Bullheaded

Just got a spy photo of the first new product announcement to come from the new VW/International Traton partnership. Introducing the new BeatleStar 5000.

Agreed. We can get the subject back on track if we can ever find a customer in North America that will actually order these new axles and see the truck.

Well my friends that run the highway hauling heavy seem to have good luck with their new emission motors. But I know they don't like stop and go construction work and light load snow hauling in cold temps. But I will say I am seeing way better performance and much less problems with my 2020 Detroit than I did with the 2013. Yes it's still new, but the problems with the 2013 started right away. I just hope that trend continues, LOL

Holy! That's cool! That's quite the beast. What motor in it? It didn't have a tilt hood originally?

I had a similar experience. Several years ago forestry dried up here (coming back online now) and dump trucking got bad for me for a while. So I bought another highway tractor and went hauling Coca Cola and Labatt beer and groceries between Ontario and Quebec. I found that any where you went, you as a truck driver where treated as a piece of crap. There was no respect anywhere. So quit doing that and went and hauled new RV trailers from the factories in Indiana. Every where you went you were treated great. They offered you drinks and coffee, clean facilities to use. Pretty much treated you like a respectable human being.

And especially with these new engines. How come we never hear any long term reports? Lets here from some fleets on how the emissions systems and regens are doing after a few years and a 100,000 miles. I don't care about their opinion after a ride around the block in brand new truck.

I wish there were still some credible trucking publications still around. Rolf Lockwood used to do a good job too. it should be like the auto industry. The truck manufacturers should give new models to independent testers to take out, put a REAL load on them and spend some time in them. Then report what was good and what went wrong so buyers can make a somewhat informed decision. I was lucky years ago. Even while I owned my own trucks, if I had periods of no work for mine I had a big local steel hauler fleet I could go drive for any time and they had every brand of truck and updated constantly. So I got to try every make and model that came out. Unfortunately they sold out and it went to crap now. But it used to be great trying all kinds of different trucks to see how they compared.

Yep, same with when they do a "test drive." Back in the day Merv Orr would do them for Driver Owner I think it was? He would haul real loads, do a real trip and do stuff like drop one side off on the shoulder to see how it would react. Now these new guys take a bobtail or put a whopping 30,000 pounds on the deck and take it up a 3% "hill" and tell you how great and powerful every model is. I really laugh every time a freight hauler brags up his 80,000 pounds. I put more on my dump truck bud. LOL

Could have been used on both sides of the border Rob? But we had a Canadian Bulldog magazine here back in the day. Probably up until about the time they closed the factory in Oshawa, Ontario. The old Canadian Bulldog magazines were great. All they were was pictures and descriptions of customers new trucks and they were broke down into each province. And if there was a new model or engine there would be an article on that. But lots of pics. Not like the useless crap mag they have now that focuses on new technology nobody but the mega fleets care about.

One of my favorite Mack adds ever! Back cover of a 1982 Canadian Bulldog magazine. I live in a logging area so I grew up appreciating on/off road trucks more than interstate freight haulers.

Well I wanted to post for Rob after the discussion in the Mack 85,000 pound rears thread as a thank you for some info he has given. I thought I had articles on the Midliner conventionals like he had, but when I dug out my old Canadian Bulldog magazines all I had was the original debut of the cabover model. You may have seen these??

What are you doing with that Quickfarms? Restoration or just some repairs? I'd like to see that all put back together.

Hahahaha, on 3 axles at that! Try doing that today, LOL

There are three Midliners in the town near me. One is a boom truck and two are tractors. And they are still going strong. Actually 4.....there is a box van with a paper shredder in it.

Well, I guess I did see them and just didn't realize. I'm used to planetaries have much bigger hubs.

I'll have to dig up my old Bulldog Magazine's from when the Midliner came out and see if they show those axles.

OK thanks. I would have never guessed that would be a planetary on that. Nice little truck. That would be handy as hell. I always wanted a rollback, but I had enough nightmares just trying to insure my F550 here in Ontario let alone a true medium duty. All the insurance companies told me "we can't insure it for personal use because it is a commercial vehicle, and we can't insure it commercial under your business because you are driving it for personal use." ????????????? LOL

Do you have a pic Rob?

A Midliner?? I never saw one of those with a planetary rear?

OK thanks. I know Mammoet uses them on a lot of their heavy float tractors out west, but I wasn't sure what kind of speed they could be geared for on road.

I kinda agree KS. While on this subject (I only have experience with low geared planetary rears off road) but are there speed restrictions with planetaries? Can they be used at highway speeds to 55 MPH?

Not the suspension I would have guessed!

Now if only they offered this while they still made their manual transmissions, the North American Titan and still offered the MP10. Then maybe they could have got back some of their Northern Ontario, and Quebec logging customers. Here's one installation from Con-Expo. Not my pics. Were sent to me.

From one of my old full line brochures. I have pics of the big trailered belly dump unit but I don't know where I put them.

Luckily I live out in the woods with no one around me and I have enough stuff to survive. So I hope all these stupid people die. The world needs to hit the reset button.