The Good, The Bad, The Honest Truth of a New Roehl Lease Operator

I agree I started here and am happy. Everyone has complaints about every company, its an awesome place to start.

 

And I'm not leaving unless my name is on the door of my truck.

 

The latest on the Blue Lemon. The apu belt started squealing and then finally quit working, so I took the front panel off to find the alternator sitting on the bottom plate. I took off the bottom plate and crawled underneath to take a look. The bottom bolt had worked it's way out and was laying on the bottom panel. Turns out the top bolt snapped off also. So I got a new bolt from the shop and replaced it and reinserted the bottom bolt on the belt tension bracket. By the next morning I could hear the familiar tapping sound of the alternator banging on the bottom plate. Went in to the shop and they actually offered to take a look, I needed my quarterly inspection done anyway so we killed two birds with one stone.

The shop checked and found the belt adjustment bracket was broken, so they replaced it with the new heavier style bracket. They also checked the top bolt and it was still good. Side note, I had just had a DOT done at Speedco and it turns out they missed a cracked elbow on the exhaust stack. Gary did their best to weld it so they could pass the truck, but I still need to get it fixed. Off I roll and a couple of days later, you guessed it.

I hear that familiar tapping again and a slight squeal of the belt. Sure enough the top bolt has sheared off and the alternator is sitting on the bottom of the unit again. By this time I have had my fill. This is four times since they replaced the alternator that the thing has been coming apart banging on the bottom panel. So I call the corporate office and ended up talking to the district manager. They have had the truck all day and so far have replaced the bottom motor mounts, the compressor mounting bracket, the alternator as well as at least two wires on the alternator. All of this is being done at no charge. At least Thermoking stepped up to the plate.

Now for Freightliner and that piece of junk radiator.

 

Well my maintenance account which was approaching two grand is almost dry. Just spent $730.00 to get everything from the muffler to the stack replaced. That means I have spent over $1500 on the truck within three weeks and another $200 on the apu. Let's hope we have enough issues taken care of that I can build things up before spending money again. I guess I better plan on paying for my next pm out of pocket.

 

Did you lease the truck your driving from Roehl, or did you get it from someone else? It seems you are having more that your share of trouble. I know from my O/O days that when it rains it pours... Good luck and I hope that things get better.

 

Hey Preacher man , it sure was good to see you at the pilot in east st louis and to taik to you on the phone. I hope the ole blue freightshaker will cut u some slack.
good luck and hope ta see ya again soon.

 

Not much more can be done to the Blue Lemon that isn't warranty. I called the corporate office about the apu. As a result they replaced a bracket, the alternator, bottom engine mounts, some wires and the compressor mount as well. They did all this at no charge. It turns out the radiator has had issues. Freightiner has made changes to both the mounting and part itself. Frankly the starter and exhaust pipe are the type of issues I expected when I started this little venture.

I've heard more than one driver say they spent more on repairs in the first year than any other time they owned the truck. If I can stay out of the shop for the next three months or so, the fund will be built back up. Six months and I really be in good shape.

Yes I leased the truck from Roehl. However, they lease the truck as is and have an attitude that it's your problem even if the problem existed before you leased the truck.

 

What was broken on the exhaust though? coulda maybe did it cheaper DIY way.

 

It was cracked on both sides of the elbow that goes up to the stack. Roehl had welded it, but that was only a temporary fix. By doing it while on hometime I don't have to worry about losing drive time getting fixed on the road and I don't have to worry about a dot violation. The cost wasn't the labor, it was the cost of the pipe. They replaced the flex pipe and the exhaust pipe. Several of the clamps and brackets had to be cut off. Doing it myself would have saved me about a hundred, but I don't have the tools I would have needed and I would have spent a day working on the truck instead of with my family. The other option might have been to cut out the elbow, but then I would have had two joints that could leak and put me out of service.

I would warn anyone though to think twice about getting their truck worked on south of the Mason Dixon line. My experience has been that the job gets done, but at a hugely inflated price. If Peach City Freightliner and ThermoKing of Dallas had been fair in their labor pricing I would have another $300 to $400 in my account.