ThaddeusW

The third picture has a stubby nosed Mack, what model is that? I saw one before and herd they are rare.

Great question as I asked this once too. David said it best; you can register a truck under its mfg GVW but an officer will go by the gvw of the trucks door tag. Its kinda dumb but thats the way it goes. Also here in NY I believe you need a CDL for air brakes no matter what the GVW and what your doing with it. I also herd the import trucks with the air over hydraulic brakes were designated as air brake vheicles by the DOT. So even a little ud or hino with the air over hyd setup would need a CDL. Oh and a side note, once while at an international dealer I asked if a truck of 26k gvw could be registerd as 17,999 pounds (under cdl) could be driven by a non CDL holder. His answer was yes even though an office goes by the door plate. Even the sales people dont know for sure. My recent trip to my local Mack dealer revealed that it was changed from under 18k to under 26k. This is recent so now any vheicle under 26k and no air brakes needs no CDL here in NY.

I hope I did not sound to angry in my original post just that I actually went down to the dmv stood in line only to be given the eye exam and fail. Didnt even have a shot at the 100 question test that I bet I could ace. The road test sounds a little extreme but if I had the time with an actual tractor trailer I would be fine. "Some people just don't have the passion for trucks or the passion to learn about them like others,to some people its more than a job its a way of life." Van, I definatly agree with you. My fathers father was a truck driver his whole life and my fathers brother still to this day drives. My mothers father was a truck nut but never drove, he was always a big pete fan. My first time driving was when I got my regular licence and took the GMC ride truck (under CDL) for a spin. I stalled it once and somehow got it stuck in second. But 3 blocks later was running around with no problem. Good friend and co-worker Mark showed me how to drive a 26' international truck with air brakes and a 6 speed (GMC was only a 4 speed). No problems there; just skipped a gear, but Fixed that real quick. "I have to rent a tractor & trailer to take the test, what does that cost? Ok I can go to a local Class A truck driving school and practice with a freightliner, only $5,000.00 what a deal." Randy, The local driving schools who will teach you to drive a tractor trailer charge you about $1200 for five one hour lessons. Now 5 hours doesen't seem like enought time to me. There are other packages that give you more time but at a much higher cost. I went to ryders website and they will rent you an entire tractor trailer setup for around 1500 a week. Now All I need is my buddy Mark and I am set. Thing is 1500 bucks isnt easy to come by. "Judging by some of the yo-yo's we have on the road out here in trucks, someone's giving CDL's out of gum ball machines." mackaholic, Yea there are plenty here too. Once next to our shop a mixer came down the street ripped off a negibours bumper and somehow managed to reverse the drum and dump cement for 5 blocks until the car owner caught up with him. He had a valid CDL but didnt know jack about what he was doing. Another time a driver for the DOT had a leak in his hydraulic tank on his dump truck and ignored it even after I told him he was spilling hydraulic fluid all down Cross Bay Blvd. Some are just plain dumb.

But most people would think twice before getting into a vheicle that big and just drive off. Plus wouldent the sales guy go over the finer points of vheicle operation?

Recently I tried to get my CDL but failed the eye exam. Now I have a cataract in my right eye so I need eye correction but only surgery will help, not glasses. I gave it some thought and really there is no need for the CDL except maybe a written test and an endorsement, not a whole different license with a road test. Reading through the manual made me laugh because 90% of it is common sense. The hazmat section is the only section that I really read and learned from. The doubles triples section is the biggest joke. The whole endorsement is based on two things: two or more trailers make you more unstable and how to couple a lead trailer to a pup trailer (no road test necessary). Wow I am an expert now, show me to the nearest set of turnpike doubles! And another thing is this; here in NY if the truck is under 26k gvw and has no air brakes, you don’t need a CDL. Many truck rental companies offer 26 foot non CDL trucks that are exactly the same length/height/weight as a CDL truck. Why is the CDL needed again? In some states on vehicles with air brakes below 26k gvw don’t even need a CDL to be driven. And the hydraulic brakes that come on most trucks always seem inadequate, ever try to quickly stop a loaded truck with hydraulic brakes? I guess the extra weight must make people forget how to drive. Maybe my rant is out of anger but allot drivers that were driving well before the CDL think it is a joke too. I have driven CDL trucks before with no problems and learned in a few minutes. A friend of mine worked for a landscaping company drove their dump truck with a tag trailer for 2 years before he got his CDL. What do you guys think?

I was wondering what the major difference between the maxidynes and the E6 is. I also want to know which one was called the cool power. I am slowly trying to educate myself in Mack engines so I need all the help I can get. This is a maxidyne 676 and there is an ENDT 676 and a ENDTB 676. What is the difference and is it air to air and air to water aftercooled or just air to air? Also the 676-300 had the aftercooling and the 675-237 did not, right? Now this is an E6. I herd there was a 2 and 4 valve version. It has air-to-air and air-to-water aftercooling and uses the same block as the 675-237 and the 676-300. Is this the same E6-350 that I commonly see in superliners and other R's? Also what was the difference between the 2 and 4 valve sersion? Will the 676-300 or the E6 fit into a B or will the aftercooler get in the way? Oh and did they have jake brakes or a dynatard? how effective was the dynatard? Thanks all!

Cooling would be a big prolem but there is no saying you couldent put an aux radiator behind the cab or two smaller ones on the sides if you have the room. Each one could also have its own electric fan.

I sat in one of those srt10 Dodges, the one with the v10 viper engine. The interior is pretty sweet, much better then a stock 1500 I rode in once. Looks like I am not the only one who wishes for a Cummins in a Chevy. While driving on the highway in nassau county, I herd this rumble of a jake brake and looked to see where it was coming from. Turns out this guy had a nice black Dodge 3500 with a cummins and the jacobs exhaust brake. He also had two stacks on the back of the bed that really went with the rest of the truck. And as for the Ford we know a guy in the carnival business who has those large game trailers and loves the IH in the Ford. He has a dodge with a cummins and jake and wishes the IH could have a jake too. Those trailers weigh up to 14k.

Found these two Kenworth w925's. For 10 grand you get 2 cruddy kenworths with 12v71's. Lots of parts too. They are in Oregon so if your on the east coast then its gonna be a long haul. The sound they produce is nothing short if incredible. Someone has a site with actual sound clips of a 12v71 in a pulling truck. The site is http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ryq/.

Awww I remember those trucks. When I was little they were my favorite as they had all the colorful polka dots. Memories.

Duramax is an Isuzu engine. Or at least Isuzu designed. Had an Isuzu truck once and its engine blew after only 30k, lol. what a piece of junk. Not saying the Duramax is junk just that I am not pleased with Isuzu hardware in a Chevy truck. As for which of the three, I like the Cummins but never liked the Dodge look (ugly as sin). Always liked the look of a Chevy and partial to the Ford. Dare I say I like the Allison option in the Chevy? You never know who might need to drive it. The ideal setup would be the Cummins in a Chevy with a 6 speed or the Allison.

I once saw this same setup in a B on ebay a long while back. lol 27 foward and 6 reverse speeds to choose from.

Wow what a great collection. Love the 12V71 in the puller, sounds down right mean. LoL injectors out of a locomotive engine, 85psi boost and running over 6500 RPM's. Great site. Does anyone have any sound bites of the E9?

I would definatly buy one, the old tahoe is due to be replaced. A while back I even drew up what one would look like too (kinda like a vision). International now has the CXT and soon the RXT and the military humvee replacement the MXT which should also be marketed to civilians. Mack would definatly have a leg to stand on in the light truck market due to the rep they have in the heavy truck market. Would love to pop the hood to reveal a nice chromed up engine compartment with a real turbo charged mack engine coupled to a mack 6 speed (engine brake too!). Add to that a real nice comfortable interior sitting on a rock solid chassis then you would have a winner. Looking out the wind shield of my pickup and seeing the bulldog would make me proud to drive it! Damn now I really want one lol.

Two hands? Do you have to shift a quad this way or can you use only one hand (too slow?)

If Scania can clean up there 16L V8 then Mack could have too.

Thats probably why the NYC sanitation mainly uses ML's and allot of private carters use mostly MR's. The private carters use Macks and here and there you might see a Pete or a Westernstar. The Sanitation Dept. also has crane carriers still kicking around too.

Lol Barry, if you look at the history the nice mack symbol at the top of the page was put there by me. Looks like you just added that link, Gook work!

Great pictures. I have a bunch of military friends, one of them is currently serving in Iraq (in the Army). Get home safe and have a merry Christmas!

I have seen some CL dumpers around here in NYC but I dont think its ugly at all. The nicest and meanest looking CL I have seen yet was a ConEdison tri-axle tractor with a lowboy for hauling transformers and other power equipment. Dont exactly remember but I think it has 12x24's on it with a spoke hub's all around and a lift axle.

I agree. They should have used freight shakers instead.

Nigel, I looked up the coupler on WABCO's websit and they called it duo-matic. There also seems to be a second type that has a third port for an auxiliary air line called a triomatic. I like how you operate the coupling with a lever for quick connecting of all lines at the same time. I wonder if they are available here in the US.

I have never seen a demountable rim made of aluminum. You can check out this link from accuride on there demountable rims (pdf file from Accuride wheels ). It might be possible to have the rims polished or maybe even chrome plated to get that look.

I am looking at a superliner with a really long wheel base. I want to know the bumper to the back of cab length and the center of the front axle to the back of cab. Sounds crazy but I want to put a box on it and want an idea of the overall truck length. Also how difficult is it to convert camel back to air ride?

Yea all for the bridge formula. The shorter the vheicle the more concentrated the load on the road surface. The idea is to spread out the load more evenly. Hendrickson has a real good article on there site for the Bridge Formula. I could rant all day on the short comings of the law but thats a whole nother story .