526,000 mile Expediting Van

B

B-Diddy

New member
Had all the stuff out from doing my truck so I figured I'd tackle the outside of my Father-in-Law's expediting truck. The before pics don't do justice to the amount of tar/dirt/grease/bugs on this thing. Its a 2004 with 526k on it and its never seen a coat of wax till today.

I washed it using a combinations of products depending what I ran into.....Duragloss Car Wash/Gunk Tar&Bug Remover/Simple Green/Castrol Super Clean/Westleys Bleach White.....you name it I used it. This thing had layer after layer of crusty, yellow grime all over it.

I then clayed it with some Megs Clay. Once it was good and clean I gave it a couple coats of Mirror Glaze #66. Dressed all the trim tires with Hyper Dressing.

I think it turned out nice considering the mileage.
 

Attachments

  • odometer.jpg
    odometer.jpg
    48 KB · Views: 632
  • bugshood.jpg
    bugshood.jpg
    31.4 KB · Views: 276
  • reardoors.jpg
    reardoors.jpg
    37.3 KB · Views: 249
  • rearqtr.jpg
    rearqtr.jpg
    40 KB · Views: 190
  • after1.jpg
    after1.jpg
    70.3 KB · Views: 570
  • after2.jpg
    after2.jpg
    60.2 KB · Views: 586
It has the 6.0 gas engine. He just drives the heck out of it and changes the oil every 10k or so. Other than that not much. Just a set of shocks and tires once a year (about every 100k) and keep it moving. The factory brake pads/shoes/rotors/drums were replaced at 325k.



This is his third van with over 400k on it.
 
300k miles on stock brakes. wow... I literally depleted the life of the brakes on my 335i in just one tracking event!



That car looks good, not much scuffs or huge dents. I don't suppose this is a Fedex-owned truck, but one owned by a contractor?
 
Mileage king and it looks new!



I wonder if I could handle one of these for a DD considering the reliability. I would probably save thousands over the life of one of these vans.
 
the_invisible said:
300k miles on stock brakes. wow... I literally depleted the life of the brakes on my 335i in just one tracking event!



That car looks good, not much scuffs or huge dents. I don't suppose this is a Fedex-owned truck, but one owned by a contractor?
Click to expand...



Other than ALOT of chips on the bumper and hood, and a couple forklift dings in rear bumper the exterior is in really good shape.....and yes he's a contracted owner/operator.

I guess the dirt starts accumulating again tonight. He's leaving Louisville Ky tonight at about 10pm and taking a load to the bottom of Mississippi somewhere.
 
Wow, 526,000 miles on a Chevy, that's very impressive. I feel bad for your dad though having to drive this thing everywhere. It's no fun having to drive 100,000K a year.



I work in the aviation industry and FedEx has a huge fleet of aircraft based out of Memphis. They also have smaller hubs in other cities throughout the US. Why would they drive cargo hundreds of miles rather than fly it through a hub? Seems like it would get there faster and cheaper if it was put on a plane even if it is routed through somewhere.



memphis-airport-code.jpg


FedEx Operation at MEM.
 
There are a lot of things that can't fly because of HAZ-MAT or other regulations. Custom Critical Services are door to door service. While it is quite expensive, the types of things that these trucks haul would cost much more to fly.



A lot of the custom critical operators will drive box vans with a separate container just behind the cab but before the box. This allows them to carry different types of explosives or explosives and other haz-mat at the same time because of the different compartments. You will see a lot of these at the highway rest stops on the east coast.
 
That 6.0L is a strong engine, I've got a Yukon Denali with 164K, run's like a dream, just intake gaskets are one issue i've had to deal with. Common Problem. That thing looks good for the miles!!!
 
Candor said:
Wow I didn't know American made cars went up that high in milage
Click to expand...



Are you serious?



Lots and lots and lots of them do...more than people give credit, believe or otherwise. Gee, imagine that...;)



Great work on the van, and though a bit higher in miles than most I've seen, certainly not out of the ordinary for things on the road so much. Anytime you see a delivery van, truck, etc. that's not brand new on the road, you can bet it has at least 100k if not several times that...you just never know it. It's better to run, run, run, and run some more than sit and collect moisture and dry out, many times over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top