Fleet work is a a lot smoother and I enjoy it more than I did dealership work. In the flip side, dealership work can be pretty gravy work depending on what you do and the pay can be slightly better
I’m at a fleet company now and it’s my first diesel job. I’ve learned a lot. But I feel stagnant now because there’s only so many trucks to work on and to many techs. So the oil changes just stay on me and the experienced techs do the real work.
From what I’ve seen, fleet shops depend entirely on what fleet and what company. The company I work for does lease/rental so sometimes we see the same trucks, sometimes not. Keeps it fresh
Def depends.
My first fleet gig on school buses was great until I got used to the more regular problems, PMs, safeties. Then it got boring fast.
Paving/snow removal company may not have been engine rebuilds unless you were someone who only works on losers, but god you see things break on equipment in ways you couldn’t imagine. Different thing everyday, even with the equipment it was so diverse. Medium size outfit.
Now I’m at WM, I’m excited to get into the work it looks good with the amount of things to be trained on this far.
In my opinion, I’d never go back to the dealer. Fleet is just so laid back and comfortable, a different atmosphere of guys than the dealer. Pay is way better and benefits are better in my experience.
I went back to a dealer for 6 months and went back to the fleet. It’s a local lease and rental company but they care a lot more about us and actually want to fix shit. I’ll never go dealer again for sure
Yeah idk. It’s not really about the trucks but the work. I’m sooo bored. My service manager wants to send me to Texas to learn how to do a PM inspection “even better” when a few sentences before that statement said I have some of the best times in the shop. But I need to learn how to do it even better?
What company?
Even within the same company things can be different. Like I'm at fedex freight and I'm in a bigger shop in my state. So the smaller fedex freight locations will send some bigger jobs to us and we'll send some even bigger jobs to the main shop in the district.
Penske
We are a bigger shop in the area. One of the top techs in the whole company works at my location. There’s just so much talent here that they have no use for teaching me any talent
It’ll take time. I’m not too familiar with Penske and how they move people up but we had a guy come from Penske with the same complaint. But he was there about a year or so
Penske doesn't have a set way. Each shop promotes differently if at all. I was at penske 8 years. From fuel island to lead tech. Most of my move ups came from someone leaving and a position coming available. My last move up came due to a new shift opening and some negotiations with the District service manager
It’s bad at this shop. Talking tech 3s doing tech 2/1 work never getting promoted or paid properly for their work. One dude worked here for 6 years before he finally left.
Seems like a normal penske shop.
Honestly which ever t3 started doing t1 work messed up. I know it seems like you're putting yourself out there, but you just set yourself up for disappointment. Hopefully you guys are union
I’m at a fleet and I love it, was at a private shop and it was horrible half broken falling apart trucks with a “I just came for the oil change” truck drivers attitude, at a fleet I can take my time with repairs, if something seems iffy I replace it anyways, learn a lot with less pressure. We have a lot of trucks in our fleet so it’s never the same thing over and over and also lots of learning because many different makes and models of trucks in the fleet
Did fleet and dealership. Did fleet for a land clearing gig cutting in for oil pipeline and it was wild. Never had any idea what was going to happen that day. Pay was good hours were crazy but evened out between sleeping in the truck waiting for something to explode and dealing with something that did. Trucks lasted about 2 months before they got cycled out with less beat used garbage. Old forestry junk is built right, overbuilt is key. New forestry junk is exactly that, looking at you Rayco. Dealership got old quick I have issues where I don't like doing the same thing all the time. I became the wheel seal guy and that blew. Heavy equipment and specialized stuff is much more fun but also more anxiety inducing then doing box trucks all day. Started with normal engine stuff and old timers who would tom sawyer me into doing things they didn't want to get under and do. Get a land safe and Osha card and you can get into all kinds of things with a year of experience. I got both over a week and they had job placement help. I got 15 more a hour for being on a "well site" even though all that was coming in after us. Those were cake and no leaky junk equipment allowed
What’s all these guys said. I know you’re new and this might be fun for all of us, but and I’d love other peeps opinions but when that ask at the interview if you have any questions, ask how many pieces of equipment you, the tech being interviewed be maintaining, and what are they, x# of power units, are they all class 8? X# of trailers, reefers? Lift gates? Equipment? Fork lifts pallet jacks scissor lifts ect? And how many techs and what’s the budget? Ask if they are a specific fleet, like all Paccar’s or all navistar ect?
I look after a fleet, it’s more fun and more rewarding. You get to know your own vehicles and if you take pride in your work it’s extremely enjoyable.
I don’t miss dealership constant breathing down your neck “it’s gotta go it’s gotta go”
Same trucks day in, day out. I've found the fastest way to do things from the sheer repetition. I actually enjoy stumbling upon the head scratching problems that used to drive me insane when I was younger.
I am currently back to working for fleet for the city and could not even imagine going to a dealership or a private entity again(I left fleet to go to a private bus company, biggest mistake ever). There is nothing wrong with working for a dealership if you need to get your feet wet in the industry. You can get a lot of certifications, manufacturer specific training, and be exposed to a variety of issues that may be limited in the fleet world. For example, you may be exposed to engine specific problems and diagnostics in the dealership, whereas most fleets don't do serious engine work or will only go so far with it. Personally I find fleet to be more relaxed and enjoyable than a private company.
I work for a city. The sheer amount of work is insane e. The biggest issues and most repetitive issues seem to be coming from the trash truck side. Whether its DEF issues, cylinder or hydraulic leaks, broken plates or body damage, brakes worn down so bad the Cams rolled over or trucks pushed so hard they ingested gasoline over diesel. I've learned an enormous amount in the past few months. Plus it's hourly and I'm not having someone breathing down my neck about getting trucks out. Fleet is honestly the best kind of learning experience. It's paid training.
Knowledge! My experience is that most fleets will not get deep in major repairs due to a lack of tooling and / or warranty repairs. If you hit a wall and don't know what to do on a troubled repair, it will go to a dealer. Dealers have tooling, software, should have Knowledge and with that troubled repair, there is no giving up, so once you do repair it, it will stick with you.
Fleet work is a a lot smoother and I enjoy it more than I did dealership work. In the flip side, dealership work can be pretty gravy work depending on what you do and the pay can be slightly better
I’m at a fleet company now and it’s my first diesel job. I’ve learned a lot. But I feel stagnant now because there’s only so many trucks to work on and to many techs. So the oil changes just stay on me and the experienced techs do the real work.
From what I’ve seen, fleet shops depend entirely on what fleet and what company. The company I work for does lease/rental so sometimes we see the same trucks, sometimes not. Keeps it fresh
Def depends. My first fleet gig on school buses was great until I got used to the more regular problems, PMs, safeties. Then it got boring fast. Paving/snow removal company may not have been engine rebuilds unless you were someone who only works on losers, but god you see things break on equipment in ways you couldn’t imagine. Different thing everyday, even with the equipment it was so diverse. Medium size outfit. Now I’m at WM, I’m excited to get into the work it looks good with the amount of things to be trained on this far. In my opinion, I’d never go back to the dealer. Fleet is just so laid back and comfortable, a different atmosphere of guys than the dealer. Pay is way better and benefits are better in my experience.
I went back to a dealer for 6 months and went back to the fleet. It’s a local lease and rental company but they care a lot more about us and actually want to fix shit. I’ll never go dealer again for sure
Yeah idk. It’s not really about the trucks but the work. I’m sooo bored. My service manager wants to send me to Texas to learn how to do a PM inspection “even better” when a few sentences before that statement said I have some of the best times in the shop. But I need to learn how to do it even better?
What company? Even within the same company things can be different. Like I'm at fedex freight and I'm in a bigger shop in my state. So the smaller fedex freight locations will send some bigger jobs to us and we'll send some even bigger jobs to the main shop in the district.
Same with Penske and Ryder from what I’ve heard from people in it. Some shops get the boring shit, others get the better work.
Penske We are a bigger shop in the area. One of the top techs in the whole company works at my location. There’s just so much talent here that they have no use for teaching me any talent
How long have you been doing this?
Year and a half
It’ll take time. I’m not too familiar with Penske and how they move people up but we had a guy come from Penske with the same complaint. But he was there about a year or so
Penske doesn't have a set way. Each shop promotes differently if at all. I was at penske 8 years. From fuel island to lead tech. Most of my move ups came from someone leaving and a position coming available. My last move up came due to a new shift opening and some negotiations with the District service manager
Gotcha. You’d have more info for them than me as far as that goes
It’s bad at this shop. Talking tech 3s doing tech 2/1 work never getting promoted or paid properly for their work. One dude worked here for 6 years before he finally left.
Seems like a normal penske shop. Honestly which ever t3 started doing t1 work messed up. I know it seems like you're putting yourself out there, but you just set yourself up for disappointment. Hopefully you guys are union
I’m at a fleet and I love it, was at a private shop and it was horrible half broken falling apart trucks with a “I just came for the oil change” truck drivers attitude, at a fleet I can take my time with repairs, if something seems iffy I replace it anyways, learn a lot with less pressure. We have a lot of trucks in our fleet so it’s never the same thing over and over and also lots of learning because many different makes and models of trucks in the fleet
Did fleet and dealership. Did fleet for a land clearing gig cutting in for oil pipeline and it was wild. Never had any idea what was going to happen that day. Pay was good hours were crazy but evened out between sleeping in the truck waiting for something to explode and dealing with something that did. Trucks lasted about 2 months before they got cycled out with less beat used garbage. Old forestry junk is built right, overbuilt is key. New forestry junk is exactly that, looking at you Rayco. Dealership got old quick I have issues where I don't like doing the same thing all the time. I became the wheel seal guy and that blew. Heavy equipment and specialized stuff is much more fun but also more anxiety inducing then doing box trucks all day. Started with normal engine stuff and old timers who would tom sawyer me into doing things they didn't want to get under and do. Get a land safe and Osha card and you can get into all kinds of things with a year of experience. I got both over a week and they had job placement help. I got 15 more a hour for being on a "well site" even though all that was coming in after us. Those were cake and no leaky junk equipment allowed
What’s all these guys said. I know you’re new and this might be fun for all of us, but and I’d love other peeps opinions but when that ask at the interview if you have any questions, ask how many pieces of equipment you, the tech being interviewed be maintaining, and what are they, x# of power units, are they all class 8? X# of trailers, reefers? Lift gates? Equipment? Fork lifts pallet jacks scissor lifts ect? And how many techs and what’s the budget? Ask if they are a specific fleet, like all Paccar’s or all navistar ect?
I look after a fleet, it’s more fun and more rewarding. You get to know your own vehicles and if you take pride in your work it’s extremely enjoyable. I don’t miss dealership constant breathing down your neck “it’s gotta go it’s gotta go”
Same trucks day in, day out. I've found the fastest way to do things from the sheer repetition. I actually enjoy stumbling upon the head scratching problems that used to drive me insane when I was younger.
I am currently back to working for fleet for the city and could not even imagine going to a dealership or a private entity again(I left fleet to go to a private bus company, biggest mistake ever). There is nothing wrong with working for a dealership if you need to get your feet wet in the industry. You can get a lot of certifications, manufacturer specific training, and be exposed to a variety of issues that may be limited in the fleet world. For example, you may be exposed to engine specific problems and diagnostics in the dealership, whereas most fleets don't do serious engine work or will only go so far with it. Personally I find fleet to be more relaxed and enjoyable than a private company.
Everybody should work at a dealership long enough to get certs
I work for a city. The sheer amount of work is insane e. The biggest issues and most repetitive issues seem to be coming from the trash truck side. Whether its DEF issues, cylinder or hydraulic leaks, broken plates or body damage, brakes worn down so bad the Cams rolled over or trucks pushed so hard they ingested gasoline over diesel. I've learned an enormous amount in the past few months. Plus it's hourly and I'm not having someone breathing down my neck about getting trucks out. Fleet is honestly the best kind of learning experience. It's paid training.
Knowledge! My experience is that most fleets will not get deep in major repairs due to a lack of tooling and / or warranty repairs. If you hit a wall and don't know what to do on a troubled repair, it will go to a dealer. Dealers have tooling, software, should have Knowledge and with that troubled repair, there is no giving up, so once you do repair it, it will stick with you.