CRETE - A Year in Review

They towed your Freightliner to an International dealer...that'll work. Sounds like what my old Century would do when it rained...only in reverse. When it rained it would do a gauge sweep and POST...then shut off, 2 minutes later do it again, all with the key out of the ignition, and the apu running. Bad water leak in one of the wiring cluster cubby hole. Saran wrap and walmart bags, w/duct tape fixed it. The reason breakdown has issues getting someone close, they have a list of authorized tow companies, and the city and state. But when you give them your location, they probably just look at a map rather than having a computer program that finds the closest place. As busy as they are in breakdown, they can't do much research w/o making the wait even longer. My one Century died going up that long I81 hill between I78 and I80...they sent the hook from Harrisburg...but they were towing me back to N.K. for the Detroit guy to re-fix what another Freightliner dealer didn't. You'd be surprised how good those trucks pull when they push 50 psi of boost...(normally 35 psi is max on the old Series 60)

 

I looked for Poly trucks rolling across I80 this a.m., I was going to throw up a wave to any I saw, just in case it was you...but I didn't see any

 

Left Altoona @ 0730.

 

The deal is, i hate not having anything to do. i want to drive, not sit in a hotel room. it's just got me fired up that the truck was "fixed" last week and here i sit with it in worse shape than before it went in to AMS. I've not had any issues with the Marietta yard, or the yard in Illinois. But the NK shop ((expletive deleted)) sux.

That being said, yes i am still getting paid and by far Shaffer/Crete is one of the better companies I've worked for. It just get frustrating at times because i actually enjoy driving, and call me weird if you want but i like sleeping in my bunk in the truck. The truck feels like home to me.

 

The cable TV and the "clean" shower is nice though.

 

I have cable (DISH) in my truck

 

Hey wait, what's all this aboot Kenworths, eh?

Hopefully we're talking 660s... and hopefully they'll have Cummins ISX 15s...of course they'll probably be turned down like the Maxxfarces.

 

Its 11 degrees outside and my Lonestar is idling out there in the snow covered parking lot while I am staying nice and warm in my hotel room.

Just because Engineering Division wants it to idle all night does not mean I have to be inside of it....

 

There is an unconfirmed rumor they might be testing KW's since 1) the constant problems we're having w/Internationals isn't getting resolved 2) even International's are going to the DEF system 3) Freightliner won't give us the price and trade-in value needed. Crete has tried Freightliner, Peterbuilt and International...maybe they were waiting on this new Pacar motor to be out a few years so they could get the bugs worked out before the gave them a try. And it might be the 660, but I would venture a guess that it might be the new replacement for the T2000...I can't remember it's number, but it isn't the t700...but it looks similar, but with more aero-effects in the top and sides of the sleeper

But again...just a rumor. No one but the exec's know, and we won't know until we see them rolling down the road. And yes, they'll be castrated, just like every other Crete rolling roadblock out here.

 

There is only one thing that would improve both the N.K. shop and the SLC shop...level them both because they are both just a waste of good parking spaces.