News, FYI

[bret]

I would like to pass on what I have recently heard. I have not yet confirmed this, but believe it to be true.
Supposidly, FedEx will no longer allow any Freightliner FL series to be on with them that is older than 5 years, because of reliability problems.
As of next year Freightliner, will cut back the warranty on any FL series that has had a sleeper added to it, because it was not intended to be an "over the road truck". (not a class 8 unit).
I guess Freightliner is paying out big time on warranty claims and will try and get out of backing their product.

 

[Wild Bill]

FedEx/Roberts has always had that policy, except they only used to enforce it selctively. It wouldn't suprise me about Freightliner. The FL's wasn't designed for what we do them. The were designed for delievering Pepsi around Smallville USA (Or Canada, thinking of you Jim;-))

When expediting started, lots of people were using modified pickups, we progressed from that, maybe its time for a progression to a heavier truck.

 

[Jim]

Thanks for the mention, Bill. I can't see how Freightliner can say the FL 70 was not designed for over the road use. If the truck can be driven at highway speeds, then it is a highway truck. The distance driven per job should not have any bearing on the warranty. I see no difference in putting on 10 thousand miles in 100 mile increments, or 1000 mile chunks. It is still sold as a working truck, not a show vehicle. Jim Bunting...

 

[bret]

The class rating of a truck means more than just the GVWR. It also includes longevity of a vehicle. (mainly engines, transmissions and drivetrain). From what I've seen, most class 6&7 units are pretty much wore out at 500,000 miles, where class 8 units are lasting about 800,000 - 1,000,000 miles before major overhaul or replacement is necessary. If I were planning on buying a straight truck, I would go with a KW T-300 from Ft. Wayne which is outfitted with class 8 gear, or I would go with a class 8 tractor with an extended frame and add a box.
I recently saw a 2000 Freightliner FLD 120 with a raised roof sleeper, 375hp CAT, Eaton Automatic 10 speed, side boxes and a 24ft box. The price was 94,000. Not a bad deal when you consider it will last as long as 2 68,000 FL70's.

 

[Fkatz]

the Problem with Freightliner is that the Quaility Control. THERE IS NONE
The trucks go out for delivery and wind up breaking down before they get to the dealers and instead of bringing them back to the factory for repair they take it to the next dealer to repair on the road, this I have found out from good sources, and that is 3 people in my family 2 work in the factory on the line and the other works for Active USA who delivers them

 

[Wild Bill]

You are right about quality control, but they have another problem. "serviceing the customer." (Hee hee) Freightliner is awful. Not only does it take them 3 times to fix the same thing but they treat you like crap while they do it! The only people at a Freightliner dealer who treat you nice (I mean by at least smiling) is in the sales department. Sometimes I feel like I am treated better at a GM dock in Detroit!

 

[RichM]

When you really think about it,isn!t it less wear and tear on a truck to do nothing but highway miles.What is tough on any vehicle is city start/stop/go type of operation.We get up to speed and normal temperatures and stay there,maybe for 1000 miles but so what.My last truck was a Mercedes Benz 1319,traded it with over 600,000 miles on it.The brakes and clutch and engine were fine.Brakes were like new.Also expediting usually has very little idling which is tough on a engine,as far as costs go,the Cummins dealer here said my C Series engine could be completely overhauled for about $4-600.00 dollars.So figure that and perhaps about another $4000 for transmission and clutch work plus about $3000 for miscellaneous work and your $60K FL 70 could go on for another 400,000 miles.Still better than buying a class 8 at $95-100K..Those guys brag about 8MPG,for the 1st quarter of this yeay I managed 11.2 MPG..Big difference also similar savings in oil etc..Just my thoughts..

 

[tennessee]

I'm an o/o with an FL 70. The main problem I've had is the 7 speed Spicer trans. Had to have it replaced at 150,000 miles. Talked to Spicer and was informed that this trans was never intended for long haul runs. It is designed to be shifted alot. It seems that the long distance runs creates to much heat and the bearings are failing. Everyone I have talked to is having the same problem. So now I'm probably faced with having to have the transmission replaced every 12-15 months. I'm not a very happy camper. Have considered talking to a lawyer about filing a class action lawsuit for misrepresentation. Would be interested in hearing from others who have had same problems.

 

[LittleBigTruck]

You are SO right! I used to work in Quality Control and have said many times that I would go nuts if I worked for Freightliner. Even little things get screwed up, like the trim on the door not completely meeting, or glue dripped on the headliner. How anyone could let something like that come out of their factory I have no idea!