907,511km (563,924 Mile) Mercedes. (52 Plate)

Soldato
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just out of interest do any of you lorry drivers refuse to drive units other than the main fleet. ie if you have purely scanias, but then you have hire units like mercs or DAF, would you refuse to drive them as you dont know the truck.

i recently had this when someone refused to take a lorry out due to it being a different make and he wasnt trained. i asked him if he could only drive mondeos and not BMWs.. his reply 'no', so i told him 'well whats the difference then? its got wheels, a gearstick and pedals.... get on with it.'

do any of you guys get like this? its happened on more than one occasion. :confused:
 
Soldato
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It is frankly all about Engineering. For example, most road cars are engineered to last for about 100'000 miles before anything major goes wrong. I had a list somewhere that I'll dig out, luxury cars tending to last longer.

Trucks and coaches are simply engineered to last longer. Heavier duty components are used etc. It is perfectly possible to build a car that will last a million miles but it simply isn't cost effective to do that.

I know for a fact that when National express order a new coach they tell Volvo that they want it to last for 750'000 miles. In that time National Express expect to fit 2 new engines to it and reupholster it twice. If NE wanted to pay more Volvo could build a coach that would last longer, but typically I believe the coaches get sold on at 750k miles.
 
Soldato
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Life expectancies of luxury cars:

Overall Life Expectancy

Years Miles Vehicle
25.80 241,000 Volkswagen Phaeton
20.63 202,000 Audi allroad quattro
19.85 256,000 M-Benz E class
18.44 223,000 Lexus LS 430
18.39 219,000 Lincoln Town Car
18.14 216,000 Cadillac STS
16.33 207,000 BMW 5 Series
16.09 202,000 Volvo 80 series
15.50 203,000 Cadillac DeVille
15.36 201,000 Infiniti Q45
15.35 181,000 Lexus GS 430
14.72 189,000 Audi A6
14.53 190,000 Cadillac DTS
13.85 165,000 Jaguar S-Type
13.04 164,000 Acura RL
12.30 162,000 Cadillac Seville
12.08 143,000 BMW M3
10.80 126,000 Infiniti M45
10.31 131,000 Lexus GS 300

15.87 190,579 Total Luxury Car

14.79 185,000 Volvo 70 series
14.63 179,000 Mercury Zephyr
14.18 176,000 BMW 330
13.95 172,000 Lexus ES 330
13.93 182,000 Acura CL
13.69 169,000 Jaguar X-Type
13.47 171,000 Acura TL
13.44 171,000 M-Benz C class
13.42 179,000 Buick Park Avenue
13.31 171,000 BMW 325
13.11 162,000 Lexus IS 300
13.06 172,000 Infiniti G35
12.23 160,000 Cadillac CTS
12.05 162,000 Saab 9-5
12.04 156,000 Lincoln LS
11.99 161,000 Volvo 60 series

13.33 170,500 Total Near Luxury Cars

21.94 251,000 M-Benz S class
19.12 214,000 Audi A8
17.44 201,000 BMW 7 Series
13.89 162,000 Jaguar XJ
13.85 162,000 Maserati Maserati

17.25 198,000 Total Premium Cars

15.52 188,000 Infiniti I30/I35
15.05 193,000 Nissan Maxima
14.94 183,000 Dodge Magnum
14.36 182,000 Saab 9-3
14.30 192,000 Volkswagen Passat
13.80 192,000 Chrysler 300/300M
13.61 169,000 Acura TSX
13.20 172,000 Dodge Charger
12.86 162,000 Volvo 40 series
12.76 171,000 Audi S4
12.61 171,000 Saab 9-2
12.43 152,000 Buick Regal
12.39 151,000 Mitsubishi Diamante
12.32 172,000 Ford Five Hundred
12.10 165,000 Buick LaCrosse
12.10 169,000 Audi A4
11.35 152,000 Mercury Montego
10.00 136,000 Mazda Millenia

13.09 170,667 Total Premium Mid-Range

21.91 237,000 M-Benz CLS class
16.85 191,000 M-Benz CLK class
16.82 171,000 Ford Thunderbird
15.42 177,000 BMW Z8
13.85 162,000 Chevrolet Corvette
13.53 147,000 BMW Z4
13.28 159,000 M-Benz SLK class
13.25 157,000 Porsche Boxster
12.37 141,000 Audi TT
10.99 131,000 Chrysler Crossfire

14.83 167,300 Total Premium Sporty Cars

34.96 379,000 Hummer H1
28.11 301,000 Toyota Land Cruiser
23.15 239,000 Cadillac Escalade
22.83 237,000 M-Benz G class
22.82 234,000 Cadillac Escalade ESV
19.51 213,000 Lexus LX 470
19.19 206,000 Land Rover Range Rvr
18.93 186,000 Volkswagen Touareg
18.44 197,000 Hummer H2
18.14 193,000 Porsche Cayenne
18.00 201,000 Lincoln Navigator

22.19 235,091 Total Premium SUV

15.82 229,000 Volvo XC90
15.15 195,000 Acura MDX
14.39 215,000 M-Benz M class
14.11 192,000 Lexus RX330
13.88 177,000 Infiniti FX45
12.59 166,000 BMW X5
12.54 164,000 M-Benz R class
12.46 173,000 Infiniti FX35
12.26 167,000 BMW X3
11.49 171,000 Cadillac SRX
11.31 156,000 Volvo 50 series

13.27 182,273 Total Premium Sportwagons

24.43 271,000 Bentley Bentley
24.23 273,000 Rolls-Royce All
23.04 257,000 Maybach All
16.33 186,000 Porsche Carrera GT
13.87 156,000 Aston Martin All
10.94 121,000 Lamborghini All
10.59 119,000 Ferrar Ferrari
10.31 116,000 Ford GT

16.72 187,375 Total Ultra Luxury

16.37 222,000 Land Rover LR3
15.34 206,000 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
15.28 207,000 Hummer H3
14.70 203,000 Land Rover Discovery
14.32 202,000 GMC Envoy
13.28 191,000 Lincoln Aviator
12.59 176,000 Buick Rainier
12.53 177,000 Lexus GX 470
12.29 171,000 Mercury Mountaineer
10.81 143,000 Saab 9-7X
10.58 151,000 Infiniti QX4
10.42 147,000 Subaru B9 Tribeca

13.21 183,000 Total Upper Mid-Range SUV

19.55 188,000 M-Benz CL class
18.70 192,000 Acura NSX
17.29 188,000 Jaguar XK
16.06 164,000 Cadillac XLR
15.82 173,000 BMW 6 Series
15.61 164,000 Porsche 911 Carrera
15.56 165,000 M-Benz SC 430
15.16 169,000 M-Benz SL Coupe/Roadster
13.27 151,000 Porsche 911 Carrera 4
11.50 121,000 Lotus Lotus
10.42 118,000 Dodge Viper

15.36 163,000 Total Upper Premium Sportscars
 
Caporegime
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helpimcrap said:
just out of interest do any of you lorry drivers refuse to drive units other than the main fleet. ie if you have purely scanias, but then you have hire units like mercs or DAF, would you refuse to drive them as you dont know the truck.

i recently had this when someone refused to take a lorry out due to it being a different make and he wasnt trained. i asked him if he could only drive mondeos and not BMWs.. his reply 'no', so i told him 'well whats the difference then? its got wheels, a gearstick and pedals.... get on with it.'

do any of you guys get like this? its happened on more than one occasion. :confused:

You would'nt want to get into a Scania fitted with "Opticruise" transmission after driving a stock box with twin splitters - you would'nt have a clue!

I've had fun with the Mercedes Actros's electronic box, I was trained on an earlier model (52 plate) the 54 plate I'm driving operates very differently! :o I spent an hour reading the manual on the Severn View services last night, did'nt get any further complaints from the gearbox (it won't give you your required gear if you don't time the clutch / gear selection button press well enough) after that! :D

Most are too proud to admit they hav'nt driven a given 'box (its not the truck itself thats the problem) you notice them slipping the clutch like crazy to get it to pull away in high range! :D

In my days of being a transport supervisor (in the office) any driver that refused to drive something simply on make (although lack of training on a gearbox is a valid reason imo) was shown the door.
 
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Caporegime
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Update.

Sone said:
is this a mates special? if not any chance of passing on details if you don't want it?

As I don't want the car, it'll be disposed of by the company.

He was going to buy it for me if I wanted it, for me to buy it subsequently off him.

I've decided to give this one a miss, its not pretty.
 
Caporegime
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laissez-faire said:
I know for a fact that when National express order a new coach they tell Volvo that they want it to last for 750'000 miles. In that time National Express expect to fit 2 new engines to it and reupholster it twice. If NE wanted to pay more Volvo could build a coach that would last longer, but typically I believe the coaches get sold on at 750k miles.

If they wanted a coach to last longer,they'd just order one from Scania. ;) :D
 
Associate
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Ever since this thread I've seen loads of Culina Logistics lorries...swear I'd never seen any before.

Didn't happen to be delivering around the MK area in the past few days have you?
 
Caporegime
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spaz said:
Ever since this thread I've seen loads of Culina Logistics lorries...swear I'd never seen any before.

Didn't happen to be delivering around the MK area in the past few days have you?

No, but Culina have a depot in Milton Keynes hence you seeing lots of 'em. ;)

They also have depots @ Stafford & Market Drayton. :)


Culinas Website.
 
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Soldato
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Back with a Vengeance.
laissez-faire said:
I know for a fact that when National express order a new coach they tell Volvo that they want it to last for 750'000 miles. In that time National Express expect to fit 2 new engines to it and reupholster it twice. If NE wanted to pay more Volvo could build a coach that would last longer, but typically I believe the coaches get sold on at 750k miles.
If they're only getting 250k miles from an engine then either they are not being serviced properly or they're driven by jelly heads.
 
Associate
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I think perhaps the word missing out of this equation is `average' life expectancy.

And I mean in so far as youre average motor may do a million miles or more in the right conditions, properly serviced etc with quality parts and driven correctly. Some may only last 100k if `abused' or not serviced appropriately. Universally true of any vehicle really.
 
Soldato
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These trucks run pretty much 24/7. They come into the yard, fuel up, go through the wash, we tip the pallets off them then they park up and minutes later the next driver who shares it walks in and goes out on a run.

I have no idea why culina don't expand, they always have Agency and other companies doing runs for them.

And now i know why you all roll in at the same time and make my job a pain in the arse, its because you all park in laybys ;)

Phil
 
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Phil W said:
These trucks run pretty much 24/7. They come into the yard, fuel up, go through the wash, we tip the pallets off them then they park up and minutes later the next driver who shares it walks in and goes out on a run.

I have no idea why culina don't expand, they always have Agency and other companies doing runs for them.

And now i know why you all roll in at the same time and make my job a pain in the arse, its because you all park in laybys ;)

Phil

Lay-bys and cafe's the great escape for the lorry driver, trust me mate, ive worked in 4 different despatch companies, drivers never turn up on time, they all want loading first and they will lie through their teeth to get out asap. :)

Culina wont expand due to the extra running costs of the lorries, plus, a lot of the stuff that the food industry sends out will go from your depot to that haulage companies main hub and then it will be split and put onto existing routes. It works out cheaper that way.

Not to mention the logistical side of it, its easier for them to phone up an outside haulier and say ive 26 pallets that need picking up for these depots and let them sort it than try to do it yourself :)
 
Soldato
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MNuTz said:
Lay-bys and cafe's the great escape for the lorry driver, trust me mate, ive worked in 4 different despatch companies, drivers never turn up on time, they all want loading first and they will lie through their teeth to get out asap. :)

Culina wont expand due to the extra running costs of the lorries, plus, a lot of the stuff that the food industry sends out will go from your depot to that haulage companies main hub and then it will be split and put onto existing routes. It works out cheaper that way.

Not to mention the logistical side of it, its easier for them to phone up an outside haulier and say ive 26 pallets that need picking up for these depots and let them sort it than try to do it yourself :)

I wouldnt speak too soon mate, when Muller expand on the other side of the bypass i can pretty much gurantee Culina will have a setup there. 16 bays (which we currently have) is just not enough.

O/T but did you know Culina is owned by Muller, and its Culina is his wifes name ;)
 
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Phil W said:
I wouldnt speak too soon mate, when Muller expand on the other side of the bypass i can pretty much gurantee Culina will have a setup there. 16 bays (which we currently have) is just not enough.



Planning permission has been granted, but, the planned expansion @ Haverhill is going to put Market Drayton on hold for a while.

I would hazzard a guess Culina use agency drivers (and other staff) simply to fit with the given workload.

Considering they have only 16 bays at Market drayton, they do very well! - I've worked for companys with much larger setups, but, don't have a clue about planning & utilisation of resources.

From what I've seen of Culinas operation, they are well on the ball. :cool:

Phil W said:
O/T but did you know Culina is owned by Muller, and its Culina is his wifes name ;)

Culina being in the Muller group,I did know. I did'nt know about the name though! :)
 
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Phil W said:
I wouldnt speak too soon mate, when Muller expand on the other side of the bypass i can pretty much gurantee Culina will have a setup there. 16 bays (which we currently have) is just not enough.

O/T but did you know Culina is owned by Muller, and its Culina is his wifes name ;)

Thats actually really ****** me off!!!

I thought planning permission was denied? So the first thing you see when you drive into market drayton is that god damn ugly factory??

Personally, im getting out of the despatch games as soon as I can find a decent job that pays what im earning now.

And i did know the name thing though.
 
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Caporegime
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MNuTz said:
Thats actually really ****** me off!!!

I thought planning permission was denied? So the first thing you see when you drive into market drayton is that god damn ugly factory??


Back to how it was when they first built the Market Drayton site then! (don't know if you recall that far back mate)

As far as the planning permission is concerned, I heard it today whilst chatting to some of the workers @ Market Drayton.
 
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