LT Macks

[james j neiweem]

I read a comment in Wheels of Time about Mack LT's that caught me off guard. He was comparing classic trucks of the time then and now. He thought that the LT Mack was the truck

that set the standard for classic truck appearance considering such things as style and placement of exterior components such as air cleaners, batteries, oil coolers, steps etc. What caught me off guard was that while he considered the LT the standard for a classic truck, the trucks reliability was an entirely different issue. He stated that the LT was notoriously unreliable when compared to other West Coast and Mid West trucks. This may have been a biased statement as I read in another issue that west coast truck operators generally stuck with west coast manufacturers and were somewhat unfriendly to there eastern rivals. Maybe some old timers here have some comments on the west coast LT's and B-70's

[j hancock]

I read the same thing. 

Maybe had to do with all the aluminum used in the frame and crossmembers?  Then again if the truck was specified incorrectly for intended use, that is not the fault of the truck.  The quality of aluminum now is much better than 60 years ago.

Sure seems that the are still quite a few LT's out there for being such an "unreliable" truck.

[Freightrain]

Likely west coast logging companies using lightweight alum trucks for hauling logs out of the woods.  Well, ya, it is going to fail with the brittle aluminum they had back then.  Those cast aluminum brackets and such.

[41chevy]

3 hours ago, j hancock said:

I read the same thing. 

Maybe had to do with all the aluminum used in the frame and crossmembers?  Then again if the truck was specified incorrectly for intended use, that is not the fault of the truck.  The quality of aluminum now is much better than 60 years ago.

Sure seems that the are still quite a few LT's out there for being such an "unreliable" truck.

MACK had experience with aluminum casting going back to the beginning and used quite a lot in it's WWII components, plus metallurgy advanced 100 fold during and after WWII.  One component breaks from abuse or misuse and the owner, driver and mechanic blame it on the product. . ."THAT NEVER BROKE ON MY PETERBILT!"

When Aluminum  parts first arrived in autos in the late 50's early 60's and mechanics would strip threads or break a part from "tapping it with a hammer" it was caused by not knowing how to work with alloys but it viewed as cheap crap. Unfortunately the reputation sticks. Look at the crap with Fords new pick up.

Edited July 1, 2016 by 41chevy

[james j neiweem]

There were a lot of pictures of LT's in the logging industry. That's likely where the bad rap came from. Poorly speced trucks are the fault of the Engineers and sales people.

Paccar probably was delighted when Macks failed. Pacific and Hayes filled the logging gap. Mack and Kenworth both owned Hayes at one time seeing that it was better to

buy a proven product rather than re inventing the wheel.

[mackdaddy]

The Mack LTH had a thicker frame and more steel than aluminum. This one was bought new for logging and had over 500,000 miles on it doing heavy logging work. The owner knew what he was doing and took care of his truck. Today it is still a beauty.

[james j neiweem]

I wonder what the specs were

[Truck Shop]

                                            Each make of truck has it's own set of problems. PacCar and Freightliner trucks brake just as many crossmembers as any other brand. I have replaced 

                                            alot of Pete crossmembers and end brackets. I just look at a frame like it's a ladder, it can only take so many cycles. The best set-up I have seen is the

                                            use of huck rivets over using bolts from the factory. 

 

                                            Truck Shop

[FarmallMMark]

Never heard of them being unreliable or poorly built. In my opinion, it all depends on the owner/operator and how they take care of their machines, trucks and equipment. It's about understanding the piece of machinery, knowing how to operate it probably and caring for it properly. I'll quote a decal we have on our crane at work, " If this machine doesn't work, neither do you ". Every person that respects and cares for there trucks can have them last a lifetime. It can't be expected of a truck to just stay in one piece with a lot of abuse and without care. I know a few guys that drove and operated a few lt, ltl and other similar Mack trucks. I've never heard a bad word of the older Mack trucks. I understand you can get a lemon occasionally and I know some people just have bad luck with certain products.