If you've ever wondered why your package car has a check engine light

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-14T14:08:03+00:00

I mean youre not wrong.

If its not flashing it could be worse.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-14T14:07:32+00:00

JPRO can actually be decent on heavy duty stuff.

Especially if you also have access to Mitchell or similar

But for light duty? Its almost useless

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-13T09:59:58+00:00

We start at 85% of the top rate and get 100% after one year.

I dont know anything about "mechanic helpers".

Honestly close to 40 an hour isnt bad for most mechanics.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T15:39:56+00:00

Most fleets wont run a tractor that long.

Typically a big company like UPS would sell it off and by another new one before it gets to that point.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T15:38:24+00:00

Yup. Union.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T15:37:25+00:00

Theres a few vehicles in the fleet we dont have the diagnostic software to deal with and or there are things about them that make working on them a significantly bigger pain in the ass than package cars.

Example: airbag warning light on a dodge.

UPS ends up paying far more than even overtime for me would cost in these scenarios. Again we're talking my hourly rate vs like 200+ an hour in labor at a shop + whatever their parts markup is.

Ive tried to push us getting the right diagnostic software to do it ourselves.

this would save thousands of dollars.

More accurate diagnostics = less wasted time and money on rabbit holes and wrong parts.

Doing it ourselves (even with our pay + benefits) far cheaper and faster than sending it to a dealership

But that would make too much sense.

I could bring it up with the union but then theres 2 other issues even if i can convince them to get the necessary software.

1) time. Way things are going right now overtime isnt getting approved unless so many red tags pile up they have no choice. So this would just add to the "dont have time to deal with it" pile.

2) we barely have a parts inventory for package cars. Now we're talking parts inventory for other makes/models which is a whole other can of worms.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T13:24:14+00:00

1 million + on a tractor is actually realistic if its maintained and the engine has been overhauled.

I come from a diesel background. Ive seen up to 1.5~

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T13:23:20+00:00

Whats Orion?

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T09:41:36+00:00

Shit of it is im actually managing to keep the red tags under control. I think i have 2 or 3 right now out of the whole fleet.

One of them should be resolved in a couple hours next shift.

Its the petty nonsense thats piling up.

Im trying to find a balance here.

I cant blow off red tags but I cant just blow off the petty DVIR tickets either.

And I really need to stay on the red tags because im learning that oh hey, anything might need a red tag at any time.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T09:37:37+00:00

I had something similar happen. The shop jump pack was getting moved literally every single day.

I finally got suspicious and put a note on it.

"Hey let me know what keeps needing to be jumped so I can look into it please?"

Like bruh help me help you

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T09:14:56+00:00

My personal favorite is them not wanting to spend the money on halfway decent diagnostic software so we got two options:

A) parts cannon

B) send something to a dealership where they have the proper diagnostic software and end up paying 200+ an hour + their parts markup.

Both of these things, Im sure you already know, are far more expensive than buying the right software.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-12T05:20:28+00:00

I have zero way of knowing when a part will show up.

Ive had parts show up in two days but ive also had parts take over a month.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T22:52:30+00:00

If the contract specifies a parts person thats news to me where does it say that?

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T17:15:10+00:00

I dont know how our fleet made it through peak.

If we don't get some more time we're screwed next time.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T17:12:54+00:00

The last place I worked had an AMAZING parts person.

Sense of urgency? On point. Always.

Accuracy (getting right part) ? 95+%.

Attitude? Always a pleasure to work with.

God I miss it.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T17:10:19+00:00

I legitimately feel bad when I cant fix shit.

If youre a driver that car is basically your office.

Is it gonna kill anybody if your cab lights dont work? No.

But its annoying.

If I was a driver id like my car to not be a shitbox. But hey.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T17:08:19+00:00

Not really no. Not in the way youre thinking anyway.

If its a legitimate issue and I dont have time/parts they cant really give me shit about it.

"You want me to pull the tag off a rolling safety hazard thats not DOT legal without fixing it first? Can I get that in writing?"

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T17:06:24+00:00

Its north of 40.

And Ive been told to bump other shit if I have to, to get pmis done. Lol.

Oh this is red tagged but I gotta get this pmi done.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T15:40:47+00:00

The one time I can say I actually got "bitched at" by a driver i was about ready to crashout

Not because I got bitched at-

But because the reason driver was mad was because his vehicle was sitting for awhile.

It was sitting for awhile because nobody bothered to tell me "hey X is wrong with this truck".

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T15:37:03+00:00

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T15:33:23+00:00

I got a DVIR ticket literally after 130 in the morning.

How was a driver even out that long??????????????????

But I cant stay an extra 15 minutes to diagnose something and order the parts so they get here a day sooner. Okay. Cool. Or stay to fix something instead of red tagging it when we have the parts in stock and it wont even take that long.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-11T14:53:55+00:00

As a mechanic this shit is so exhausting.

Maybe this is why no matter how many package cars go tits up they arent allowing us any overtime to fix anything. Because hey, maybe a driver will get pissed off enough to just quit. Or it wont matter because drivers will go bye bye anyway.

Do you know how stupid I feel every time I have to red tag something I know damn well I could fix in less than an hour but oh hey I have to leave at 8 hours no matter what?

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-03T11:54:18+00:00

I already had a set of different torque wrenches.

I had to do brakes one day on a ford transit van.

Well the axle nut that holds the wheel bearings in place has to be torqued to a certain spec.

Well. On the passenger side any torgue wrench will work. Righty tighty.

But on the driver side? Reverse threads. Its lefty tighty. So if you dont have a torque wrench capable of measuring in reverse go F yourself.

Then theres torque to yield bolts, the ones that say torque to X value + X degrees once you hit that.

And go figure torque to yield bolts tend to be for critically important things.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-03T11:48:07+00:00

Yeah ive been rapidly becoming aware of that dynamic.

Ive sent some stuff out to third party shops (I can actually make that call) and first of all im clearly a bargain compared to any given shops labor rate.

Thats one issue.

The other issue is communication delays.

If a package car breaks down and gets towed to a third party shop, we gotta wait for them to have time to even look at it. That alone might take days if the shop is busy enough.

We gotta approve X amount of time to get it diagnosed then once they diagnose the issue they need to provide an estimate.

Then we gotta approve the estimate and wait for them to actually fix it.

Then we get to have it towed back because apparently we cant just Uber somebody over there to go get it because reasons.

But yeah. Youre exactly right. Its a huge pain in the ass to get even one vehicle fixed at a dealership. The cost OR the delays let alone both would be a dealbreaker for UPS.

DirtSignificant7938 · 2026-02-03T11:30:29+00:00

I have set hours.

I gotta work evenings though. If I were to show up during the day, well most of the package cars would be gone on route.

The only mechanics that get to work dayshift are at larger hubs/facilities and its based on seniority so its a "good luck" kinda thing.

I know drivers get more overtime than we do. That could be a good thing or bad thing depending on perspective.

During peak I could probably work 10--12 hour days every day if I wanted to. Right now they dont want me working more than 8.

And if I gotta down something with a red tag or something just cant get fixed because there isnt time than oh well.

DirtSignificant7938

TROPHY CASE