How's their equipment (in your experience)?

Discussion in 'Watkins & Shepard' started by camionneur, Oct 18, 2013.

  1. camionneur

    camionneur Road Train Member

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    Oct 18, 2013
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    I read a comment somewhere around here about a Watkins-Shepard driver having serious issues with equipment failure, and prior to that had been questioning this after walking by one of their terminals (only saw a couple of trucks though). Not jumping to conclusions (have doubts)...
     
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  3. Mr. Jay

    Mr. Jay Light Load Member

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    Jun 17, 2013
    Colorado Springs, CO
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    So here's the deal: in order to ride out the recession, WKSH had to make some tough decisions and one of those was to put off buying new equipment in order to stay financially solvent. The net result is that they have some older trucks out there that have some pretty high miles on them. For example, I'm in a 08 cascadia with almost 600k on it. It still runs good, and I've had one breakdown in my first two weeks of driving, but it got fixed and I'm back on the road.

    Theyre currently lifecycling trucks out, so while you may end up in an older vehicle in the short term, the long-term outlook is promising.
     
  4. camionneur

    camionneur Road Train Member

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    Sounds like a plan.
     
  5. WA_Slim

    WA_Slim Bobtail Member

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    I'm in a 2008 Volvo with 1,061,000 miles on it and it runs like a champ. At least I think so. Been on the road for three weeks with nary a hiccup! Been east to the Carolinas, west to Oregon, north to North Dakota, and south to Mississippi and lots of places in between with no problems.

    If you do break down they get you fixed pronto too.
     
  6. BackIsSore

    BackIsSore Road Train Member

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    W/S has always had a number of trucks with a bazillion miles on them. It seems like they'll buy a big group of new tractors every 5 years, then let them wear down while purchasing a few used tractors inbetween before purchasing another new group. With that said, the higher mileage trucks I've driven with them always got the job done. Some of the new guys on here also tend to over visit the shop for things that really don't need attention to.
     
  7. Mr. Jay

    Mr. Jay Light Load Member

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    Caught an air leak around the tandems on my pre trip. Emergency brake valve is getting replaced now. At this point, I may spending more on repairs than fuel. ;)
     
  8. Ddewsbury

    Ddewsbury Bobtail Member

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    Got an 07 cascadia with over a million miles. Replaced the alternator last week on my first trip, the. Ran across the country just fine.
     
  9. 3031

    3031 Light Load Member

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    W/S bought 300 new trailers last year, and are adding new trucks to the fleet (most with automatic transmissions). Although there are still some old trucks and trailers, I would say the equipment is excellent overall. Most trailers have pneumatic pins.
     
  10. Mr. Jay

    Mr. Jay Light Load Member

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    The pneumatic pins are awesome. I had to do the bungie trick on a long handle pin release earlier this week. Glad Randy told us about that little tip!
     
  11. Mr. Jay

    Mr. Jay Light Load Member

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    Had to use some creativity with a bungie and a crowbar to get a trailer pin to retract far enough for me to slide the tandems. Ill never get that hour of my life back...
     
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