GREAT HORNY TOADS! I DID IT!!

It was a heck of a good deal, and they are amazingly easy to work with. Fast, efficient, and knowledgeable. They also offer additional services (for a fee, of course) like roadside assistance and towing. I waived the additional stuff, but it might not be a bad idea for others.

I also avoided the warranty offered by the dealership. It was the Premium 2000K warranty, and the reviews looked like the warranty wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. If I gotta pay for the work to get done anyway, why waste my time arguing with a third party warranty company over money I'll mostly see anyway?


I'm pretty handy with a decent set of tools and access to parts. Which I'm hoping will save me considerable time and money by staying away from the shop. Plus, recent experience has proven (to me, at least) that very, very few "diesel technicians" are worth the money.

 

Thank you. I spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with one of their agents today, a guy I've known for a few years. I like what I'm hearing, and their rates on the longer loads (which I prefer) are substantially higher than what I'm seeing with my current carrier.

I'm one of those get out and run types. I go bonkers if I gotta go home every weekend. I like getting out and disappearing for a few weeks at a time, coming in for a weekend, then going out and doing it all over again.

 

See more and more of them on the road these days. Both company and O/O. Usually running Cummins 450s with 10-speeds. My previous ride was a 2014 T680 with a 450 and a 10-speed OD Auto and 2.64 rears and 22.5 tires.

Truck ran nice, and pulled fairly decently all things considered. I will miss the fuel mileage. She turned 1175 rpms at 65mph with that OD gear. On the other hand, those low rpms also mean lower heat on the exhaust which will lead to significant DPF/SCR issues in the future.

Mine runs at 1550 rpms at 70mph with a 13-speed (auto) and 3.55 rears rolling on 24.5s. The mileage will be a bit lower, but the higher exhaust heat will help keep the DPF/SCR cleaner over all.

 

Planning on hitting payoff in 18 months, if everything goes right!

 

Yep, been hunting and tracing out all the wiring, air lines, and coolant hoses in and under the truck.

By the time I'm done going over her, I'll know this truck better than the engineers that designed her!

Good god it feels good to actually be able to FIX my own truck! No more waiting for approvals, or reporting issues just to have then ignored (and not being allowed to fix them myself because warranty!)

I've always been a beer about maintenance. Been fixing and maintaining my own cars since I was sixteen. At first because I couldn't afford a mechanic, then later because very few are trustworthy. My truck will be the same way. If I fix it, I KNOW it'll be done right!