rsb502

This is great information but its clear you have never driven either in actual use, I can tell you that there is no slipping an AMT to get very slow speed operation needed during paving and milling operations, the clutch is engaged and out and engaged and out and it is not smooth enough to stay in front of a milling machine unless you spec it with gears low enough to get the clutch fully engaged by 1 mph and keep it there, then you have no top end. The Allison has no clutch and therefore can be used from 0-top end speed very smoothly and there is also no clutch change needed every couple years as with every AMT I have ever heard of. The Allison keeps smooth power on the drive tires off road in rough terrain and loose materials where the AMT or Manual transmission ends up with driveline slack and shock loads. I agree AMT transmissions are the future for on road applications but Vocational trucks are just not suited to them and so far everyone I have heard of trying one hated it in slow speed operation, that same slow speed operation is where the Allison shines and I have never seen one get hot during slow speed operation, probably because you are not using enough throttle to heat it up. Just my two cents, Ive driven Dumps, Medium Duty trucks, School Buses, Coach Buses and Fire trucks with Allison transmissions and never had an issue. I would say that a School bus is a heavy service Application, Allison rates School Bus use as Heavy in their paperwork and when running 84 and 90 passenger Blue Bird's with 8.3 Cummins 260-315hp engines grossing around 35,000# loaded, running two routes morning and afternoon averaging 150 stops a day, plus red lights and school zones and never having an issue they do pretty well. The only maintenance we ever did to out MT643's was change the external spin on filter every 5,000miles during each service and change the internal filter and all the fluid once a year, same with the 3000 series actually just having two internal filters. OK Im done I rate the Allison A+ and the AMT transmissions about an A- and that's over the Mack manuals being a B and the Eatons a C and spicers a , maybe an F for longevity in my relatively short experience.

I have nt ever looked into a Mack trans but an Eaton has different gears and bearings in the low range gears from a 13 to an 1, I had heard Mack was all the same but like I said I got no confirmation on that one.

Yeah that thing is pretty beefy but I think its a Dm600 series too, not enough frame or hood to be a 800 series, pretty badass for a 600.

Wonder if I can get a job in Australia?

Its mostly the corrosives, there are plenty of old trucks and dump beds in TN that are barely showing rust and 20+ years old(I know, I have one).

It runs, go drive it home its not that far, trucks are made to run the road.

Well somebody swapped the 865 for an E9 or they managed to figure out a way to put E9 valve covers and exhaust manifolds on an 865, I guess by changing the heads.

When you ask about ratios which transmissions are you talking about, the Maxitorque T309 has a 13.31 low reverse and the T309LR has a 24.24, the T318 has a 15.91 and the T318LR has a 28.98, I cant find my info on the T2090.

For what you want to do flux core .030 or .035 in a 140-160amp welder will do fine, I use a friends Hobart 140 with .030 flux on his trailers all the time (saves me from taking my welder down there and him from bringing his trailers here). Welding with flux core wire isn't as pretty as gas shielded but if you slow down and watch the weld puddle like a stick welder and keep your electrode in the puddle long enough to build up a good bead the spatter goes way down and it can be controlled better, just think of it as a stick welder and go slow and watch your puddle. I actually dime weld with solid wire most of the time and with flux I back and forth it across the seam pausing at either end long enough to get penetration then pull the weld puddle thru the middle of your run to keep it hot on both sides. just my two cents.

new big rubber, new paint, redone inside and out, dual exhaust and an E9 500 with a 12 spd, its worth $29k.

Under $20k your not looking for a nice Superliner, your looking for a running work truck, I wouldn't sell mine for less than $30k now and its an 85 model. I sold my 84 back in 2007 for $24k and it was nice but this ones a big step up. If your serious about a "nice,clean" Superliner you need to be ready to spend closer to $30k they are going up in value if they are nice not down.

Miller, Lincoln or Hobart(Miller) I have a few year old Hobart 175, its a 220 welder running solid .035 wire and gas I weld anything from sheet metal up to 1/2 plate, gotta go slow on the 1/2 and pre heat to get it on one pass. I would go with a Hobart, Miller or Lincoln dual voltage and run .030 solid wire for something easy to transport and use wherever, I would probably use flux core wire in .035 if I wasn't going to go .030 solid and use gas, the flux core only fills about two thirds the same space per foot of wire as solid core. I have had friends buy the cheaper welders from Harbor freight and Northern and they were toast after less than a year in hobby use, its just not worth it for the price difference and the tips and nozzles are easy to buy for the name brands at any welding store or TSC, CoOp, or farm store.

Poor Vinny, gonna have to see another one.

Ya know the deer sticker on the fender sounds like fun, been done on fighters and bombers for years and years to keep track of kills, I think we can come up with a small deer profile to use for a kill on the side of a truck.

300-400# on stud pilot if I remember right, hub pilot is stamped on the nut, 450-500#, a whole lot less than a 1" Impact for sure.

OK I couldn't remember the gear ratios so I went and got my books out, the low / high gear ratios are.... TRTXL 107- 18.56 - 1.00 TRTXL-1070- 14.44 - .78 T318- 13.44 - .71 T318LR- 16.42 - .71 T310M- 17.35 - .73 T310MLR- 27.30 - .71 eaton 8LL- 14.56 - .74 There we go from that you should be able to see what a difference your looking at in low gear ratios, I just cant see the 310MLR for anything with rears lower than a 3.86 for my uses its just crazy low the one I drove you could put it in low let off the clutch and probably get out, walk around the truck and get back in and it would have gone about 5 feet, it had 4.64 rears on 11R22.5 tires. The 310 MSR transmissions have 6 reverse gears and the 310M I had worked great for paving and road work where I had to back up from one crossover to the paver maybe a 1/4 mile, it shifts in reverse just like in forward. The gear steps in the T310MLR are actually the farthest apart of any of the transmissions I listed because of the extreme low and .71 OD and it will be a big step in high range, the 310M on the other hand is a close ratio transmission and I loved it compared to an 8LL in high range. The 318 series is going to be the closest gear step of all the 318LR is right with it with the low gear for vocational work but it is a splitter transmission not multi speed so you can split from under to high in low or high range in reverse but not between the high and low range while moving. I would opt for an Allison like Reel Addiction said before it is probably the best option you can get for a vocational truck and with the added torque multiplication of the torque converter it will pull just as good as the 10 speed trucks and pass them doing it since you don't have to shift, I think the norm is a 5.02 rear ratio with a 4500 series 6 speed Allison the top gears are in the .67 area it would be the way I would buy a new vocational truck. Hope that helps, the dealers really try to push the 310 MLR now but its just too low for most people to use and the gear steps are way off in high. Heres a link to an Allison video that proves (using Mack trucks) what they can do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvWPRpF_CTg

For a new dump truck I would vote for the Allison as above, but of your pics I would vote the 18spd. If you were open to suggestion, the 310MLR is geared too low, I would guess your going to gear your truck around 4.42-4.64 if so you'll never use the low gear,ever. My 04 Granite had the 310M with 4.64 rears on 11R24.5's and it was just right, I rarely used the lowest gear in it even when hauling shot rock off road the MLR version is just too low unless your going with a 4.17-3.86 gear. I like the 310 it is as close to the old 12 speed as you will get the 18 just isn't the same and I've had all three. As for automated manual transmissions they just don't give the smooth slow takeoffs and stops needed for job site work off road or paving and milling. The Allison is the best choice for any vocational truck but if your set on a manual you can't go wrong with a T310M and 4.64-4.42 rears on tall 24 rubber or 4.42-4.17 on tall 22 rubber. If your going to go higher in the gearing to get your rpm down on the road you could use the gears in the T310MLR but I wouldn't get it without something like 4.17-3.89 on tall 24's or 3.89-3.86 on 22's. That 20 something to 1 low is just crazy low, 8LL Eaton's are 14.56-1 LL gear.

Yeah it was a bad deal no matter how you look at it and since we weren't there we have no idea what happened. I don't see enough broken chain and binders laying around for my likes but as above I wasn't there. There's another good point that's been made here in that there is no way this would happen unless every little thing lined up perfectly, you could try to do it 100 times and never duplicate it. I have never been able to put the load against the neck on a lowboy, all I have used have had a pin or lock there that would get broken or crushed. I have always run anything other than a backhoe with a cutting edge pointing backwards,its been TN law for long as I can remember and it makes sense to me since you can't drag the edge into or against something and if someone sideswipes you they can't catch it either.

My 04 was ok, after I raised hell about low power the third time and told em to keep it it ran awfully good. I can't remember the numbers, Staxx did the program and dyno runs, seems like it gained about 115hp. Mine was an Aset ai 427, T310M and 4:64 rears on camelback. I learned a lot about Granites with it that's for sure.

Damn, I think ID try another truck that one seems to like wildlife. GI get you two sets of those deer whistles and find a hole for em.

Man I got some JB Weld, we can fix that block right up, little paint, good as new!

Sweet pic of working Macks though.

Whew the weather looks rough, sucks to be out working in that! Lol.

Awww, come on man! That sucks, how many miles did you have on the bottom end? Are you gonna pull the head and see if all is ok up top? At least it got towed home in style no freaking pos Volvo wrecker or anything. Is the MH gonna get that pick me up at Antrim now? Again at least your still riding in style, not really a step down from an RW to an MH.

Ho Leee Shit! ID marry that one, just damn.