Service providers-for both O/O & company drivers

[LSMR]

Who do you use to service your equipment.Dealer,independent repair shop or company facility.And how do you handle breakdown repairs?

Since I still have my shop until 6/06 I perform most of the repairs myself.Componet rebuilds such as fuel pumps and major engine work are sent to the authorized factory repair facility.As for road service it depends on how far away I am.If it's cost effective I'll have my own service come out for me.Otherwise it's take a chance with the yellow pages.Luckily I haven't had to deal with breakdowns on my equipment.Except for a blown tire & a few minor problems I could take care of I've been pretty lucky.

[saddletramp]

There was a time too many years ago when I did alot of the work on my truck. When I first started driving out of school the guy I worked for had us doing alot of the repairs and service work. I enjoyed the ability to learn how everthing worked and how you took care of it. It was also good to know how to try and fix something at 2AM along side of the road instead of waiting for the wrench to show up.
As the years have gone by and they add a new wire to the components every new year of course it has gotten almost impossible to work on your truck anymore. Add to this the fact that you cannot get your truck home to do any maintenance because of local laws forbidding trucks in some areas. A lot more hours behind the wheel also and there isn't much time for anything else so most trucks I believe are visiting an outside service instead of there owner putting a hand on them anymore.

Kinda sad when you think about it though........... ;)

[Uturn2001]

Company Driver view:

Pretty much every company I have ever worked for did not want drivers doing any repairs to the trucks other than replace a burned out light if at all possible.

If the needed repair was fairly minor and the truck driveable the companies wanted the rig taken to a company shop to have the work done. If it was something that needed repaired sooner then it was sent to some outside shop or road service was called. Most of the companies I have worked for had accounts set up in the areas they ran and would try to use the same vendors/ service providers if at all possible.

As far as maintence goes that has always been handled through the company shops. The company would rather a truck go a few thousand miles over the scheduled maintence time than pay to have it done at a truck stop or lube shop.

=============================================
There are some companies now that will not allow a driver to do any kind of repair or maintence of a truck or trailer, even replacing a light.

[Rev.Vassago]

If I can help it, repairs are only done by the dealer. I am still under warranty, and am not going to screw that up by using shoddy second-rate parts from an unknown.

[LSMR]

If I can help it, repairs are only done by the dealer. I am still under warranty, and am not going to screw that up by using shoddy second-rate parts from an unknown.

Good idea.I also would reccomend getting PM type work done at the dealer using the manufacturs guidelines.This will avoid any warranty repairs being refused due to "you didn't do this or that".

[Rev.Vassago]

The only place that does my PM's is Peterbilt in Green Bay, WI.

Even if I end up having to change the oil early, they are the only ones who touch ANYTHING to do with PM's

[Uturn2001]

Good idea.I also would reccomend getting PM type work done at the dealer using the manufacturs guidelines.This will avoid any warranty repairs being refused due to "you didn't do this or that".

Unless you are dealing with a Freightliner Select Crap warrenty as we hear about time and again.

[Big_Dave]

When I owned my truck, I relied heavily on specific shops for having work performed.

I owned a Peterbilt, so a Pete shop did most of my repairs (if possible when I was when on the road. Otherwise repairs waited until I got home). At home, the local International shop did a damn good job for me at a fair price. Unfortunately, I found this out after the local Freightliner shop screwed my wallet a couple times. :wtf:

My truck had a Caterpillar motor in it, so if there was no Pete shop around, I'd find a 'factory authorized' Cat shop to do my motor work. I never had a problem finding a 'Cat House' on the road.

For repairs on the road, here's a link that I used. Use at your own risk.

http://www.nttsbreakdown.com/ntts/programs/main/home.php

For the heck of it, I'm gonna post the names of the shops that I've had the best luck and most satisfaction from.

Sioux City Peterbilt, Sioux City IA
Payson Diesel Repair, Payson UT (right behind the Flying J)
Joplin Peterbilt, Joplin MO
Bakersfield Peterbilt, Bakersfield CA
Polsin Diesel Repair, Mankato MN (not Cat authorized but damn good!)
River Valley Truck Center, Mankato MN (the International shop I used to use all the time)
Twin Cities Peterbilt (the Blaine MN office ONLY!!!)