Who knows the Albuquerque area well???

[mwilson]

I have been looking for a road trip and boy, did I get one... ... ...

My dealership purchased a repo Cascadia from Daimler Financial and it is sitting at Albuquerque Freightliner in New Mexico. I have excess vacation days to burn up before year end and stepped up as long as they feed and house me which they will. :-laf

I am flying in Tueday night and will need all day Wednesday to check it over, get 6 tires put on it and any other issues that I find taken care of.

I understand the airport is about 25 minutes from I-40 West Frontage Road and am wondering if there are decent motels in the dealership's area. I will also have to find lodging that offers an airport shuttle so that I don't have to rent a car, etc. to get across the city if I can help it.

If anyone knows the area and would offer suggestions I would really appreciate it.

Then all I have to do is get it back to Maine by Sunday night... ... Oo. Woo Hoo



Thanks,

Mike.

 

[HBarlow]

If you don't get a reply soon PM George "Grizzly" or Garlic. Both of them live in ABQ. Other TDR members may live there also but I know those two do.

 

[mwilson]

Thanks, Harvey.

If I don't see anything from Griz by tonight I will PM him.

It is tough trying to figure out the Motels that are close enough to the airport that have shuttles and are also close enough for the dealership to come after me. I did call the Parts Manager at Alberquerque FTL and he promised that he would send someone out for me, just don't want to make it any harder for him than needed as it is a huge favor.

Everyone at the dealership out there sound quite nice and helpful, should be an enjoyable adventure.

Probably they will be glad to get the truck out of the dooryard!!:-laf

 

[Grizzly]

Mike,



PM me and I can give you my home phone and email address. No problem with hotels and restaurants around the airport or around the city. The airport is very close to I-25 and about 1. 5 miles from I-40.



george

 

[mwilson]

Harvey and George, thanks for your replys and advice.

Got the truck running and on the road yesterday. Made it to the Flying J on fumes, gauge was below empty!! Got the tires on it and have been dealing with small issues before heading East.

This is what I found on the driver's side door, should I take it off or leave it there just for luck... ... . :-laf

 

[Grizzly]

Mike, I'd take it off.



I hope you found everything you needed while in Albuquerque.



george

 

[mwilson]

It will go away as soon as it gets a little warmer... . Bought a scraper and decal remover last night at the Wal-Mart. .

Thanks for your help and I have to say that since my arrival here yesterday I have met and dealt with some of the nicest people I have ever encountered in my life. Has made this an enjoyable trip so far.

Thanks again.

Mike.

 

[HBarlow]

The decal is colorful and good for a chuckle but if your wife thinks you added it for the trip she might not see the humor.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Yep, that decal is a good indication why the truck was a repo.



Bill

 

[mwilson]

Pictures??? I didn't want to bore anybody... . :-laf



2008 Cascadia 72" High Rise with upper and lower bunks.

60 Series Detroit Diesel 515 HP

13 Speed Fuller

40-145 Meritor Drive Axles 3. 42 Ratio

Very Dirty, Typical Repo.

Our Recon guy Eric will have it spiffed up in a couple of days, you won't know it was the same truck.

Second and third picture will give some idea of how dirty the interior was, I have cleaned some of it as I have had time over the last 36 hours.

 

[mwilson]

If you guys are curious about the inside of these homes on wheels, I can grab some shots tomorrow as I take the occasional stretch break.

Quite nice and roomy.

Has an 120v inverter for example, charged my laptop with it today. And a Domectic 12v Fridge built in also.

 

[mwilson]

I'm certainly not in Maine right now.....

 

[mwilson]

I have never carried on about a Rest Area until I found this one last night. .

Just Plain Cool.

 

[mwilson]

Not to mention the sign and the Texas shaped BBQ Grill.

 

[mwilson]

Ok, gotta' quit messing around and go to bed. Shooting for 700 miles at least tomorrow. In Greenville, Illinois tonight happily camped out at an Econo Lodge so have about made the halfway point. I'll check in again tomorrow night.

Take care,

Mike.

 

[MMeier]

Not to mention the sign and the Texas shaped BBQ Grill.

Did you see the size of the one on the WB side ?

 

[Grizzly]

Nice pics Mike. Looks like all is going well for you.



george

 

[Bill Stockard]

Pictures??? I didn't want to bore anybody... . :-laf



2008 Cascadia 72" High Rise with upper and lower bunks.

60 Series Detroit Diesel 515 HP

13 Speed Fuller

40-145 Meritor Drive Axles 3. 42 Ratio

Very Dirty, Typical Repo.

Our Recon guy Eric will have it spiffed up in a couple of days, you won't know it was the same truck.

Second and third picture will give some idea of how dirty the interior was, I have cleaned some of it as I have had time over the last 36 hours.

Yep, typical repo... dirty inside and out, the polished aluminum wheels and good tires stripped off and sold. I'll bet the truck had slick "bald eagles" and old steel trailer wheels on it. It probably had the good batteries stripped off it too. The scum bag ran it into the ground without any maintenance until the repo guys finally caught him. Our truck dealership didn't buy repos, only used fleet trucks with full and complete maintenance records.



Bill

 

[mwilson]

Made it to Clarion, Pa. Gonna' call it a day.



Hi Bill,

I didn't mean to give the impression that it is just totally trashed, what I should have said was the driver that had it was a pig that smoked a lot of something other than tobacco products in it.

I had to clean the windows twice with Brake Kleen just to cut the resin film before my glass cleaner would even touch it.



I know the scenario that you refer to, have seen them parked out behind our shop waiting for the evaluation.

This one came out of a five truck fleet, no evidence of stripping. As luck would have it the salesman that sold when it was new helped me get it started. The owner was mad because Fuller would not pay any warranty on a repair due to the range and splitter cylinders hanging up. I quess it had a lot of water in the air system and warranty does not cover it if you don't ever drain the air tanks, but I think I found the root cause. I have put almost 2,000 miles on this truck and the air dryer had not purged once. As a matter of fact I looked yesterday to make that there was one on it. It should purge everytime the air governor kicks out and that ain't happening.

So the salesman had been talking to him about trading him up to a new one, then it shows up as a repo. Go figure... ...

All aluminum rims are there, 4 virgin drive tires had recently been put on it. The other four (that I replaced) were worn down, but not hen skins. The two steers had fairly good rubber but had flat spots so I changed them because I knew it was going to pound me all the way home if I didn't. :{

Will need a brake job soon, almost to the wear indicators. I think they are the factory shoes, not bad for 300,000 miles.

The Tri-Pac unit is still on it and complete, didn't get it fired up as they installed it behind one of the passenger side fairings and I lack tools enough to get at it.

Whomever Daimler hires to do the appraisal did an excellent job both with the photos and the description of vehicle condition. Believe me, I studied it some hard before volunteering for this mission... ... . :-laf



We are desperate for used trucks and this one is unusual as it a Cascadia but has the 60 Series Detroit rather than a DD15. They built some in '08 before the engines or emissions credits ran out, not sure which it was.

The truck is sound, well specced and I think we have sold it already provided I get it to the dooryard tomorrow night.

We have puchased several ex-Werner Classic XL's, two guys left after me to get one in Omaha and the other in Indianapolis. But trucks of that caliber are getting harder to find by the day.



Mike.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Mike,



I'll bet the repo was for econmomic reasons and the problems with the Fuller range shifter was the excuse. I can't believe that someone couldn't have discovered the problem as easy as you. Anyone could have opened the air tank drain valves and found that something was wrong with the air dryer. It sounds like their loss is your gain. Good luck!



Bill