Maverick Transportation

Can you tell me why Maverick uses an automatic transmission. Thats awsome you got a new Cascadia. Any problems with the APU system.

 

Mavericks official response on the transmissions would likely be about better mpg's less wear/tear on driveline blah blah blah. The real reason is a lack of drivers who are proficient or even know how to use a standard. Schools mostly use autos anymore,many company schools only use auto so it has created a shortage of "old school" gear jammers.
I dont drive a Cascadia (Im independent) I do know however that the battery apu's arent what the dealer hypes. In the winter its fine but in the summer in southern states you'll run out of ac before your break is up. Stuck for the weekend in a no idle state? Well your screwed because a charge lasts 10yrs at best then you must idle. Imho a battery operated apu was a stupid investment on Mavericks part.

 

Somewhere I read that an Autoshift will save $30,000 in repair and downtime cost the first 5 years of the truck. ( that number includes repairs under warranty of course ) The downtime is a bonus for the driver.

I very rarely encounter drivers with mechanical clutch or transmission issues. Just electrical issues that are supposed to be fixed with late 2011 and 2012 Cascadia's

Obviously , there is always the issue with Drivers that miss "holding their stick" ( the on between the seat of course )

The 2012 cascadia have an Electronic Clutch. This makes the whole shifting very smooth. If you leave it in auto, it will do progressive shifting all by itself (annoying in uphill start-offs but OK on flat terrain)

As far as the APU's batteres. No problem whatsoever but I haven't tried in 100F, yet. but I can't tell you that they lasted about 18hrs my first weekend. AC in eco mode + Inverter on.
I cross my fingers that it would stay like this for a while. FYI, read the driver's manual, you could save quite some battery if you condition the cab with the engine running ( ie. before and during cooldown idle, yes, the DD15 needs to be cooled down and warmed up )

Now , the bad parts,

1. the CB is working with a terrible SWR due the sharing of the CB antenna with the AM/FM radio. ( I need to watch my finals )

2. It's raining in the CAB. Yes. It is leaking already.

3. Unlike the columbia, manual shifting requires coordination as you need to anticipate the change of gear and pull the autoshift about 3/4 seconds before. This means lots of beeping :-O

4. 30,500# full, I live 35mi south of Frederick, MD. bye bye , shingles.

Now, the great part about it.

1. I climbed fancy gap in 2.5gallons with 45K, let it sit in 8th gear, around 1300rpm = 35mph

2. Fuel mileage depends on the terrains but I am running I81 at 7.8mpg , just don't be afraid to slow down and let go of the accelerator slowly as you climb and don't push it until you are already going down hill.

3. Quite Cabin. At first , your ears needs to relearn engine noise as the cab is so quiet. Also, a reefer can park next to me now.

4. Are you guys still starting in 2nd gear ?

5. Sliding fifth wheel. Yes, I can adjust my steer weight if needed. So far, my steer are a little under 12K even with a 48K load dead center.

6. Privacy curtains !

And Finally , the driver seat is a great seat. it is not a warmer seat but I cannot thank Maverick enough for ordering the truck with such a great seat.


All in All, I don't miss the rattle of my Columbia, you can feel that maverick has chosen those truck for the comfort of driver while still getting some mpg out of it.

 

I'm about to start school in a couple of weeks. I have narrowed it down to Maverick or TMC. How would you rate your overall experiance with Maverick? Are they upgrading their entire fleet to the Cascadia?

 

Yes they are . they fit me well .best co that i have ever co drove for I will give them a 8 out of 10.
Hell win i was a o/o i was 7 out of 10 my boss was hard to work for. LOL.

 

I do respect ur opinion, and agree with urs and others previous statements to only use a gps as a tool. To navigate by map alone is a skill I think everyone should acquire, not just truckers. However with regard to the Rand Mcnally, it is the only gps that has been designed from the ground up as a trucker specific gps. It works in tandem with ur atlas. As I said it is not 100% accurate with its routing algorithems, but its road info is as and even more so accurate as ur atlas. I would not hop in a boat and try and navigate the atlantic, nor would I try and drive a truck from east
coast to west coast with out map reading skills.

 

If you goto TMC you're just postponing where you eventually end up,lol. On a serious note we DO get a lot of TMC drivers coming to Maverick. TMC wont pay you as well,treat you as well,get you home as much as we do. They want you to get high mpg's but give you a classic styled truck with no apu to do it in. They try to get you to take percentage pay over mileage then make it impossible to get a raise with all the gotchas (mpg's,out of route,log discrepancies,etc). I just talked to a TMC driver friday and he was on percentage averaging 27 cpm!! Do yourself a favor and start with the right company. You wont regret it.

 

Your thing says student. Are you a student or are you driving solo now?

 

About the GPS's...I use mine all the time (I don't even know what Mav's routing looks like, I've never seen it), I made the "Top 10" on my FM's board for OOR miles this quarter and I'm never over 8%.

As has been said...GPS is a tool that you have to know how to use (settings, and when to tweak them).

I never make a turn without looking to see what I think first, and even with that I have made a few turns I wish I hadn't...it happens, if you haven't done it yet, give it time...you will. (when it happens, stay calm and work the problem)

An atlas is a must have too, but they aren't much use for street level directions and the consignee/shipper is not always easy to get in touch with, and it is these times that the GPS is the most useful.

I also use Google maps alot, the satellite view is awesome for knowing what you're in for when you can't get anybody on the phone.

The GPS I have is the PC Miler Navigator 450...It does the job, but its "brain power" leaves a lot to be desired. It gets confused sometimes and it takes it a while to get its mind right. Also, in some areas, the data was put into the unit wrong (mine is lost, completely lost, in Houston, TX)

EDIT: I do use Mav's street level directions, always...but not the trip routing. I'm not knocking their routing, just never needed it because I wasn't trained that way...Trip planning and finding my way was one thing my driver trainer was very strict on (I knew how to drive the truck, and he knew that). He pushed me pretty hard when it came to trip planning and finding my way though, he even caused me to make "one of those turns" just to let me deal with it ...all in all, a good experience IMO.

That was a Schneider trainer...not Maverick.

Mav's street level directions used to be rock solid...anymore though they are not so reliable, the drivers that put them in the system don't seem to know how to double check with a different source. I compare the street level directions (when available) to what my GPS says and go from there...

 

I always compare the routing that Maverick gives with what my PC Miler says and also look at the atlas. I look at the street level of the destination and see if it makes sense compared to what the directions are from Maverick.