Bought a truck from A big fleet.

I've never been an O/O, but I have managed a business and managed to live 52 years thus far.

All I'm going to say is prepare yourself for some very, very blunt truths.

I would start, but I don't know where......

 

You're joking right? You are an O/O and you can't answer these questions yourself?

I'd go to a reputable dealer and have them go front to back inspecting everything and have them tell you what you have. I'm guessing you have a POS that US Express unloaded on the first warm body with cash in his pocket.

*This should have been the first step BEFORE you purchased the truck. Why did you sign for it before seeing the maintenance records?

Step #2 Go get a job at Subway.

 

Methinks he is the victim of an unscrupulous sales staff member.

 

Methinks he's never heard of "caveat emptor". His mistakes indicate a rabid desire to "make the big bucks" without regard for due caution.

 

They probably sold him the Cascadia chrome package too.

 

The best thing you can do is have it inspected by a mechanic. Once you know what you're dealing with then you can start to prioritize the repairs and maintenance that will be required. My truck is pre egr/def so I don't know a lot about it but I think if it's an 09 then there will have been some problems with the emissions control . Just about every truck has had issues with that stuff so start with trying to get records for the truck again. Then you could also have freightliner run the vin and they will be able to tell you what was done under warranty , at least it's a start on gather the info. A must is a sample of all fluids eg engine oil, trans fluid , diffs and coolant. These will tell you a lot , although an 09 probably isn't getting much wear in those components just yet. Still get them sampled anyway as its a base to use for the future sample program you WILL run on the truck.
You dont "tune up" a truck, it's not a sports car! You get it on a Preventative Maintenace schedule with a reputable mechanics shop. Try to steer clear of dealerships as they charge a lot per hour. Ask around your local area and find a reputable independant shop then tell them your concerns and go from there.
As far as repairs on the road you are basically at the mercy of what happens and were. You can't predict these things so you make the best of the crappy situation and deal with it the best you can.
If you don't get back to home base often then you can have oil changes etc done at numerous places. Truckstops, Speedco etc. get yourself a grease gun and get under the truck often and grease it up and keep an eye on the cindition of things. The more you learn about your truck the less chance an unscrupulous shop will have of conning you because you don't know the first thing about the truck.

 

I'm sorry, but I gotta agree with the replies posted. These are questions you needed to ask before the fact, not after.

 

You're not the first nor the last guy to buy a less than great truck starting out. At this point the "best" thing you could do is to do what Dryver said and go to a Freightliner dealer and have them check the truck out and fix what is broken or needs fixed. They can probably also tell you what has been done as far as warranty on the truck. This is going to be a costly solution. The other option is to keep running, do a THOROUGH inspection of the truck yourself regularly and fix what you can. The most expensive thing you can do is break down out in BFE and need a tow to get those repairs.

I guess there is no right answer to your questions. Good luck.

 

don't panic 1500 is not much money when it comes to truck repairs,learn to work on truck yourself as much as possible.be wary of repair shops and truck stops,find good one at home.3 years ago i had truck inspected at kw shop,was told fan clutch hub was bad well i looked at it said ok 3 years later still same hub.moral of story all shops want to fix something doesnt matter if it needs it or not,thats how they make money,most are not honest,if you dont change oil your self( i dont) have speedco do it they dont fix things so they will say you need to look at this driver,so i look and make call on fixing it or not.i run a 12 year old truck with 1,000,000 miles on it all over country no problem save your money and find good paying freight