So I'm in the dealership getting my wheel fixed (see my previous thread on Tire Failure) and I'm talking to the service writer guy. We get on the subject of diesels and how long they last. He goes over to his computer and say "Come look at this". He proceeds to show me the maintenance records of one of his customers. This guy has a 2003 Dodge with NV5600. As of last Friday this guy has 378,025 miles on his truck!!! The truck is almost exactly 2 1/2 years old. The service writer then shows me everytime the guy comes in for service. Here is what I saw

* Guy is a hot shotter who tows 12,000 lb of industrial equipment
* Service writer says guy drives truck very hard
* Guy religiously changes oil at every 5000 miles
* Guy uses Rotella oil exclusively
* The only major work done to his truck was at 320,000 miles the guy had the clutch replaced
* Guy changes tires every 100K miles. Uses Michelin LTX


I couldn't believe it. The service record was a mile long. This guy definately took good care of his truck. There were numerous instance where the guy brought in truck just because he heard some creaking, popping, or whatever noise to have checked. 99.99% of the times it turned out to be nothing from what I could tell. From what I could tell, the guy is in the dealership almost on a weekly interval getting some kind of service done.

Service writer said guy bought 2003, drove from parking lot to closest O'Reilley auto parts and bought Rotella oil, brought truck back and had oil replaced. He goes to the dealership to have oil changed, but brings his own oil with him.

The guy refuses to put any aftermarket engine accessories on his truck, including chips, guages, fans, etc. He doesn't even run an exhaust brake. When he bought the truck, he welded in his gooseneck hitch, and had the dealership add stabilizer bars to reinforce the frame. This genteman told the dealership that he expects to be at 700K by end of next year.

What's kinda funny is that the gentleman had a 12V that he traded in for the '03. Service writer couldn't remember the exact mileage but said it was in the neighborhood of 600K-700K. Even better was that there was nothing wrong with it at all. The gentleman simply liked the new body style of the Dodge and traded it in just for that.

I thought this was a very nice testament to the durability of these trucks. If I had not seen the actual records myself, I wouldn't have believed it.

 

Talking to a Hotshot the other day, $750 was what he was getting to hotshot from Elk City, OK to Ft. Smith, AR. For those rates, I can see how he can afford dealership work.

 

I'm an Okie boy, but I don't know what a "hotshot" is.

 

BBD, that's great to see someone racking them up that quickly and reliably on a 3rd gen!

Dirteater - a hotshot is a term for people that are available to do some commercial towing, but typically on short notice and for high $. A lot of guys with trucks like ours do it on the side or full time.

 

Lightman,
Thanks for the info as to what a hot shotter is. Maybe I should look into it myself if it pays that good, but I wouldn't even know where to start to find something like that.