Sort Of An Update, Mostly Complaining About My Loaner Volvo And QLS Sensors

Its been a very lean month. I took the 3rd to the 6th off while Edna (my kenworth) was being serviced, it turned into being off to the 8th. 2 days later, my check engine light came on. I kept running as it seemed ok, no detectable issues, after discussing it with break down and my DM. The DEF system turned out to be the culprit, I got a message that I had bad DEF fluid and it would derate - limit the truck to 5 mph. I was on a load, about 80 miles from my receiver. I called breakdown, they advised to drive it till it stopped running and have it towed to our nearest terminal. I was not ok with that, as I was on two lane roads with no shoulders, it would be expensive and time consuming as well. I called my DM , got approval and backtracked to a Loves 15 miles. I had a regen done, and cleared the light.

Well, it came back on, and I got hit on the next load, (Just my trailer). But the DM said bring Edna into the Dallas yard for an inspection, get the check engine light delt with. The yard found an oil leak on the rear seal. Turns out the QLS sensor in the DEF is bad. Dallas cant get the part as its on back order nationally. (although our KC yard says they can have it the next day). This of course transpires coming into a weekend. So, Im off all weekend. I then go to KC to pick up a loaner truck.

Now in KC, been a couple of days waiting on the truck, finally get the loaner which I just do not get along with. Its a new Volvo, the layout of the cabin is horrible for me, Ive hit my head numerous times. I finally removed the TV mount, so I could get my microwave in, after getting a good chunk of scalp removed from it. No shelving in the cabinets and the shelves that are in there dont have anything to keep your contents from flying around, so they will all come spilling out when you open the door. Also the mirrors are rather large and create a large blind spot there, No urge to move which I really enjoy having, The seats, Im fairly certain are simply reupholstered church pews, and it wont do the 2 mph extra boost we get in the other models of trucks. In general, the cabin is much smaller and far less useable than the kenworth, the fit and finish is horrible, it reminds me of a cheap car. I feel like I went from a Cadillac to a Yugo, But on the flip side, Im grateful that my DM scored me a loaner truck so quickly. Ive named the Volvo Helga. (No offense to any women named Helga).

On top of missing days for the QLS sensor, which due to the national shortage of them, I will possibly be without my beloved Kenworth for a month or longer. I also got my first load and promptly missed the load window at the shipper , not by my fault, but still never the less frustrating, and I always feel like I should have done more to keep the time no matter what. (I had to find an empty, and I got the load right at the time I was supposed to be there.) So one more day of sitting.

To sum it up, getting paid to wait, my hotel and uber expenses covered, rental car covered, frustrating though. I have only 4500 miles this month so far. I feel like Im not working hard enough and it doesnt sit well with me. Highly suspicious of the national shortage on parts, from what Ive read and seen, there are thousands of trucks down right now for this reason. There is a software solution available, and apparently the EPA is "working on that solution" with the trucking industry? Hate the loaner truck, but grateful that I have it. Looking forward to getting back on the road, but also stressing of needing to take home time but not wanting to because I feel like thats taking time off on top of already being off, not sure how to work that.

My Freightliner was down for a little over a month waiting on a DPF outlet sensor. Basically drove a different truck every day, including one that was 10 years old with almost a million miles. Funny thing about that truck is you wouldn't think it had that many miles on it with out seeing the odometer. The 2 Volvos my yard has only have 500kish on them and you would think they where at 1.5 million with how warn out they are.

I tried otr for 2 months in training I was in a Freightliner, got a Volvo when I went solo and it was noticeably smaller even with just me. I hated the cabinets in it as well.

My dad is a shop forman for a Freightliner dealer he says it is basically impossible to get any electronic parts and forget about getting and DEF or DPF sensors. They've had one O/Os truck since July waiting on something and still don't have a time line for him.

I think I have the same cab. It is smaller than the one with a table, this is true. My microwave sits on top of a fridge, so no issues with the cabinet. I keep my tea kettle there, and you are right, things do fly out from there :-) I am thinking of getting a box or a crate to prevent it. Other than that I still like this truck more than freightliners.

I think I have the same cab. It is smaller than the one with a table, this is true. My microwave sits on top of a fridge, so no issues with the cabinet. I keep my tea kettle there, and you are right, things do fly out from there :-) I am thinking of getting a box or a crate to prevent it. Other than that I still like this truck more than freightliners.

Absolutely, I started measuring all the oddball cabinets and buying sterilite containers for them. Makes them so much more usable.