Volvshaker......crossbreeding gone....bad?

[Dollytrolley]

So........Last Saturday morning we left Winnemucca Nevada with the Dollytrolley trailing two pickups with horse trailers and headed South through Fallon and then to Hawthrone on the way to overnight in Tonapah........

About noon I parked the Dollytrolley in the back lot parking at the truck stop in the Alt-95 truck-loop just outside the North limits of Hawthorne and ALL of the dozen trucks parked in the lot were New or less than two years old...........the Trolley looked pretty sad indeed in such spit & polished company........the two pickups had stopped at 20 mile beach at Walker Lake a few miles North of Hawthorne so I was alone and feeling a bit hungry so I opened up the toyhauler and made a sandwich and then opened the back ramp and gave Dolly the painthorse a five gallon bucket water to drink.......

Shortly after I closed the ramp I turned around and noticed to older drivers walking toward me and one og the drivers had on a nice coverall with Volvo embossed front and back......very nicely.

As they walked toward me they both glanced at the Trolley and then back to me and at about ten feet from me the one gent in a nice Kenworth shirt cleared his throat and grinned and said....."excuse me but.........uh but.......would you happen to have some.......uh some..........uh......bailing wire?"........as he glanced over my shoulder at the Trolley......

I paused and then smiled and said......."well as you can see by looking at my rig .......I own at least a TON or more of bailing wire but at the moment every inch of that bailing wire is holding the old freightshaker together.........but I do have a couple of hundred feet of spare bailing wire somewhere in the 20 ft cargo box......IF......IF I can find it...."

Both of the gents beamed a big smile and after a couple of minutes I extracted a couple feet of wire and walked with the fellows over to a new shiny Volvo that had the leveling rod dangling off the cross-member behind the front drive axle.......

The level arm link had a composite bushing with a rivet headed cantilever trunion  that had a upset buck tail that had pulled through the thin gauge  U-channel-cross-member between the airbags.

As the Volvo driver struggled to cobble the link back onto the cross-member with the bailing wire it was obvious that the wire was not what was needed.......I said "What you need is to remove to trunion  from the link rod and just install a bolt with two nuts in the cross-member to replace the riveted trunion...."

The Volvo driver smiled and said that sounds nice but we have NO way to remove the rivet-head trunion...."

I smiled and said ......."well boys I can have that rivet head off that link in less than a minute  IF you do not mind the OLD Freightshaker parked next to this new rig"........so......

So as soon as the Trolley was pulled along side the Volvo I opened the curbside door and started sorting through the selection of generators and several grinders as the boys looked on in wonder at the various boxes of power tools and three Honda generators and jacks and…..and…..and….

The Volvo drivers eyes were bugging out and he said…..”do you normally carry so many tools?”

I grinned and said….”oh heck if we take a extended trip I take a LOT more tools and at least several more rolls of……..bailing wire….”

 

In about two minutes I had the small Honda EM650 generator humming and we reeled out the extension cord and the 4inch angle head grinder cut the rivet head in about 15 seconds flat……

I handed the driver a 8mm pin punch and a hammer and in two hits the trunion was history……

Now what was need was a ¼ “ capscrew about two inches long……… no problem…...sorta…..

After we had left Bend we had picked up a spare ton of hay and …..and…..and my big selection of capscrews was…….hid BEHIND the hay…….Uggggg…...how dumb was that????

 

No problem I suggest we could just “steal” a capscrew and couple nuts from the Volvo……..oh ya….good luck…...Volvos are not bolted together they are riveted and “Bonded & Molded together”……

So…….I said no problem we wonder over to the Trolley and I find a unused trailer brake air line bracket that has the capscrew and nylock nuts that we need and in a few turns of the wrenches we have the parts needed to get the “New”……...VolvShaker on the road again……….

 

So Dollmomma contends that we are in BIG trouble by hashing a Shaker part(s) onto a “New” Volvo and that the clash of the Shaker DNA with the “Advanced Volvo gene-pool” will likely result in the Volvo windows starting to rattle and the knobs starting to fall off the doors and the sun visors drooping as the speakers become muddled………

 

Obviously the Volvo warrentee is toast and taking it to a Freightshaker dealer is would be like taking a spaceship to the dealer…….

 

Can this Volvo EVER be …..saved?

 

Drive on……...(beware of a Volvo that…….shakes, rattles, & rolls)

PS:  Hawthorne is home of the LARGEST munitions depot in the world.......clink the link below.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_Army_Depot

[Jack Mayer]

Well, I have to admit that is one of the "better" Dolly-Trolly stories!!!! 

 

[rickeieio]

Yup, those Volvos break just like everything else.  We had the same issue on our maiden voyage back in 2010.  Going through Kansas City in heavy traffic, the little rubber grommet quite holding hands with the do-hickey on the end of the rod.  I rigged a nylon zip-tie (black UV resistant) in a figure-8 to hold it until a proper repair could be made.  It's still on there.

[noteven]

Does the Volvo LED  backlit hd code screen display even have a "Haywire Detected" universal international cartoon symbol?

 

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

4 hours ago, rickeieio said:

Yup, those Volvos break just like everything else.  We had the same issue on our maiden voyage back in 2010.  Going through Kansas City in heavy traffic, the little rubber grommet quite holding hands with the do-hickey on the end of the rod.  I rigged a nylon zip-tie (black UV resistant) in a figure-8 to hold it until a proper repair could be made.  It's still on there.

Our rear leveling valve is the same.... I always carry a spare Zip tie for the eventual failure of the roadside repair. Every time I crawl under for a brake inspection I check it.... Still tight.... 

[Exile]

15 hours ago, noteven said:

Does the Volvo LED  backlit hd code screen display even have a "Haywire Detected" universal international cartoon symbol?

 

Heh heh,

damned thing would always be on in the trucks i drive.

 

right beside the Always Behind Schedule light. 

[noteven]

Speaking of haywire... I eliminated some from a previous owner just the other day when my driver door cross linear latch actuator (door handle) no longer actuated the latch. One inside handle trim pops off, metal screws removed releases the door panel. Haywire no longer holding tension. Goes to the local KW dealer and the correct part to replace the haywire was on the shelf. $5

I do carry zip ties and lectric tape in the first aid kit.

[rickeieio]

Having a properly stocked kit for "unconventional repairs" can get you going again.  Wire, zip-ties, tape(s), and a few basic tools are essentials. Along with a little bit of imagination.

Amoung our motorcycling friends, I'm known as the guy who might not be able to "fix" your bike, but I'll get you home.

[MsChrissi]

Our rear leveler lower connection came apart near Macon at about 10 pm and it was raining, we had no idea other than some odd noise and finally a trucker honked and screamed.

Unfortunately when aired down there is a portion of our structure that can contact the LR outer tread right in the middle, unfortunately we had just put 10 brand new tires on Red Flyer. The LR outer has a nice wide rain groove in the middle of it now.

The on the road repair was a dozen zip ties, once we reached our destination in Lakeland we replaced those with stainless zip ties.

When we got home I said the hell with it and fabricated an aircraft style tubular aluminum pushrod with ball rod ends and keepers if the rod ends came apart.

[MrSeas]

There’s a “newer style” rear leveling rod that seems like a better design from a “longevity” stand point. Volvo # 22379948

[VegasFlyer]

On 11/11/2017 at 9:25 AM, MrSeas said:

There’s a “newer style” rear leveling rod that seems like a better design from a “longevity” stand point. Volvo # 22379948

It is a major improvement in the design.  We changed the rod on our truck and was pleasantly surprised to see the modification that Volvo made.

The connecting rod for the sleeper leveling valve could use a similar upgrade.

[runaway parents]

Emergency road repair kit  zip ties and tie wire. Check!!

[Jemstone]

My basic road side kit is the phone number for Good Sam Roadside Assistance.  The Volvo has not had easy to fix problems - two serious transmission issues (the second due to not correctly repairing the first transmission issue) and the regeneration sensor failing, causing the particulate filter to pack up and shut the truck down in the desert 125 miles north of Las Vegas.  At 74 my driving skills are still good but my physical strength is diminished, so wrestling with truck repairs is not a viable idea.  In fact, it's a terrible idea, as my mechanical skills are on level with those of a basset hound.  It also appears that almost any repair or change requires accessing the truck' s computer.  Even upgrading the headlights to Volvo''s LED bulbs required accessing the computer (expensive but excellent lighting).  If you do get the LEDs from Volvo have the mechanic set the computer control so the low beam stays on when the high beam is chosen.  This makes a huge difference in dark rural areas

Despite the problems, I love my truck.  The difficulties are all resolved and the truck will sit at 1400 rpms all day while towing.  The compression braking system means I can go through the Rockies, High Sierras or the Cascades, rarely touching my air brakes.  Plus, the jake brake is almost silent, so I can use it in towns without bothering the residents.  The I shift transmission is smarter than me in terms of how many gears to skip and when to shift.  I was initially upset that Volvo did not provide air horns but as time has gone on I've found that I use the Volvo's horn much more than I did the air horns on my former Freightliner, as I'm not worried about frightening a spooky driver.  I also agree with the thoughts expressed previously in this forum that the air horn is now owned by our naton's fire departments.

I probably should have simply said my emergency kit is a phone.  No reception, deep poop!