Ex United Parcel

[mackdaddy]

I bought an UPS F Model in the late 90's. It had been given a cheap white paint job. Maxidyne, 5 spd, with a hydraulic clutch. There were several unique UPS only items such as the driver steps and hand grabs.

[Superdog]

I bought an UPS F Model in the late 90's. It had been given a cheap white paint job. Maxidyne, 5 spd, with a hydraulic clutch. There were several unique UPS only items such as the driver steps and hand grabs.

do you still have it?

[David]

 

I hears in the garages only drivers can walk in between two lines, mechanics the other two lines, and supervisors the other two lines and if they cross you get in big trouble walking in somebody else's area.

 

That sounds like a "union shop".

[David]

 

To keep someone sinister from impersonating UPS and stealing freight.

 

They should have considered that when Roadway Express ate their lunch during the last strike.

[David]

I was going to part this one out. Now I think I'll paint it brown.

[farmer52]

I was going to part this one out. Now I think I'll paint it brown.

P1010135_0228.jpg

Brown is good! Wonder what UPS would think if they saw it?

From what little I know about UPS, they rebuild and keep everything to get 500% from everything. I heard some of their package cars are over 40 years old.

P.S. If you plan to part it out...give me a call.

[GearheadGrrrl]

Separating fact from legend:

I've worked a bunch of peak seasons as a feeder driver at UPS the last 20 years and own stock in the company. The trade cycle for tractors was changed about 20 years ago, plan was to reduce it from 20 years to 9 years. However, they've found that lots of 9 year old tractors still have plenty of life left in them, so in practice tractors are run until they have a major component failure. Thus there's still a lot of CHs from the late 90s still in use with well over a million miles on them. And as much of the longhaul has shifted to rail, those are hard miles running back and forth to the intermodal yards. The Macks have been consistently the most durable tractors in the UPS fleet, for example the Louisvilles bought at the same time as the CHs are long gone.

As for working conditions, a lot of what I've read here is old trucker's tales. Since the last strike a decade ago labor relations have improved quite a bit, for example when I called in sick with bronchitis my supervisor thanked me for taking time off to get well and not jeopardizing my co-workers. As for the different lanes to walk in, that's BS... But UPS is very concerned about safety and in the busy hubs they have marked paths for walking and trucks aren't allowed in those paths. As for the requirement that the trucks be cut up, that isn't totally enforced- the steel cab CHs all seem to get carved up because steel has some value, but I suspect some of the composite cab MHs may have survived because smart scrappers are reluctant to cut up a cab whose materials they're not familiar with.

In conclusion, UPS may seem weird but it works- while almost every other unionized LTL and parcel company has gone under in the "race to the bottom" that deregulation wrought, UPS has survived and thrived.

[mowerman]

ya,,,as she says,,,ups generally cuts up thier trucks,,,but do sell them once and a while...i wound up with 2 nice clean doors cause of it,,,and a nice fuel tank,off an F model,,,and as of deregulation,,,as far as im concerned was the beginning of the end,,,no good jobs left,,,here in reno except for ABF,,,its a crying shame....bob

[rsb502]

Lawyers are why they are scrapped. If someone buys one of these things with a million miles on it and then has a wreck, chances are they will sue the "deep pockets" party claiming they were sold something that was known to be defective, subpoening service records, deposing maintenance shop mechanics, etc. Or some guy driving one that is pretending to work for UPS. For the releativley little bit of money they would get for a used tractor - just isn't worth the risk. Same two reasons that every piece of perfectly good food machinery that leaves a Frito Lay plant is cut up. No sale - ever. I saw a dozen brand new Ford cars being cut up one time because the rail car carrying them tipped over. The yard doing the cutting wouldn't even sell me an engine. They had to be destroyed too.

That tipped over rail car thing is messed up, I work for CSX and have watched while 12 auto racks were emptied and all the cars cut in half and hauled to the junk yard. According to my boss if an automobile is involved in an accident before it is titled it has to be scrapped. I don't know but I watched a few hundred grand worth of Nissan's get it and none had a scratch on em before hand.

[1977vega]

Eh, nissan's... No big loss there

[41chevy]

UPS has some odd rules. No badges or brand names of trucks, trailers or even on the mechanics tool boxes. UPS does not want to show they endorse the products they use, MACK beat their rule with the Dog on the nose by telling UPS it was a grab handle to open the hood! UPS even had their own "secret" paint formula for their brown until computerized color matching and their involvement in NASCAR came to be.

Their repairs used to be done with assemblies. They actually saved time done this way. Worn king pins were replaced as an entire re-manufactured front end assembly from brake drum / discs to springs and steering linkage. rear brakes were replaced as assemblies from backing plate to wheel cylinders. Trailers were treated the same way too. My cousin worked as a mechanic for UPS for 30 years, always told me the pay made up for the pressure to get the truck back out on the route. Paul

[Dzlbudman]

Well the badging thing has changed. The new 2013-14 model CXU's have badging on the grille as well as the KW's there running around here....

[Dzlbudman]

Here's one of the KW's

[1977vega]

Yea, I've been seeing a lot of new twin axle KDubs lately

[mackdaddy]

Don at the Mack museum told me that in the early years of UPS getting into semi trucks that they hired away a top Mack engineer and that was the strong connection between Mack and UPS. The former Mack engineer had a seperate design shop for UPS and Mack would agree to make the changes for them on the line. Most were connected to safety concerns. Also Dennis Meehan has stories about building up the first H models that UPS bought from Mack.

[Rich Reinhart]

I worked for UPS and i agree, the walkway for different crafts is BS, but they do run a tight ship. The only Ex UPS truck I`ve seen is the F Model in the Wheels of Time museum in Allentown. They also have to paint their trailers tan when they are no longer road worthy

[Rich Reinhart]

And heres a new KW waiting for delivery outside the Chiilicothe Ohio plant..Note the Fed Ex piggybacked with it..

[57 bcr]

And heres a new KW waiting for delivery outside the Chiilicothe Ohio plant..Note the Fed Ex piggybacked with it..

Ohhhhh........ the many captions we could come up with for this picture,Rich! That's prolly mowerman's new unit on the back!

[Dzlbudman]

Well you don't see that everyday!

[maxidyne237]

I am surprised that KW has all the hood emblems

[BAD DOG]

Damn shame....always wished I could have got my hands on one of those single axle MH's

I have only seen 2 of those UPS MH's escape the wrecking yard. I used to see one a guy had around Detroit working back when I was running my 92 E9 MH, and the Mack dealer in London Ont. had one on the lot not long after that, but that's about 7 years ago. I went treasure hunting last fall at Goody's in Toledo Oh last fall and they had half a dozen CH's in the bone row. But yes it would be cool to get your hands on an old UPS MH though. I wish I would have had some cash when the one was in London, I would have inquired about it.

[farmer52]

I have only seen 2 of those UPS MH's escape the wrecking yard. I used to see one a guy had around Detroit working back when I was running my 92 E9 MH, and the Mack dealer in London Ont. had one on the lot not long after that, but that's about 7 years ago. I went treasure hunting last fall at Goody's in Toledo Oh last fall and they had half a dozen CH's in the bone row. But yes it would be cool to get your hands on an old UPS MH though. I wish I would have had some cash when the one was in London, I would have inquired about it.

There were several UPS MHs at Adelman's in Canton about five years ago. When I was there last year they were history.

[39 Baby Mack]

I am surprised that KW has all the hood emblems

I was thinkin' the same thing!

Ron

[Superdog]

Saw this on Craigslist,sure looks ex-UPS to me.

[Superdog]

damn pic didn't load