Supertrucker

Guys, I gotta say that I actually like alot of the stuff they do. Granted, some of it is sort of gimicky and a little like Pimp My Ride, but at least it is going towards good hard working drivers who just don't have the money to feed their family and keep up their trucks. I liked some of the earlier shows when it debuted a little better, but I hope they treat that B right. Most of the trucks done have been either Peterbilts, Freightliners, or KW's so it's nice to finally have a Mack in the line.

It may be possible, if your plastic isn't all cracked up, to simply dye the pieces the color you want. I haven't tried this myself with any of my vehicles, but I have heard that it works pretty good. It's supposed to bond the plastic farily well and not crack and fall off like regular paint.

Alot of it is based on quality and rock solid reliability. You buy a new Mack and you know what you get. No hype involved.

Talk about unloading on the clutch...holy crap. There is not even a hint of chassis twist there, thank god for Mack frames!

Not sure if this hold true for 2001 or not, but on earlier CH's you turned the cruise switch on and held the set switch for a few seconds until the SEL flashed once then a number of times according to what the code was. Again, I'm not sure if this is the same for yours but the manual had the common codes listed. Otherwise, contact the nearest dealer I guess. Hope this helps

Everyone here agrees the Mack name is one of the toughest in the industry. I have driven several models of Macks and several year ranges. I have also driven Peterbilts, Kenworths, Freightshakers, and yes even a Volvo. One thing my family has always liked about Mack is that you can order your truck with all Mack components, which makes it alot easier to order parts and service. Most other truck owners can't say the same. My Dad bought only one Mack RD that had an Eaton transmission and vowed to never do it again. After driving that Volvo hauling sugar beets from the field to the factory, there were several things I could point out that I liked. One was the wide open cab that was extremely spacious inside and out. The open glass and steep sloped hood made it nice when pulling onto a beet piler. The fit and finish of panels and relative ease of service were also pluses. There were drawbacks however. The interior looked extremely cheesy and the door latch mechanisims broke often. The truck was confortable to drive, but was deffinately not built for off highway use. Most farmers in my area by whatever truck runs good and is priced right. Very few buy based on brand or longevity. I don't think Volvo will necessarily kill the Mack name since it is so engrained into our American culture, but I think there could be some negative effects of another major truck manufacturer making changes. For the majority of Mack's history, Mack trucks were used mainly in the vocational areas of trucking. Some companies used Mack F cabovers and later RW's for over the road, but most of Mack's line was geared towards off highway use. When the CH came along, more companies began to take notice of Mack's durabilty and began to use them. Since then you'll see more and more Macks at the truck stops and on the highways. I think if Volvo makes any changes to Mack, they should try and keep it in the highway lineup where comfort and driveability are more important. If they use automatic transmissions, keep them out of the off highway models and put them strictly in the Pinnacle. An automatic transmission is not necessarily a bad thing except if you run in the mountains, but it does take some of the skill away from the driver. Highway trucks bought by larger companies should be comfortable, easy to use and maintain, and designed to be idiot proof. Off highway trucks should be similar but stepped up a few notches. Suspensions and axles designed for long term service and be rebuildable, chassis designed for extreme loads and stress, cabs and other panels designed to be easy to care for and be flexible for options, an finally engines designed for high torque loads and power down low where it counts to get the load moving. This is fairly long, but just my ideas built on a few years of experience. I'm not as experienced as many of you and I need to learn more mechanical skills, but I am a Mack enthusiast.

These are some awesome looking Superliners. I need to buy one someday!

First truck I learned to drive was a 2 stick RS dump. Learned that before I ever drove a pickup with a manual. Got pretty good at double clutching too, never touched a gear and never bogged the engine.

The Mad Max movies are kinda corny, but gotta love the action. Plus, nothing beats an old R crashing through cars and anything else that might be in its way.

Of course trucks, like anything else are always evolving. This will be especially true as the EPA steps in and forces tighter restrictions on emissions and the like. I don't think they'll go back to R model style cabs, but I do think that we are going away from companies listening to their customers. I think they can borrow some ideas from the Volvo truck lines, but I think they need to be careful in how they do that. They can use some interior ideas to make their cabs a little more comfortable. I do like the recessed steps, and the openness of the cabs that Mack has always had, except the early R's, those were kinda tight.

My vote was the '70's and '80's. The first truck I drove was a 1980 RS dumptruck and even though it rode like crap and no A/C, it had character. I love the shape of the R model cabs. I've spend most of my seat time in CH's and love them, but R's just have a character and attitude all their own. I like that short stubby fat hood, rounded cab with no exposed rivets (I hate that unfinished look of Petes and Freightliners), and when they got a set of pipes and some shine, they're the best looking trucks on the road.

Wow!!..That is one amazing looking Superdog.