The Laughing Wolf

Tales Of The Penske Follies

Sorry for the absence, but things did indeed get interesting. My concerns about the truck have been, for me at least, validated. My faith in human nature, however, has been somewhat restored by what came after. More details follow, but for now let me say that if you encountered a white 15’ Penske truck with car carrier on I-65 between Huntsville and Nashville, the maneuvering and gyrations were not my fault, but I am sorry for any inconvenience. If you encountered a yellow Penske truck with car carrier north of Nashville, any problems seen were mine, and I apologize for them.

Friday dawned somewhat cold but beautiful. I took care of a couple of things, grabbed some breakfast, and hit the road. There was no way to catch up on all the business I had hoped to do on Thursday, such as the Credit Onion, so I was just out of luck on that. To say that it started out interesting is an understatement.

By Friday morning, the truck was lower. The mud flaps dragged against the ground when I started and did so up until I picked up speed. The problem was, if I got anywhere above 55, there were severe stability issues. When a semi passed me and I was doing 65, there was two feet of sway at the top of the truck. Not good, not good at all. So, I slowed down, way down. Even so, almost everything passing made the truck sway. My take on the morning is that when an older Dodge Ram (Power Wagon, think Simon & Simon) passes you and you feel it, you have stability problems. Not to mention that the truck was sucking down gas so fast you could just about watch the gauge drop.

I pulled into a truck stop around Franklin, Tennessee, and got gas. I made a couple of calls to friends, and then called the Emergency Service number yet again. This time, the guy I get seems to be deliberately repeating back everything I say wrong. I explain that I am on 65 headed North, am in Franklin, headed to Northern Indiana, and what all has happened. He repeats back that I am in Murfreesboro on 24. Then I am southbound on 65. This kept on for a bit, and I begin to wonder because this is both an interrogation technique and something used by some companies to avoid dealing with problems. I finally ask him if he is doing it deliberately, and he told me no and got a bit huffy. Too bad.

Net result is that I find myself headed to the Penske service center in Nashville. The service manager comes out and looks at the vehicle, which has gone down a bit further, I think, particularly towards the right rear.

The truck is overloaded is the immediate determination.

I volunteer that there is less than 1.5 tons on the truck, and that I will be glad to put it on a scale to verify. The offer is declined.

Then there are words or three about it not being loaded right.

I give a quick synopsis of the experience of the person who supervised and helped load it. I point out that there is nothing heavy on or behind the rear axle. I give a hint or three about why as a pilot weight and balance are important to me, because if you screw them up you are likely to screw right into the ground. I then offer to let him examine the load/loading. Again, the offer is declined.

There are some private conversations between the service center and the guy at the emergency service number. The net result is that the truck is overloaded. They, of course, feel that it is simply overloaded and my fault. I agree it is overloaded, because there appear to be some serious suspension problems. If the suspension was in good order, then it would not be overloaded. It is dangerous to drive, on that we all agree.

So, despite it being overloaded (and it clearly implied that it is my fault) they decided to give me another truck, no additional charges. This time it is a very good one, a 26-foot International Harvester diesel. I agree, though am less than thrilled at the idea of moving all the stuff yet again. Not to worry I am told, even though it is implied that this is my fault, they will hire movers to shift the load. I do not argue.

It is getting quite late in the day (1300-1400) by this point, so I whine and get the English Werewolf to interrupt his day yet again and bring me some lunch. Let me just say that Judge Bean’s in Nashville has the best BBQ brisket I have ever eaten: flavorful to the point of not needing sauce, fall apart tender, and just plain delicious. The spicy slaw and potato salad are good too. Thank you again, my friend!

The movers that come in are good, and the load is shifted. The car carrier is re-attached, I get Pups back up on it, and off we go into the rapidly dwindling afternoon. The difference is amazing – no stability problems, no suspension issues, power to spare (love that diesel!), and it even handles well. As well as a large truck with car carrier can handle, that is.

With one stop for fuel, well, okay, one stop for me with fuel as the excuse, I reached Northern Indiana around 2300 hours. One good note is that I now have a trucker’s point card for a major truck chain and no illusions that I am good at driving such. The last time I drove something that big was in 98 and while I did okay I am far from truly competent at it. There was no way to back it up at the new abode as I had planned to do with the smaller truck, but that is a story for another day. I got here, my stuff got here, and we all lived to tell the tale.

Now, I will admit that Penske did a good thing in putting me in the larger truck and having the load shifted. I also think that it was the least they could do and I remain very unhappy with the experience. To be honest, I have been strongly urged to contest the charges, but have mixed emotions about that. While I was also given a certificate for ten percent off my next rental, I can tell you it is not likely to get used. From being late with the product to providing equipment that was not up to snuff, it was not good. I do not recommend Penske to anyone needing to move.

What I will recommend, however, is to go large and to go diesel. Despite the cost of fuel, diesel will give you more power and better fuel economy. Budget does have smaller trucks that are diesel, btw…

So, that is the saga of the drive up. The rest will be told later, so stay tuned.

LW