GearheadGrrrl

With only 4 suppliers left in the class 8 semi-tractor market here, profit margins have risen since GM, Dodge, and Ford left that market. Thus FIAT will probably bring the Powerstar here, and Ford might get back into the market too.

Looks like it's got the round headlights too, and the wheelbase has been stretched. I saw a similar but unstretched one in Dassel, MN at the Bobcat dealer with a flatbed on it too, had the "Built for UPS" plaque on it and the UPS spec Stahl driveshaft damper too. With now two of these ex-UPS MHs appearing with flatbeds covering their frames, wonder if the frames were cut to keep UPS happy, then welded back together and a flatbed plopped on to cover the evidence?

The MR with the sleeper looks better than the standard non sleeper, and using some parts from the fire truck version of the MC, wouldn't have been too hard to build.

Used to be a FWD cabover tractor with the forward slanting windshield in a trailer park behind the shopping center across from the Pine Cone on old WI 29 in Schofield, WI. Was visible from the road, wonder if it's still there?

Separating fact from legend: I've worked a bunch of peak seasons as a feeder driver at UPS the last 20 years and own stock in the company. The trade cycle for tractors was changed about 20 years ago, plan was to reduce it from 20 years to 9 years. However, they've found that lots of 9 year old tractors still have plenty of life left in them, so in practice tractors are run until they have a major component failure. Thus there's still a lot of CHs from the late 90s still in use with well over a million miles on them. And as much of the longhaul has shifted to rail, those are hard miles running back and forth to the intermodal yards. The Macks have been consistently the most durable tractors in the UPS fleet, for example the Louisvilles bought at the same time as the CHs are long gone. As for working conditions, a lot of what I've read here is old trucker's tales. Since the last strike a decade ago labor relations have improved quite a bit, for example when I called in sick with bronchitis my supervisor thanked me for taking time off to get well and not jeopardizing my co-workers. As for the different lanes to walk in, that's BS... But UPS is very concerned about safety and in the busy hubs they have marked paths for walking and trucks aren't allowed in those paths. As for the requirement that the trucks be cut up, that isn't totally enforced- the steel cab CHs all seem to get carved up because steel has some value, but I suspect some of the composite cab MHs may have survived because smart scrappers are reluctant to cut up a cab whose materials they're not familiar with. In conclusion, UPS may seem weird but it works- while almost every other unionized LTL and parcel company has gone under in the "race to the bottom" that deregulation wrought, UPS has survived and thrived.

Set back front axle MHs: IIRC, the british magazine "Truck" has a picture of an MH with set back axle, reportedly it was headed to Australia. UPS Survivors: The only ones I've seen in recent decades are MHs- perhaps the scrappers aren't interested in the Maxiglas cab?

To keep someone sinister from impersonating UPS and stealing freight.

And if you want the all time lightweight champ, the RL685LS had a dry weight just under 12,000 pounds... Even Freightliner couldn't beat that!

I'd suggest talking to the Mack dealer there in Nigeria, to at least get an idea what they'd charge to reprogram the trucks or sell you the software to do so yourself. You can try shopping for the software on eBay and such, but it might be tough to find- I worked for one of the biggest Mack fleets, the U.S. Postal Service, and they never bought the software despite the fact they had over a thousand Macks in their fleet.

IIRC, the older computers could be programmed with a software program running on a laptop, but Mack only sold it with the laptop for $2000 USD.

The Rs seem to be a bit lighter, maybe a couple hundred pounds, than the CHs and CXs. Back when I worked for the Postal Service I had the chance to weight our different Mack models on a certified scale. The lightest tandem was the '99 CH600 with E7, Allison 5 speed automatic, steel wheels, 40k Eaton axles on Hendrickson air ride, and starter, and a single 60 gallon fuel tank- at the end of the shift with maybe 40 gallons in the tank and an overfed driver in the cab it weighted only 16,200 pounds. A more normal 100 gallons of fuel would have pushed that up to around 17,000 pounds, but with aluminum wheels and super singles 16,000 pounds would be possible. Get radical with a 6x2 and a few other options and a 15,000 pound empty weight would be possible...

I'm on the city council of our tiny town and last night took in a show 'n' tell by the not quite so tiny town fire department that we pay to provide fire protection. They've got 7 trucks, the grass trucks are less than 10 years old and the tanker is a 2003 model, but it goes downhill from there- the "new" pumper is a 1995, and they've got an IH Loadstar and Cargostar from the 1970s for backup, a Paystar of similar vintage with a water tank, and an '80s Econoline cube van to haul the SCBA, Jaws, etc.. Some of these trucks border on scary and need replacing- the Cargostar don't even have air brakes! Is there a hard and fast age based rule as to when a fire truck needs to be replaced, or is it based on meeting certifications, etc.? Thanks!

With all their high tech electronics and such, these Volvos won't live long enough to get exported to third world markets!

Those are probably all electronic engines, so the speed limiting is done by the V-MAC engine control computer. In some cases you can get the software and set the engine speed yourself, in other cases you may need to take the truck to a Mack dealer and pay them do it.

Quit complaining- You're getting paid by the hour!

You have to pass a spelling test first.

Not anymore - China is three times the size of the U.S. market !

Looks similar to the old Mack dealership on University Avenue on the Midway area of St.Paul- It was used as a dealership up until the 70s when they moved a few miles north to a new building.

Same doors maybe, but the General cab is narrower.

Of course it's true, it's April 1st! The "party in the plant"'s already begun in Hagerstown, the Bulldog is headed back to Allentown in the mayor's limo with a police escort, and the party kicks off at the museum with a performance by "The Boss" himself at noon.

BTW, kscarbell could probably spend some light on this, but Scania's engine designs would be ideal candidates to replace Volvo's troublesome engines.

And soon to be April 1st at Allentown, Macungie, and Hagerstown... I hear crowds are gathering around the big Volvo signs, looking to tear them down like the Berlin Wall fell. But I suspect the Volvo signs are plastic... Should make for a heck of a bonfire!

It's an hour past midnight in Sweden, and the Volvo board meeting is just breaking up. This PR just came across the wire: Embargoed until April 1st, 2013 Goatburg, Sweden: Today Mack Family Investment Trust, LLC announces the repurchase for the sum of one Swedish Kroner of Mack Trucks from Volvo Trucks AB. Effective immediately, the Mack family will retake control of all Mack plants and assets and production of Mack components and trucks will continue apace. All Volvo signage, etc. is to be disposed of at the earliest opportunity. We will share more details of this exciting historic development at an April 1st celebration at the Mack Museum tomorrow. The backstory: Remember how Volvo forgot to trademark the "Stirling" name and let Daimler make off with it? That was just the tip of the iceberg in Goatburg- some Wall Street wiz kids at Volvo did a "leaseback" of Mack's plants, not realizing that they were selling the plants to and leasing them back from a front company for the Mack family. The lease ran out the first of the year and the family increased the rents but Volvo kept paying the previous amount, thus the eviction. Thoroughly embarrassed, Volvo Trucks was forced to surrender Mack back into the able custody of the Mack family. - 30 -

The eviction notices were filed in the name of a "Mack family investment trust" LLC...

If it's a Fuller, there's a two bit spring in the shifter housing on top of the box that can cause it to pop out of gear if it breaks.