Routine Vehicle Maintenance

[NovemberWhiskey]

I've no doubt this policy is motivated by someone's idea of how best avoid waste of corporate funds, and is well-intentioned. However, this kind of "little picture" stuff is maddening.

[Stonewall]

I've no doubt this policy is motivated by someone's idea of how best avoid waste of corporate funds, and is well-intentioned. However, this kind of "little picture" stuff is maddening.

Agreed. That's been my assessment since I first had to replace the battery in a van. What should have taken 15 min of my time ended up requiring me to take a day of vacation from work.

I was relatively new to the wing and unfamiliar with the process, that's why I was caught off guard. It has taken me a second experience trying to get routine work accomplished to discover it wasn't a one-time hiccup. Good intentions, which are honorable, don't always cut the mustard. At some point someone has to ask the tough questions and get the right answers.

[Stonewall]

Well, wrote up a draft supplement to 77-1 for my wing and sending it up the flagpole. It is my first attempt at writing a supplement, and hopefully my last.

[TheSkyHornet]

Ah, yes. That weird CAP-ism when the Wing Logistics Director is also your Group Logistics Officer.

No doubt it's also been a "best practice" that was probably inherited and existed in someone's AO for quite some time. The rationale makes sense for trying to monitor expenditures, but the logic doesn't make sense in the red tape and process that exists to make that happen. It backfires time and again.

We had a van that was a real gem of a vehicle. It had a terrible shimmy when it exceeded about 50mph on the highway. Every time it was brought up, Transpo came in to inspect it. And, of course, every time, they didn't find anything. Finally, a member video recorded their drive. The thing went haywire. Despite the numerous times it was offered to be taken to the auto shop for just an inspection and an estimate, it was rejected. Logistics had to be the ones to make that call. It took months. Last I understood, they ended up "repairing it," but the problem still existed. We eventually told Wing we didn't want a van anymore, and they gave it to another unit.

[PHall]

Ah, yes. That weird CAP-ism when the Wing Logistics Director is also your Group Logistics Officer.

No doubt it's also been a "best practice" that was probably inherited and existed in someone's AO for quite some time. The rationale makes sense for trying to monitor expenditures, but the logic doesn't make sense in the red tape and process that exists to make that happen. It backfires time and again.

We had a van that was a real gem of a vehicle. It had a terrible shimmy when it exceeded about 50mph on the highway. Every time it was brought up, Transpo came in to inspect it. And, of course, every time, they didn't find anything. Finally, a member video recorded their drive. The thing went haywire. Despite the numerous times it was offered to be taken to the auto shop for just an inspection and an estimate, it was rejected. Logistics had to be the ones to make that call. It took months. Last I understood, they ended up "repairing it," but the problem still existed. We eventually told Wing we didn't want a van anymore, and they gave it to another unit.

That's called "Death Wobble". Usual cure is to check the front suspension to make sure the alignment is right and not damaged and that all of the bushings are good. Many vehicles like the Ford F-450 I drove at work needed a steering stabilizer to control the death wobble.
That usually cured the problem

[arajca]

Ah, yes. That weird CAP-ism when the Wing Logistics Director is also your Group Logistics Officer.

No doubt it's also been a "best practice" that was probably inherited and existed in someone's AO for quite some time. The rationale makes sense for trying to monitor expenditures, but the logic doesn't make sense in the red tape and process that exists to make that happen. It backfires time and again.

We had a van that was a real gem of a vehicle. It had a terrible shimmy when it exceeded about 50mph on the highway. Every time it was brought up, Transpo came in to inspect it. And, of course, every time, they didn't find anything. Finally, a member video recorded their drive. The thing went haywire. Despite the numerous times it was offered to be taken to the auto shop for just an inspection and an estimate, it was rejected. Logistics had to be the ones to make that call. It took months. Last I understood, they ended up "repairing it," but the problem still existed. We eventually told Wing we didn't want a van anymore, and they gave it to another unit.

That's called "Death Wobble". Usual cure is to check the front suspension to make sure the alignment is right and not damaged and that all of the bushings are good. Many vehicles like the Ford F-450 I drove at work needed a steering stabilizer to control the death wobble.
That usually cured the problem

Not always. We had a van with the same issue. The unit took it to a couple of shops who checked the front end and said it's fine. Finally, we were able to rotate it out and I took a test drive. Serious wobble, but not the death wobble. After limping it back the parking lot, I crawled under it and shock the drive shaft. It had over a 1/4" of play at both ends. There is no reason any competent shop couldn't find it. End result, National retired the van as it was 16 years old.

[Eclipse]

((snipped up))
It had a terrible shimmy when it exceeded about 50mph on the highway. Every time it was brought up, Transpo came in to inspect it. And, of course, every time, they didn't find anything.

1 - One would have to assume the tester was comfortable with the concepts of "50" and "highway".
CAP has a lot of "surface street / under 50 / daytime only" drivers, especially in COVs.

2 - Assumed the vehicle the tester drove to the test wasn't in worse condition (we all know one).

I've taken over POC or driven my share of CAP vehicles and it's flabbergasting sometimes the
condition they are in, and the lack of regular maintenance they got because the local POC,
who is the only person willing to do it, "knows better / can't be bothered / drives a heap themselves".

"I pulled that backup alarm - really annoyed my neighbors."

"I can tell the pressure just by kicking the tires."

"It was like that when I got it."

"Why did you run it dry?"
"I didn't have the money for oil."
"There's a credit card in the vehicle binder with the inspection log"
"What inspection log?"

Usually coupled with "Will wing pay for a light bar?  It's a safety issue!"

[arajca]

There are endless stories of real life face palms regarding vehicle maintenance. I'll refrain - for now.

On a more related noted, we implemented a supplement requiring units to have the vehicle assigned to them serviced every April/May and Oct, to include tire rotations, unless the usage dictated a more frequent schedule. We that 6 vehicles with more frequent schedules. This takes away any notion of "I don't think it needs it yet" (despite the last service being 10,000 mi and 2 years before). This was approved by National after going through the proper process.