My PTL Experience Log

As long as you really cool it down, I'm talking freeze to death cool an hour or so before stopping, then close the curtains promptly, it can hold a decent temp. And the batteries do last a fairly long time. Upwards of 10+ hours fully charged in my experience. It's my only real complaint about this truck.

And Laredo or S Lousiana or Mississippi is just too #### hot & humid. It can't keep up there. At all.

 

Let me fill you in.

First things first.
The weekend wash crew @ W Memphis is absolutely terrible! I mean that most sincerely. You'd do better to squeegee the truck in a fuel lane yourself. During the weekdays there is a young kid there who wears glasses. He was the yard clean up guy for a while. He is outstanding! I mean he really does the truck over with the brush & automated machine. Very thorough & it comes out shining nicely. Only to get dusty right outside in the chalky gravel backlot... But that's a rant for another time. The crew in Murray is much more thorough all week long because they are under the watchful eye of the big wigs. Not so in W Memphis I'm sad to say.

Secondly. We have a corporate account with Blue Beacon. You must call Road Service for permission to get a wash as they prefer we get a wash whenever we are near Murray or W Memphis. I also find after you get work done at a dealer or outside shop Road Service is much quicker to approve a Blue Beacon wash to get leftover grime, oils, etc off the truck so call & ask. They usually say yes.

 

And so it shall come to pass that my beloved brand new Freightliner Cascadia with just under 20,000 miles is going to the dealer tomorrow. I've had an on again off again issue with transmission warning lights the last few weeks. I've made the calls to Road Service & had the expected replies.

"As long as it isn't affecting the truck overall we are aware of the issue with some of the new trucks so run it until Freightliner gives us a solution."

Ok so be it. A crack researcher such as myself can turn to the internet & find all kinds of good info however on just what these warning lights mean. Turns out it's a bad wiring harness. If it's not promptly replaced it eventually wears the contacts due to overheating & really makes the transmission go bonkers. Now in addition to those warning lights I get a little message in my odometer window that says 'No Trans' which means the trucks computer loses control of the shifting. Boy does it ever too! Talk about getting thrown about the cab & rough shifting. Yikes. Luckily this all went bad once I got home for some much needed home time. It's now a matter of what dealer I can get it to tomorrow that can get it repaired the quickest.

At the very least if it takes multiple days I get paid layover to sit at home.

 

We have trucks that live on I10 near full time going from Florida to Texas & points beyond.

It's like any other company. Some good things & some bad. The individual has to decide if it's the right fit for them. It works for me & I'm satisfied. But I'm also from a different time of truck drivers that weren't so quick to walk away because something wasn't exactly to my liking. Weighing the good & bad I've found balance & the scales tip to the good for me so I've no need to leave.

And I need to find more time to be active on here but between training student drivers & running in the Northeast a lot (by choice not forced) I'm staying pretty busy. But let me know if I can be of help. I'll try to be prompt in my answers.