farmer 300 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I am looking at a 02 Mack with 300hp 12.0L I6 and a Allison it is a quad axle dump.I would like to know if anybody has driven one befor and if it had enough power? Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
convoyduel Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I have a 2000 CH612 and a 1997 MR688P both with E7 300's and Allison Autos. Both are former US Postal trucks. Can't say enough good about them, but we use them for drayage around town. The only thing different about using the Autos is the speed with which you burn thru brakes. The horizontal pedal is the only means of holding or reducing speed. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-98840 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivetroad Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I have a 2000 CH612 and a 1997 MR688P both with E7 300's and Allison Autos. Both are former US Postal trucks. Can't say enough good about them, but we use them for drayage around town. The only thing different about using the Autos is the speed with which you burn thru brakes. The horizontal pedal is the only means of holding or reducing speed.I have bid on several postal MR's on ebay - was that where you got them? Did you feel like the listings were pretty accurate/straight forward? I have wanted to hear from someone who had dealt with them before I really bid what they are worth. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-98841 Share on other sites More sharing options...
convoyduel Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Yes, i bought them on eBay out of Sacramento, CA. Completely rust free. Trucks both had right at 600k on the clock and both had ReMack engines installed in 2005. Both had new steer tires, 3/4 tanks full of fuel. Also have automatic greasing systems. Trucks came with full service records. They were serviced at regular intervals, even if they only had 200 miles since the previous service. There's also an amazing amount of preventive component replacement. The vehicles weren't polish prepped (interiors were dusty/dirty but not trashed). Trucks don't have A/C or radios which isn't a bid deal from me but could be for some people. I understand that some US Postal Maintenance Facilities don't take as good of care of their vehicles, but these were well taken care of. The eBay auction description is only as reliable as the USPS Maintenance Facility's information provided to the person that lists the items. The prices they sold for on eBay were insanely low. They would have made more money scrapping the trucks. It's no wonder the USPS is broke, they're getting a few thousand for perfectly running trucks and replacing them with $100k+ trucks. I bought the first 2 that came up to the end of auction, should have bought the other 6. Units out of San Diego were a bit rougher, had 700k on the clock and went for about $1000 more per unit. i paid just about as much to ship them to St. Louis as i did for the trucks themselves. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-98850 Share on other sites More sharing options...
convoyduel Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Forgot to say that the MR Postal trucks are probably the easiest driving, most thoughtfully laid out city tractors I have ever seen. I was never a big fan, but they really are extremely well thought out and turn tighter than most cars. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-98851 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GearheadGrrrl Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 On USPS Macks the hour meter reading is as important as the odometer- In many cases the trucks slog along in city traffic at average speeds of 20 MPH or so. Thus a USPS Mack with 500k mines may have covered the equilivent of a million highway miles. Like maintainence, this varies a lot with location- USPS drivers in Phoenix have told me of 300 mile round trip highway runs, while on Long Island they'll spend a whole shift creeping through city traffic at 10 MPH average. As for wasting money, those trucks have more than paid for themselves- remember they're 12 and 15 years old and we're probably double shifted for a decade or so. They were replaced in 2006, but I suspect the local USPS operations held on to them for spares. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-98864 Share on other sites More sharing options...
convoyduel Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The '97 MR I bought was likely a spare hold-over but the CH612s from the '99-'00 order are just coming off of front-line service at many locations. The 1999-2000 order was the last of the CH orders for USPS. The Vision CX has been the conventional model for subsequent orders. I forgot to mention that the '97 MR has an EM7 with a 4 speed Allison and the '00 CH has the E7 with a 5 Speed Allison. Both run out at 70 mph, but we had to have the VMAC reprogrammed on the CH to remove the electronic 60 mph speed limiter.The two trucks I bought are in better shape than any Freightliner I have seen or driven with 300k miles on them. As one example, my friend has a fleet with a '99 IH 9300, '00 Freightliner FL112 and a '04 Columbia among other trucks. Each of those trucks has around 300k on the odometer and the trucks are just absolutely junk. Not a lack of maintenance, just loose sloppy everywhere, interiors wearing and falling apart, cheap plastic breaking everywhere, etc. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-98868 Share on other sites More sharing options...
miro Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I am just curious, you say the trucks had Remack engines, do you know if the were replaced because they were wore out or as a maintenance item? Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-98871 Share on other sites More sharing options...
convoyduel Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 They were replaced by schedule. The local St. Louis dealer confirmed that they have done similar work in the past for the USPS, including 26 sets of rod and main bearings a few years back, one truck after another. They ran them thru a single mechanic who was getting them done at a rate of 2 per day. According to my records on the trucks, both were replaced when the odometers reached 400k. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-98933 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GearheadGrrrl Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Clearly some local variation in maintainence and dispatching... In Minneapolis they did no preventive engine rebuilds or main bearing "roll-ins", just ran them forever. Minneapolis got rid of the last of the CHs around 2007, I haven't seen anything but CXs on the road there. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-99049 Share on other sites More sharing options...
convoyduel Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 GHG,I've been meaning to ask you...in my humble opinion, those Postal trucks (both MR's and CH's) have to be the most intelligently laid out trucks I've ever driven for local/regional work. Auto's, LED lighting, grab handles everywhere, gladhand handles, excellent step arrangement, key actuated air start (electric solenoid over air), turn on a dime, air ride, air dump valves, auto greasers, etc. I think you worked for USPS for quite a while. What is your take on the trucks? Did you see any shortcomings with them (other than no A/C)? Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-99087 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GearheadGrrrl Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Yup, I drove for USPS from 1993 to 2005. I loved the MR cabovers- great visibility, turn on a dime, and like you noted all the switches are right there where you can reach them. The air start is great too for a city truck that gets turned on and off all the time- USPS went back to electric starters with the 2006 order and ever since the mechanics have been busy jumpstarting them! As for the steps, watch out for the gap between the left side steps on the CHs though- a few drivers got hurt when they caught their foot too deep into the step which is open in the back. Also, the MR doesn't have much headroom and rides awful if the height setting on the air ride is off. Power wise, 300 HP is about right for city work, but if you do a lot of highway work at 80,000 pounds you might want a bit more. IIRC, both models have 3.90 gears, but the CH has an overdrive top gear in it's Allison that cuts the highway cruising RPMs down to a tolerable reading.What more can I say... The USPS trucks are built for urban trucking, and at the prices they're going for you can't go wrong! Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/22709-02-mack-with-allison/#findComment-99117 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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