Might be a long update but here goes..
I debated weather or not to even make this post because I wasn't sure I wanted to hear any negative comments about our truck, then I realized I really don't care.
For those of you following along. We have had issues with our apu starting or running when its cold out. Or the truck in general not starting when its cold out. The last you guys heard from what I remember is our truck will not idle when it is below the "cold set point" (when it is cold enough the clean idle setting should be bypassed and allow the truck to idle without shutting off) and our apu got taken care of (thermoking did the service on it and replaced the fuel pump)
We had taken our truck to a freightliner in TN to get the idle issue taken care of on the truck. They said they were unable to fix it becuause they could not duplicate a cold environment. Bunch of idiots...
Everything kinda took a
when we were in Texas. We were waiting over the weekend to grab a load heading to Minnesota. It picked up on Sunday. On Saturday, a belt on our apu started to squeal pretty bad (alternator belt im assuming since it changed with electrical load). At the same time we noticed there was coolant leaking from the bunk heater (the one that functions with the truck running, not the espar). This made me nervous but I wasn't open to the option of canceling our load.
So, we pick up our load and head to Minnesota. We hit some pretty bad weather once we got to Oklahoma and Missouri. The turnpike (I44?) was closed and we got routed off. I was following the map and sticking to highways near the interstate to get back on further down the road. We drove for about a half hour and I thought the interstate would have been open when we got back to it (thought we had gone around the section with the accdents). Well, I found an on ramp that was not closed, and we got back onto the interstate, however, it was not open. We were the only vehicle on the road. Lmao, kinda creepy. We pulled up on the first accident and slowed for the officer (we were only going 30mph anyway). I yelled out the window and asked if we were allowed to keep going or if we had to get off. He said just keep going, take it slow. So we did. We seen some gnarly accidents. Semis in the ditch, stalled and stuck in the road, travel trailer rolled over, ect. We hit Missouri and stopped at a rest area. I checked the coolant and fed the dog. We debated stopping until the roads got better. This quickly got eliminated as an option.. Our coolant leak was getting worse which made running the truck nerve racking, and our apu would not start. The interstates got better as soon as we entered Missouri so we decided to keep going. The rest of the night went well from what I remember and we delivered on time. Before we left the delivery location I called expeditors (it was now Monday, I did not want to call their emergency line over the weekend as I feel this wasn't an "emergency" I explained we need to go to a thermoking, freightliner, and to bolt. The freightliner and thermokings in the area were booked solid for the week and would not be able to get to us for days, and the only bolt there is, is in fort Wayne Indiana. They offered us a hotel room and everything we would need to wait for the truck to get finished in Minnesota. While that is fine with me, I would rather be able to go home while the truck is being worked on. They said that is perfectly fine. We will pay for fuel for you to go home (550 miles). So that's what we did.
I posted that update above while we were on the way home. We hit bad weather in Illinois on the way home and had to stop for the night, thankfully the weather was warmer and our apu started and didn't give us any issues the rest of the night. The next morning we finished the trip and dumped the truck off at Bolt, they replaced the heater valve and hoses, then we dropped it off at freightliner down the street. They fixed the idle issue (IT WAS SET AT -40 DEGREES!!!), they also checked the air system for me (had some excessive leakage before, maybe frozen relief valve?) and replaced the sender for the fuel gauge, (it only worked 50% of the time). I dropped the truck at thermoking the day before yesterday and said I would be back Monday to grab it.
Now, I try to be a very patient person, and consistently have all my friends and family say "get a new truck". The issues typically don't get to me.
is gonna happen and I'm not paying for it. However, I lost it over the weekend when the issues came up. I was done. I was stressed out and very irritated. I have since calmed down but will be discussing our options for a different truck if issues keep coming up.
I am glad to sit at home and relax though, we'll hopefully bypass all the snow from winter storm "whatever" and start fresh come Monday.
