Vehicle breakdowns/suppose to have a back up vehicle

[Paula]

I have been having trouble with my Jeeps. I have a 2000 Jeep which we have replaced the transmission. It still has a light on check engine. It will not go out. I have had it to shop numerous times and they can/t seem to get it fixed.

I also have a 96 Jeep Cherokee. About a year or so ago, it started dying when I would stop at my customers box near the end of route. Well, if I let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes it was fine, but you never knew when it would want another rest. It may be several days before it would do this again. I put it in shop, and they changed some part and $500.00 later, I could use on route with no problems. It has decided to rest some more at times.

We have a new OIC and he is always onto me about a backup vehicle. The 96 started doing its old tricks and quit for 20-30 minutes. Give it time and it will start and go again. The last day before the July 4th holiday it quit again and I called my RCA to finish the route. Where is your backup? I do not have one. So Rca finished the route and I was told later that I was given an unscheduled absence since I did not finish my route. After I came back from state convention I was to work on Thru and FRi. Thursday was a bad day with no problems. Friday about 1/2 of route, I noticed oil and gas smell really strong and it was sticking to back glass coming out seems in hood etc. I had just filled up, but at what the guage was reading ,I would not have enough gas to finish route. I looked underneath, big puddle of fluids. I called in and told OIC that I was on my to shop,12 miles or so.

Now, my question is.....Are we paid to keep 1 or 2 vehicles going for route with our ema funds???? We live in a very rural are and the car dealers are not going to rent you a car. They have stated so and of course they know what you do. Also, being in a small area, the shops close at 5 pm and close on Sat, so if we cannot get our cars in when they need it, What are we to do???

Some of the new rules that we are under or very iritating. Our old PM did not care if RCA finished route so that we could get vehicle to the shop.

We have always called the RCA to come finish when we had vehicle problems. There was no fuss about it. I have been here to long...I am not going to buy another route vehicle. I guess I'" have to repair daily.

Thanks for reading! Any suggestions on these jeeps would be appreciated.
Paula

[sam]

Our pm say's that u must have a back up if u are fulltime.she had rule that sub's must be available at all times in case the regular had car problems.The union said sub's do not have to be available unless they are paid

[misskristy]

You have stated that u have 2 jeeps, u do have a back-up car. They are both broke down, u have to have a 3rd. this is crazy.

[surprise]

When the RCA finishes your route, you get paid "nothing" (you can take annual leave) and the RCA gets paid for the entire route, right?

Why would you not want to keep yourself working?  I carried mail in my POV for 7 1/2 years, and was responsible for providing a vehicle every day, period.  I have rented, borrowed, traded with my cousin (temporarily), bought a new car. I did everything but steal a car to deliver mail in. I have never been allowed to refuse to provide a vehicle. I drove a six speed pickup truck when I first started as an RCA, that was no picnic, but I did it. Burned up the clutch.  Providing a vehicle (every day) is a condition of employment.  It is up to you if that is a backup or one good running reliable vehicle, for me that was a brand new truck at one point.  What if your RCA said they could/would not provide a vehicle?  They would be history.

I was assigned an LLV right after I completely restored my third postal Jeep, had no choice or imput in the matter.  Sold that Jeep on eBay at a big loss.

[j carrier]

Guess it depends on which office or part of the country you are in. Surprise, I cannot relate to your comments at all on REQUIREMENTS! I agree with, and share your interpretation though. But on that I stand alone here. I've had the PM, subs and other regulars mad at me. Been blown off by the Union.

We have 8 subs in our office and not a single one provides a vehicle. Haven't been required to for at least 5 years. 2 routes have no LLV assigned. Their subs use LLVs and one of those regulars is constantly having vehicle problems, has never been required to provide backup - borrow or rent. Either uses a LLV (without training) or gets assistance on the delivery portion and then goes home early. Provides lots of incentive to get that vehicle route-ready....... Been going on for years here. I'm tired of fighting the battle, tired of being the ONLY one required to provide a vehicle. Union is lame, says PO has the right to mismanage. "They need to make decisions that allow the mail to be delivered", blah, blah.

I was really hoping something good would finally come of the entire vehicle issue this next convention and contract. But with things the way they are now there are far bigger issues facing this craft and the Service that the carriers providing vehicles will remain screwed. On my local problem, I've come to the conclusion that there are so many battles to fight you've got to pick 'em wisely or drive yourself crazy. Although this one still seems like a slam dunk to me, I've gotten nowhere. (I did get time built into the route evaluation because of the LLV use on my relief day, however. Didn't make any difference in my evaluation as it turned out.)

[putzheimer]

paula-my engine light came on but i fixed it...here's how...put a piece of black electrical tape over it...i haven't seen my check engine light come on again in two years!  i would do everything i could to come up with a back up vehicle, it just saves you the aggrivation and lost time of a break down.  i'm not even a regular and i have a back up, if i was a regular, i would definately keep a back up.  my plan is to keep the "beater" for the route and use my "good" vehicle for everything else. Then, when the beater dies on me, the "good" vehicle will be my route vehicle and i'll buy another vehicle in better shape than the route vehicle. sounds like a plan right?

[Sahagan]

Paula;

I've never been told I was required to have a back up vehicle, although I chose to do so on my own. I have been told however, that if we have to notify a customer because our vehicle wasn't large enough to carry the parcel, more than once in six months, we'd be asked to obtain a larger vehicle.

And about your '96....I had a Chevy Venture van that showed very similar symptoms, even to the 20 to 30 minute rest. Turns out, the in-tank electric fuel pump was giving it up when temps grew hot enough. A 20 or 30 minute cool down enabled it to work like normal.

I grew to where I could tell if the fuel pump was going to quit....simply by listening very carefully. I would turn my key on and listen to the fuel pump as it came to pressure. The sound it made when working properly was distinctly different from the sound it made if it wasn't going to run. If it made that 'bad' sound, I'd turn the key on, then off, on, then off, until it did make the proper sound. That way, I didn't have to sit for 2- or 30 minutes waiting for the cool down. Give it try....might work for you.

That trick let me get an extra year out of my van, before having to spring 300 bucks for a new fuel pump.

Sahagan

 

[manOman]

Paula, some of the carriers at our office have had a similar problem over the years, and it turns out to be the lockup torque converter. Not sure if this could be the case with your vehicle, but thought I'd throw it out there.

[middle of nowhere]

 the check engine light is put in a vehicle for a reason,  if is on, any garage can tell you why.  i bought an osb reader on ebay for $20-30.  it is simple to use, and is the only way to find problems in a car.  while a piece of tape may cover the light, it might cost you thousands in a repair later bill.  it usually is something like an o2 sensor, and while it may not do any large damage, it may cause the fuel mixture to be overly rich, costing you money every day at the gas pump. regular upkeep and repair is the cheapest way to have a dependable ride. i have had my check engine light come on only once in my 97 jeep. (altenator went out), guess i should have replaced it after 10 years.

[surprise]

Either uses a LLV (without training) or gets assistance on the delivery portion and then goes home early.


J carrier, using an LLV without raining is a safety violation, paying a regular for NOT finishing a route, and haveing a sub finish is not part or our contract, hope you stay in that messed up office for your entire carreer, and that you never have new management, because you folks will be unpleasantly surprised.  Somebody, or several somebodys should lose their jobs over those violations.  One is blatantly reckless, and the other is giving away unearned wages  Wreck one of those LLVs and try to explain, not fun.

[just me]

There is part of the contract about "hiring" someone to drive you to deliver the mail.  I know people who have their spouse come out and drive them when their vehicle breaks down.

[j carrier]

Surprise, I know it's a violation to drive a LLV without training. I also know that if that carrier gets in an accident somebody will be in trouble. From other things I've seen in the past, probably just the carrier. I know that it's fraudulent for that regular to be paid for work not done. Including getting paid EMA for partial trips and even occassions they never were out there at all. Then on top of that paying money to a sub to run the route the regular got paid for. RCAs getting paid EMA when they drove the LLV on a POV route. I told all these things to the PM and 3 different supervisors and they don't care. Went to the Union and they didn't care. Had management and every single carrier in the office mad at me because I tried to stop this.

I don't need to hope to stay in this office and I would welcome new management coming in and stopping it! Don't want to see any carrier get into any trouble but I think management should be. I am not a participant in any of these shenanigans so I have nothing to fear.

[doug in illinois]

I agree our EMA is woefully inadequate for having to keep a back up vehicle ready at all times.

My daily route car is a 95 Corolla wagon, I usually get about 150K route miles on them before the suspension breaks. I mean strut tower thru the hood broke or rear wheel getting sideways in the fender. I am on my third one, still takes parts off the other two as needed. Engine and transmissions are good shape in all, the rock roads and pot holes take their toll.

The strut came thru the hood busting snow drifts with a full overload of mail. The rear suspension went after the "city" dug waterlines and it fell in at an angle after a heavy rain had washed away all but the top crust. I am going to take those two to my mechanic 60 miles from here and have him take the rear suspension from the one with the blown front strut to get another spare ready.

My current spare is a true RHD 4x4 Cherokee. I only use it on the route a couple times a month when I don't have time to fix the Corolla. Will also use it when it snows.

Regarding the no start, I agree it sounds like the fuel pump in the tank. I had that same problem on a Ford Aerostar AWD van. Also, on my roads, you better always have at least two spares the day after a rain. The township blades the roads or pours more flint rock on them then, meaning at least one flat until the sharp rocks are packed back down. Have had as many as 5 flats in one day, had to switch to the Jeep half way around the route after I had already picked up two spares at home earlier that day. An LLV wouldn't last a month on my roads. DOUG