You may not repair your own car any more (said the government)
(www.wired.com)
🧠 These people are stupid!
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The "diagnostic suite" for freightliner will cost you $5000 to $10000. That contains the program that is loaded onto a laptop and cables to connect to the truck. This is not cost effective when you own one truck. The real problem with buying this set up is that you must be a licensed shop registered with freightliner to get updates to the program. Updates come out about once a month, so after a month your program is not up to date. It would still work but for how long. Something else to look at. Some codes will cause the engine to "derate". Most derates MUST be cleared by freightliner and ONLY freightliner. Great fuel mileage? I have been a truck driver for 38 years. When I started companies were trying to get 6 mpg, now companies are happy with 7 mpg. The exhaust "regeneration " system is the main reason for low mpg now and 70% of trucks awaiting shop are there for regeneration problems. And the shops are full, 2 week to 2 month wait to get a truck in the main shop. Not a supply chain issue. Just that many trucks that are broke. Been that way since 2008 when the EPA mandated regeneration systems.
Do not disagree with a single word.
I am not a semi driver. No CDL. Not a mechanic (shade tree certified). I am an Electrical Engineer and apparently good at what I do. I understand intricate things. It’s what I do
A single owner situation may not be ideal for this application. Most complexities are “fits most cases; but not all”. EV cars will be better in most cases for a lot of people; but not everyone, everywhere in every situation for awhile
Going from 6mpg to 7mpg is 17% increase. That’s very significant. Industry wide; it’s a game changer. More complicated, yes. For large corporations this is everything. For a smaller operation- more difficult to say. Too many variables.
Consider how your industry has changed in the last few decades. Cell phones, GPS, traffic routing, financials, load management and routing.
What worked when we were young; would get crushed in todays world
The improvement in engine electronics is good. I still think to many moving parts and to many sensors. My main problem is with the exhaust regeneration system and egr. I know owners that have deleted these systems and their mpg goes up to 9 mpg, and they run theirs trucks hard. They are not worried about fuel mileage. Back to the original post. Right to repair. When it comes to repairing engines, parts MUST be bought from a freightliner dealer or licensed retailer and to clear failure codes it must be hooked to a freightliner computer or it won't run. This is what I have seen over the years. Everytime an engine manufacturer comes up with something that improves mpg the EPA puts another restriction on the exhaust or fuel that lowers mpg. 17% improvement in 38 years is not a big improvement to me. These trucks should be getting 20 mpg.
No question on the right to repair. Regarding regeneration of hydrocarbons, absolutely agree. Most hydrocarbons that don’t burn the first time, won’t burn the second. Energy spent is negative.
But net emissions “we are told” go down. Color me dubious on that claim
I would HOPE parts for Freightliner are compatible instead of monopoly. I am planning on buying a Renegade RV when I retire, and being built on the Freightliner chassis is a big selling point.
TN tech took 5 gliders and 5 regeneration trucks and tested emissions on them. Gliders had rebuilt Detroit series 60 engines and the new trucks had DD 15 Detroit's. The DD series is actually a Mercedes engine. The gliders had no egr or regeneration systems. The emissions from the gliders was less than the regeneration trucks in all aspects. As far as the motor home, all the same built in Mexico. All systems will tie together (1 system goes down it effects 2 other system). Find you freightliner dealer and just drive by every now and then and see if there are RV's there. Also warranty isn't worth the paper it is written on. They will fight a warranty claim all the way. Basically if it goes to the shop warranty won't cover everything.