than the estimate, they even adjusted my clutch for free. Good Luck

MSinger · Feb 28, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

FIREGEARS,

Good to hear from you. Yes I was very fortunate that I had a little warning before it came off.
I am a firefighter/paramedic with Brown Twp Fire Dept in Mooresville, IN which is just southwest of Indpls. We work the usual 24/48's 08:00-08:00. I had not heard of the 48/96's. Sounds interesting though. I would love to go to the 24/72's that are becoming popular in the Carolina's.
I had already taken the first half of the shift off when I got that MN run knowing it would be late when I got home. We are a small combination career/volunteer. Each shift has 5 personnel. We did just under 2000 runs last year as a department. I am the only paramedic on my shift so you know where I spend my time.....on the ambulance. Oh well it's not too bad.
As far as my expediting work goes I started on 4-19-95 (day of OKC bombing) with a small local courier company. I had a 1992 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton pickup with a camper shell and of course the 5.9L Cummins engine. Got tired of all the local $5 runs and went and found an actual expediting company who was willing to work around my schedule. I started noticing alot of the UAW plants going to dock high only trucks no matter how big or small the freight was. I went and found my current truck and had the box raised to dock height and slapped some dolly legs on the back and have generally run my a** off since. I must say this Feb has been quite slow but I see I am not alone in that instance. I generally work everyday I am not at the FD or at least make myself available whether or not I get a load.
Take care and stay safe in Lake Tahoe.

MSinger · Feb 28, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

PAYLINE,

Thanks for the potentially good news. Like I said, I had a pretty good feeling talking to the guy that it was a pretty honest place. I checked the BBB website and it stated there had only been one complaint filed in the past 3 years and that it had been resolved and they were rated satisfactory. Hoping for the best preparing for the worst....something I learned in my Fire/EMS training but found it to be quite practical out here as well.
Thanks again for the info.

ATeam · Feb 28, 2005

MSinger,

I know nothing about Dewey's or Eastside Mobil Service, but your post says a great deal about you. In the midst of a mechanical breakdown, you remained attentative to the freight you had on board, in communication with dispatch, on the job for your shipper and receiver, and focused on meeting the obligations of your other job as well. You did all expediters proud!

MSinger · Mar 1, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

ATeam,

Thanks for the kind words. I always try to put myself in the other guy's shoes. They are paying a premium charge to have something delivered at a certain time. They did everything right by having the freight ready for pickup as scheduled and also by giving me plenty of time to make it up there. I couldn't blame it on the weather this time either : ) I know s**t happens, I just hate when it happens to me.
Have a great day!!!

simon says · Mar 6, 2005

Good to hear that my hometown peeps are being honest! P.S. Across from the Pilot, there is a good restaurant and sports bar, if you happen to be hung out there. And cheese curds at the cheese store...

MSinger · Mar 8, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

simon says,

I wish I could say for sure that they are being honest. This happened in the wee hours of Feb 25 and I still do not have my truck back. Supposedly they had some problems with getting the right parts as they were trying to save me some money by getting as many parts as possible from salvage yards. Needless to say if I don't get it back soon I will be standing in a soup line somewhere. Fortunately I still have my fire/ems job. It's funny but when I got into this part time gig we call expediting it was all "play" money but since I have gotten used to having it I need every dime I can make just to get by.
Oh well back to the truck. They gave me an estimate of $950-1100 depending on parts availability, blah, blah, blah. So since that price was what it was going to cost just to tow it home I opted to let them fix it. My concern is...that is the only phone call they have made to me. I have had to call them the other 6 times to find out the status and to remind them that I use my truck for my income. I realize that they cannot work on something without parts but I would like to have a little communication keeping me up to date on the progress or lack of.
Do you still live in Beloit? If so would you have the opportunity to drive by 2212 Pacific Ave and see if it looks like they are working on it at all? It's parked outside near the Advanced Autoparts lot and they will have to work on it outside since it is too tall to get in their service bay. At this point I would appreciate any help or advice anyone can give.

simon says · Mar 9, 2005

No, I left there after '71 for good. Just kept moving around the big lake over time and settled in MI.

MSinger · Mar 11, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

Well folks the saga continues. Tonight it will be two weeks that I have been out of service. I finally got mad yesterday and called Eastside Mobil Service to fix the truck even if they had to use new parts. I told them if they couldn't get me an answer by yesterday afternoon that I was going to send my garage up with a tow truck and have it towed home. They apologized over and over and said one of their used parts suppliers had been jacking them around and that they would contact another supplier who was more than an hour away and would actually send one of their guys over to pick up the parts so they could have it done by Friday (today) afternoon.
Well I get a call this morning.....they did go get those parts but they were the wrong ones and they would continue looking. Get a call this afternoon stating that this truck has an axle that was only used for half of a model year and finding used parts will be next to impossible. My original estimate of $1000 with the use of used parts is now $2954 with new parts. All this and two weeks out of service. Does the phrase "Going Postal" mean anything to anyone??
Am I being taken for a ride or what? I can't believe it would actually cost that much. I told them to fax me a list of the parts they need and I will try to locate them down here but so far the fax has not come in. Any advice would be appreciated. Any Dodge experts out there???

terryandrene · Mar 11, 2005

We've been watching your dilema with interest and were looking forward to an outcome in your favor. We're truly sorry you've been dealt a bitter hand and wish your truck a speedy recovery.

MSinger · Mar 12, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

Terryandrene,

Thanks for your concern. I am going to make a few phone calls tomorrow and see if I can figure out fact from fiction before I make my decision. I know one thing.....I sure miss being out on the road : (. I 'll keep you posted. In the mean time stand by for the next episode of "As The World Turns.....So Should My Wheels" same time same channel.

merkurfan · Mar 13, 2005

I doubt your axle is that special. I have worked on enough dodge 1 tons to know they tend to be just Dana 80's. If it is true that yours is that rare I know the springs are all the same and so are the u-joints. Replace the whole darn thing with one that has the same ratio. Personally, I think your getting the run around.

MSinger · Mar 14, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

I believe it is a Dana 60. It is called a 2wd/4wd link/coil front suspension. It has a solid axle and was used on both the 4wd and 2wd models. Since mine is a 2wd it just doesn't have the differential. I have called all the salvage yards around here and they all act like I am from outer space.

merkurfan · Mar 15, 2005

OH I am sorry, I just assumed with all the weight it carries it was the rear one.

I know there is a salvage yard in Minnesota, near Delano that does a LOT of dodge diesel trucks. I'm digging right now to see if I can find their name. I'll be headed down to OH next week for orentation at Panther. If the have it, and no one else (or you can wait) I'll drop it off for ya.

Otherwise according to hollanders interchange these will fit.

1995
2WD Front Axle Beam
Dodge Truck 3500 FRT AXLE BEAM 8393TD $350 Wayne Auto Parts USA-OH(Dover) 1-800-545-7809

1994
2WD Front Axle Beam
Dodge Truck 3500 000815022 $308 Port City Wrecker Sales USA-MI(Muskegon) 1-800-835-3399

1994
2WD Front Axle Beam
Dodge Truck 3500 REARABS ZZ6566 $Call Elgin Super Auto Parts USA-IL(Elgin) 1-800-232-5564 847-695-4000

1996
2WD Front Axle Beam
Dodge Truck 3500 PRICE BARE F20484 $295 Northend Wrecking USA-IA(Dubuque) 1-800-545-8885

Good luck! Hate to see someone down this long

MSinger · Mar 17, 2005

1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with 12' cube. Dock high with jackstands. 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel.

MERKURFAN,

Thanks for all of the info and the offer to bring it down to me. The brotherhood that is displayed on this site is awesome. Being a firefighter I know all about close-knit "families" but this is almost as prevalent here in the expediting business at least with the members of this forum.

Fortunately I do not need you to pick up any of those parts. I finally got my "fill" of the situation on Monday. I called my local garage who also does heavy duty towing and got a quote for them to go up and get the thing. Two of the guys I work with at the FD are mechanically inclined and were sure they could fix it if I could get it down here. So first thing Tuesday morning when I got off duty at FD I met the wrecker driver and we went up and got it.
When I got up there I had a $400 bill waiting on me to get it out of hock. $225 of that was for towing me off the interstate the night of the breakdown 20 miles back to their shop (nope no vaseline) $60 for tearing it down (only reasonable charge on the ticket) and another $100 for their guys to drive down to Elgin, IL to get the WRONG parts. How in the heck was that my fault?? Luckily my a** was still numb from the 337 mile trip up there in the Kenworth T-300 wrecker (no air-ride) that I didn't really feel much of anything. I was just glad to have it hooked up and headed back south.
Got back to my friends house at about 8:30 pm and dropped it off. He worked on it about 2 hours yesterday and about an hour today. Instead of needing $1700 in parts as the folks in Wisconsin told me I just got off the phone with the Chrysler parts dept at local dealership and my total bill will be about $300. I will be out approx $1500 which includes the $900 tow back home compared to an estimated $3300 if I had left it up there. All the parts will be in by 10 am tomorrow so I should be back in service tomorrow night or Saturday morning.
Don't get me wrong I have really missed the money and I will be a long while recovering from being out of service for 3 weeks but what I really miss is being out there with you all. Sometimes it does get old being gone all the time during the busy season but being home all the time is not what it's cracked up to be either.

Again I want to express my sincere thanks to all that have shown concern and have offered advice or assistance. I'll keep you up to date if I can but hopefully I will be too busy once I mark back in service that I won't have time to get on the computer. Stay safe and God Bless.

PS If you ever break down in Wisconsin with out of state plates do not let Dewey's of Beloit touch your vehicle.