Well, the past week has been one of those you can't plan for, just gotta try to be prepared. I've been out of service for several days, due to some van repairs, coinciding with a funeral. Quite a week. A few days ago I was leaving Maryland, heading for home for a funeral of a close extended family member. I had put my bed up, started the van, and was letting it idle while I got ready to go. Suddenly, my oil pressure dropped, the van stalled, and there I sat. A quick inspection a steady small stream of oil running down my block, and since diesels have a saftey switch built in... when the oil pressure dropped suddenly, it shut off the engine to protect it.
A call to a local shop got a tow truck dispatched, and another call to Enterprise got me a rental on the way, so I could get home. I must say, if you are ever in the Oakland, MD area, the manager of the Enterprise location there is awesome to work with. She bailed me out for sure! At the time I called, she had no drivers availible, but upon learning of my situation, she quickly called in someone from home to come get me. The were there shortly, and even upgraded me to a more comfortable vehicle that fit my height better LOL. Thanks to Manager Kim, and the driver Merle, who was a retired Ford mechanic who used to live in my area, Columbus, Ohio!
Turned out it was a blown high pressure fuel line, which the Ford Garage couldn't even get to for 2 weeks... but the tow truck driver also did some truck repairs on the side. So, he tore into it for me, while I drove back to Ohio. I ended up being down for a few days, so while he had it, I had him do some other maintenance, turbo o-rings, oil change, fuel filter etc... he did a good job, and his whole bill, including the tow, was less than the Ford dealership's estimate for labor only! I'd rather give the small businessman the money anyway! Got my van back, but staying out of service, as I had almost forgotten it was time for my DOT physical. Got that scheduled tomorrow, then back in service.
Dale is a solo van owner operator with FedEx Custom Critical, and can be reached with comments at otrvan@expeditemail.net or by using the comments form below.
Comments - Tell us what you think below
07 Sep 2010, 21:10
08 Sep 2010, 08:39
Whenever, I see - what looks like a broken down expediter - I always try and see if there is anything I can do.
Lawrence
12 Sep 2010, 22:12
13 Sep 2010, 00:09
Jim, thanks for the laugh lol.... too bad it cost you a run, but I've had stupid stuff like that happen lol. You're sure something terrible just happened.... and oh the relief!
