>How many have experienced a truck build disaster? This has
>come up on more than one occassion when someone has decided
>to build a truck from scratch rather than buying a spec
>truck. Sometimes it is just ordering a truck from a dealer
>that has no experience with expediting. Lawrence had a post
>recently where a guy had a chassis with a 72" sleeper, and a
>26 foot box. Can you say "alittle overlength" These things
>do happen unless you and whom ever are building your truck,
>knows what they are doing. When they don't, bad things are
>sure to happen. As I have mentioned before and should again,
>one needs to know as much as the people building it to
>ensure a quality finished product, enless your buying a spec
>truck.
>When this happens, what have folks done to correct the
>failed issues?
>
>Davekc
We are in the midst of truck building challenges now, though "disaster" is not a word that characterizes our circumstances. "Delays" are the more accurate term as well as vendor issues. I'm not at liberty to comment on it further as things are very much in flux now...all to produce a better result upon completion.
The statement, "...>one needs to know as much as the people building it to
>ensure a quality finished product, enless your buying a spec
>truck." is the most ridiculous statement I've read in three years of surfing Internet trucking sites. By that reasoning, no one could ever build a truck from scratch since the senior vendors requried to do it would almost always have more experience than you.
The whole point of vendor experience, I once thought, was for first-time buyers to benefit from it. And even for a 20 year expediter, there is absolutely no way that the opinions developed on the road can rival the engineering resources and truck building experience senior vendors have.
Certain people are taking great joy in the fact that our very unique and very expensive truck has not yet been finished. That's their deal. Our deal is holding out for the exact truck we want, perfectly built from bumper to bumper, and enjoying it in the years ahead. We could have been in a truck of our own years ago, but not the truck we want. We've adapted to the delays, continue to make money, and continue to look forward to the truck we want.
One might ask why was it necessary to make such replacements? Indeed, we've asked the very same question. The answer is simple. Beyond specifying components and their characteristics, (body legnth, sleeper size and features, transmission type, etc.) We did not engineer or spec the truck. We relied on our vendors to do that. When we found their work to be less than what they promised, we refused the truck, refused to pay, and sent them back to the drawing board. Some - despite impressive resumes - proved to be lacking in the skills required to either produce results or serve successfully on a vendor team, or both.
One benefit derived by our apporach is we are getting a 1996 model at the 1995 price. There are numerous other benefits as well, such as additional options available in 1996 that were not...all of which will make it an even better truck than we first spec'ed.
The delays have extended and expanded the vendor learning curve (some vendors over 30 years experience by the way). Trucks do not stay the same. It's not just how long you've been in the business, it's how smart you are. One of our vendors, brought in by another, turned out to be incompetent, much to everyone's surprise. He also happens to be the one that boasts most about his 25 years experience. He's been fired and replaced by more competent people.
Our truck build is not a disaster for us because as expediters we heeded the advice our research brought us to. Expect the unexpected. Setbacks? yes. Disaster? Not even close.
Again, because things are in flux with our project, I will not comment further about it. When the truck is complete, I'll speak at great length and in great detail about it and the vendors that successfully built it. Three vendors in the group have been replaced to date for a number of reasons. Their respective truck components have also been replaced or changed. Had I mentioned vendors by name before, such an implied endorsement would have been premature. My vendors must prove themselves first by successfully building the truck we want.
One thing for sure. When the truck is finally done, others that want a similar truck will be able to proceed with the confidence that our specs are right. Diane and I are VERY demanding customers. Our vendors learned the hard way that they cannot build an imperfect product and push it off onto us because we're drivers desperate to get into a truck. We've always maintained plans B, C, and D.
The result of our high standards and refusal to accept something less than what was bid is that people from truck and product manufacturers have been brought in at company headquarters. For them, the delays are a humiliating disaster. They don't want to make the same mistakes twice. You would not believe the attention to detail, collective brainpower, and technical expertise that is now being brought to bear on our project. Of course, that means there is more communicating and cross checking to do, which slows things down.
Keep in mind that we're not talking about an ordinary expediting truck here. Dozens of very fine, cookie-cutter choices spec'ed by experienced dealers stand on lots right now. Any one of those can serve an expediting business very well.
Ours is not a truck for everyone. In fact, few people should even consider it beyond top-producing White Glove drivers that want to be more comfortable than the freight. Our truck is not designed soley to serve expediting objectives. We have designed it to meet a bunch of personal and lifestyle objectives too. Because of that, our truck is far more complex and far more outfitted than most expediter trucks out there.
Expediting is not just about the money for us (though we've found the money to be very good). It's about lifestyle too. Our truck is as much a lifestyle vehicle as it is a freight-hauler. That's not the way most people live and work on the road. Thus it's not the kind of truck most people should have. But for those that do want a truck like ours, a successfully-spec'd great model will be there to evaluate and an experienced, educated, and smart vendor group will be there to provide it.
Until then, we're happily rolling along in a fleet owner's truck, as we've done for the two years we've been in the business.
