GearheadGrrrl

I'm a Volvo shareholder, and I'm not happy. I bought VOLVY back around the merger and quadrupuled my investment. When Volvo put their engine in Mack trucks and turned the CH into a Volvo with a different cab I dumped 80% of my VOLVY stock. A lot of other shareholders dumped VOLVY and the stock has lost even more value. Volvo still doesn't understand Mack and never will. Volvo builds some good trucks for over the road trucking, but for the tough jobs they can't hold a candle to a Mack. Unfortunately Volvo management is too proud of their Volvos to admit that for many applications Mack is a better truck.

It was probably built for hauling turnpike doubles- I remeber seeing a few U models doing that work in the 70s and 80s. The fleets needed the U models 90 inch BBC to haul 45 foot trailers in the then maximum 55 foot length off the turnpike. On the turnpike hauling doubles they needed the power of the V8 engine. So Mack built the U795ST for that marketniche. The six speed transmission is just the garden variety 5 speed Maxitorque with a low hole for starting on uphills, etc..

One of the advantages Mack had with the Mack Westerns was the ability to offer "vendor" powertrain components to customers who liked Mack but wanted someone else's engine/tranny/axles. For example, some of Continental Baking's fleet managers preferred Macks, while some of their fleet managers preferred Detroit Diesel power. They also had mechanics that were familiar with Detroits and had built up a parts stock for them. By offering Continental Baking a Detroit engine in a Mack FS cabover Mack was able to make a sale of 200 trucks that otherwise wouldn't have happened.

ICE deports most undocumented immigrants because it's not worth prosecuting them- they'd tie up the courts and jails and end up getting sentenced to "time served" anyway. Parking tickets are indeed usually a petty misdemeanor, although a few creative cities have redefined them as civil fines so they don't have to share the fine with the court and/or state. Many of the offenses you cite can be misdemeanors or felonies depending on the amount possessed, stolen, etc. Of particular interest to truckers is an obscure federal law that makes lieing on a federal form a felony punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment per offense. Our logbooks are federal forms... US DOT just threw the book at a trucker who lied on his logs, fell asleep at the wheel, and caused a crash that took several lives. He was convicted on several counts and will be spending some time at "Club Fed".

LL, copying the brain farts from the good ol' boys on some other site won't get you ahead in trucking or any field for that matter. Calling people "illegals" doesn't cut it either- crossing the U.S. border without stopping at Customs is a misdemeanor under federal law, essentially the equivilent of a parking ticket. So if you've ever had a parking or equipment or speeding ticket (and haven't we all), if you're going to call someone who informally crossed the border an "illegal" we're all "illegal"s.

LL, most of your posts seem to be about politics. This is a forum about trucks, and Mack trucks in particular. If you want to become a truck driver you'll accomplish more by learning to be the best driver you can be instead of calling people you don't like names.

Don't try it on Postal property though. When I worked there, even if you were going hunting or target shooting after work and had the firearm unloaded and locked in the trunk, you would be fired on the spot if they caught you. If you were a contractor or vendor and they caught you they'd probably arrest you, confiscate your truck, and send you a bill for the whole thing when you get out of jail.

From what I've read, Joe Mustang had to raise the floor on the right side of the H model to clear the 1693. The joke was that the floor modification had the fringe benefit of eliminating all the passenger seat legroom so Joe's wife wouldn't ride with him.

The other day I saw a WS786LST "Cruiseliner" cabover with sleeper with all Mack powertrain for $4350 in western Minnesota.

I was there thursday- excellent show, with lots of Macks and other interesting trucks.

Your 7 speed is a wide split Maxitorque designed for your truck's Maxidyne engine, It's a 5 speed with two "low hole" gears. It provides all the gears your Maxidyne engine will probably ever need- the Maxidyne engine is designed for these wide "splits" and even lugged down to it's 1200 or 1000 RPM downshift point it's still putting out over 90% of it's full rated power. The 12 speed is a 5 speed with one low hole and a splitter that can be used to split each of those gears. The 12 speed is designed for engines with narrower operating ranges like the Econodyne. It can be used with a Maxidyne, but doesn't have any clear advantage over the 7 speed. About the only advantages I can think of is the ability to use the closer splits to stay closer to the engines most economical operating speed to pick up the odd tenth of a MPG or so, or to keep the engine wound up to get more engine braking if you have an engine brake.

We had a great time in Louisville. With the economy down the new truck displays were near deserted so we had plenty of time to climb all over the new trucks. Also had several chances to talk to the folks staffing the booth. We met the lady that organized Mack's display and thanked her for Mack's excellent presentation. We also enjoyed the classic trucks on display- I had a friend with me who's a locomotive engineer and after seeing the B models and LTL she's shopping for an old Mack truck.

I suspect there may be something to that rumor. For examples, the EM6-300 was given 4 valve heads and had it's displacement increased from 11 to 12 litres but the horsepower rating was never increased from 300. On the road, I've found that 237s will keep up with the 14 liter 290/300 Cummins or 8V71 Detroit, and would run away and hide from the L10 Cummings or 6-71. The 285 and 300 Macks would likewise run with a 350 Cummins. I worked for a while for a bulk hauler that ran 425 Cats with the exception of one 350 horse Mack, and the Mack could keep up with the Cats. So clearly Macks will run with other brand engines with 10 to 20 percent more rated horsepower- that's about the driveline losses of a class 8 truck.

I'm gonna try to be there on friday (the best day).

IIRC, the 237 Maxidyne puts out over 200 horses clear down to 1200 RPM, so it'd probably handle the upshift OK. The 2060 has a low range gear, so it should be able to start up any load unless you're pulling an extremely heavy trailer. For a "play truck" it'd probably be just fine though.

Why would Volvo sell the old Mack HQ in this buyers market? Perhaps because they're broke and need to raise money? It's telling that Volvo is floating a multi million dollar bond issue and they're having to pay almost 10% to sell the bonds.

IIRC, the older Maxidynes didn't seem to want to hold a steady speed around 1000 RPM at part throttle.

The MH came on the market in '82, just as congress eliminated the overall length limits on tractor-trailer combinations. The market rapidly shifted to conventionals, although cabovers held on in niche markets and in the states that allowed a 53 foot trailer with 65 foot overall length for a while. Mack handicapped themselves too by offering the MH only in day cab and flat roof single bunk sleeper configurations only, while competitors offered raised roofs and longer sleepers as well as set back front axles. I saw a picture of an early MH with set back front axle and high roof sleeper, but I've never seen another one like it. MH sales were further hobbled by Macks refusal to underbid Mercedes/Freightliner, Navistar, etc. for sales. None the less the MH was probably the finest cabover ever built- I've driven several while temping at UPS with well over a million miles on them and the cabs were still tight and comfy.

[quote name='Delaneylan Like I said, I've never stopped at a checkpoint, and probably never will because I believe it violates my rights to be free of search and seizure as granted by our Constitution. Running a checkpoint will get you in even more trouble- up to and including felony charges in MN. The police need a search warrant to enter a building, but not to open the fuel cap on a vehicle and look at the fuel.

[quote name='Delaneylan Like I said, I've never stopped at a checkpoint, and probably never will because I believe it violates my rights to be free of search and seizure as granted by our Constitution.

[quote name='Delaneylan Like I said, I've never stopped at a checkpoint, and probably never will because I believe it violates my rights to be free of search and seizure as granted by our Constitution.

One minor problem with this poll- You can stuff the ballot box!

If Mack was spun off, Volvo would probably try to get a long term engine supply contract in the deal. That might get them into trouble with the antitrust laws, so they'd have to offer other engine options... I'm sure Cummins would be happy to engineer an installation for every Mack model!

The 237, like all Maxidynes, was designed with a broad torque curve so it only needs a wide ratio 5 speed for on highway applications. The 6 speed added one more lower gear for on/off road applications. The 10 and 12 speeds are basicly the wide ration 5 or 6 speed with a second "splitter" feature to "split" each of the 5 or 6 gears, giving a 10 or 12 speed transmission. The 237 like all Maxidynes doesn't absolutely need a 10 or 12 speed transmission, but the extra gears don't hurt and they can add some flexibility.