It's a Team's Life

Saga Continues - When Trucking Isnt Fun

The day starts with gathering up our pets and some of the food that I had prepared for the week and going back to a Red Roof Inn that allows pets.  The animals were not comfortable in the room and the constant outside noises of people and sirens kept them and us on edge.  We booked the hotel for three nights as the shop anticipated the truck would be done on Friday.  They were being optimistic.  

The area surrounding the hotel was frightening, so we did not want to leave Squeaky and Texas alone for very long.  We kept checking with the shop and Bob had several good conversations with the mechanic working on our truck.  The diagnosis was that the fuel pump had come apart and metal shavings had gone through the system.  Freightliner was scouring their parts department and determined they had all the parts needed to fix our truck. That was really good news, the fact that it was still going to take another four to five days to fix the truck was disheartening.  

I immediately called the Element hotel to book a stay for at least four days, we then checked out of the Red Roof Inn without a backward glance. Squeaky and Texas immediately settled down and were much calmer in the new quiet hotel.  Texas discovered she does not much care for elevators, standing with her nose pointed at where the door would open so she could get out.  There were areas around the hotel for Texas to play ball and sidewalks to walk on.  All of us were as happy as we could be, with our truck in the shop. 

On Tuesday the mechanic told Bob he should finish the work on our truck Wednesday and we could pick it up on Thursday.  He wanted to make sure that after the Cascadia sat for a bit that it would start easily.  This was great news as we were tired of the scenery not changing.  The Element had a nice selection of breakfast and a great laundry room, but we were ready to be elsewhere.  As soon as the truck would be done we would be ready to roll. 

On Wednesday evening the Freightliner shop called and the truck was not done but it would be done in the morning.  We continued with our plans to check out of the hotel and wait for our truck.  It was midmorning before the truck was ready and we were all thrilled to get inside and start putting our stuff back where it belonged. 

Some of what was done to the truck:

Fuel Pump replaced

Fuel Lines replaced

Fuel tanks dumped and then cleaned 

Fuel Filters replaced

Our truck is still under warranty and the warranty paid for all the repairs.  The warranty did not cover our 100 gallons or so of fuel dumped.  We then paid 5.00 a gallon plus tax to add enough fuel to the tanks to get us to a fuel stop.  The warranty did not cover all of the $1650.00 tow bill. After our first very negative reception to the Sacramento Truck Center, our opinion got better by the day.  They answered our questions and worked on our truck constantly.  This shop does not have a lot of room and they were very busy.  The shop was full and so were the express assessment bays.  No one seemed to sit around and twiddle their thumbs; they were all busy.   All in all, we were down for ten days.  

Bob & Linda Caffee

TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO

Expediters since January 2005

[email protected]

 

Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;

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