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Granite GU813 Tri-Axle Dump


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Thanks. I always think the look of my trucks is an important reflection of my company, but at the end of the day if the tuck can't perform it's not worth much. Legally the truck can load up to 19 metric tons, so about 21 imperial (us) tons.

The truck has a MP8-425C, coupled to an Allison 6 speed automatic. This was probably the toughest decision I had to make when purchasing it. All my other trucks always either had 18 speed Mack or Eaton Fuler and I was skeptical about the Allison. Due to the fact we do lots of work in the city center of Montreal and alot of the time it's stop and go traffic all day long I thought the Allison may be better suited. After 5 months with the truck I'm now pleased to say I made the right choice when it comes to the transmission.

The rest of the specs are Mack Air 46,000lbs. rear suspension with merritor AT-46 rear axles and Mack FXL-18 front axles with 18,000lbs taperleaf suspension. The truck is a twinsteer which mack does not offer stock (unfortunatley) so the transformation was done by Simard Suspension in Quebec City. It's has Alcoa 315/80R22.5 aluminum wheels in the front (2 axles) and Alcoa 11R22.5 in the rear. The dump body is a Lagace LF400, 18-1/2' and made with Hardox wear plate steel.

Overall I've been very pleased with my purchase. It's been now almost 25 years that my families fleet of trucks have included a Mack and i'm pleased to say that i'm certain that will continue.

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Welcome, that is a very nice truck. Simard Suspension also did a great job in making the second steer axle look as if it came from the factory.

I was skeptical about automatic/automated transmissions and the first time I drove an Eaton UltraShift i was convinced that trucks were meant to have manual tranmissions. Then I had the pleasure of doing some local work with a 6 speed Allison behind a 380 hp MaxiCruise and did not want to give it up. I was doing p&d work at the time which involved plenty of stop, go, and backing in hilly terrain at various weights and the tranny performed flawlessly.

It's also good to see a another fleet whose owners are loyal Mack users.

Jim

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Thanks Jim. All of our tri-axle twelve wheel dumpers have similar setups here in the province of Quebec. For the most part they always look like they are from the factory when they have a tight 76" - 80" spread between axles. I have seen some questionable set-ups by some less reputable companies that do these types of transformations. Simard is by far one of the leading innovators in this department in the province of Quebec. They do really great suspension set-ups for the twin steer. I opted for the traditonal twin steer with taperleaf suspension, since its tried, true and very reliable. They offer Full-Air front twin steer set ups with the retractable 2nd axle. Really cool stuff, but from speaking to some freinds who opted for this more costly system they have yet to really see the benefit beside ride comfort. This new system also needs some refining so they told me it's not unusual for parts to break and the truck to have to be sent back to them for the repair (under warranty luckily).

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Thanks Bulldog. As I mentioned in previous posts I think from now on my dumpers will have Allison 6 speeds since they are esstially in stop and go traffic all day long. I'll leave the 18 speed Eaton to my highway tractor that does our bulk aggregate transport.

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