Heavy Mack Vision Dump? I Thought Visions were only highway trucks.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

I was surprised to see a Mack Vision Dump around NY which looks like a spec-ed heavy tri axle with a 427 stamped on the side next the 'Vision' and with Mack planetary rears. I thought that maybe  someone did a cab swap onto a CL or CH but when I googled I saw more pics of them.

I was around at the Mack launch of the Vision in the early 2000s and even drove one around the lot at an event in Hagerstown for a $1. I only remembered seeing them spec-ed as over the road tractors and maybe a few straight axle trucks with Vision label but not as a heavy spec-ed tri- axle dump. I only remembered seeing CH axle forward and CL spec-ed as heavy chassis for dumps with the new style cabs along with the older R and DM models at the time. 

How where these heavy spec-ed Vision chassis compared to the heavy CH and CL ? Where they a short run? The Vision nose certainly looks good on a heavy chassis.

[james j neiweem]

There are many vision and CH dump trucks in various parts of the country. Generally they are lighter speced and not as pricey as  RD's CL's DM's and granites. They were fairly popular in farm country and out west. Generally you might say they were the for runners of the MHD. Most were 12k fronts  38 rears and lighter frames. There may have been a 44k rear option on some. You don't see many of them out east. I never saw one with  planetary rears.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

7 hours ago, james j neiweem said:

There are many vision and CH dump trucks in various parts of the country. Generally they are lighter speced and not as pricey as  RD's CL's DM's and granites. They were fairly popular in farm country and out west. Generally you might say they were the for runners of the MHD. Most were 12k fronts  38 rears and lighter frames. There may have been a 44k rear option on some. You don't see many of them out east. I never saw one with  planetary rears.

Yep like you referred they must be rare out her win the east. The Visions I used to see displayed at shows and around always seemed to  have non Mack rears like Meritor. The one I saw not only had Mack rears but also a heavy looking camel back suspension and big tires.

[Ezrider]

iv seen a few with heavy specs but not a ton, iv seen more light spec road tractor visions converted into dumps than iv seen actual heavy spec visions. 

[Mackpro]

I believe the first couple of years the CX Vision was introduced you couldn’t even get Mack rears in them. But I do know that where I worked, we took lots of used CX Vision trade ins and pulled the sleepers off and beefed up the front springs, and slid Camelbacks under the rear end and put dump beds on them . I think we even had a local steel company bend us some frame rails so we could double frame them. I’d say we did at least 10 of them. We had a large local trucking company that would trade in 10-15 CX’s at a time and we had to do something with them. 

[Jamaican Bulldog]

5 hours ago, Mackpro said:

I believe the first couple of years the CX Vision was introduced you couldn’t even get Mack rears in them. But I do know that where I worked, we took lots of used CX Vision trade ins and pulled the sleepers off and beefed up the front springs, and slid Camelbacks under the rear end and put dump beds on them . I think we even had a local steel company bend us some frame rails so we could double frame them. I’d say we did at least 10 of them. We had a large local trucking company that would trade in 10-15 CX’s at a time and we had to do something with them. 

Hmm, maybe this was one of them because it fits the look of the conversion you described. I did not get to take a pic, but even if I do I can't load pics on here for some reason. i might see it again because he driver seem to pick up lunch at a place where I go sometimes. The truck was silver and had  Hempstead NY Company name, but i have seen it in Mount Vernon NY a few times.

Here is a few for sale in Florida with camel back and mack rears. Probably converted but without 'Vision' name on side of cab. The one I saw looked similar but with bigger tires normally seen on a CL https://www.ertruck.com/trucks/?vid=2472#.W8zP2C2ZNPM

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Jamaican Bulldog

[Maxidyne]

I see a lot of those chop shop built "dump trucks" in Florida too- The super single front tires on a model like the CX or T600 that never offered them as OEM is a dead giveaway. Wish Florida DOT and State Patrol would get these death traps off the road!

[Jamaican Bulldog]

3 hours ago, Maxidyne said:

I see a lot of those chop shop built "dump trucks" in Florida too- The super single front tires on a model like the CX or T600 that never offered them as OEM is a dead giveaway. Wish Florida DOT and State Patrol would get these death traps off the road!

It could be too that these 'chop shop built' trucks have an export market in Florida. I remember seeing alot of American trucks in the Caribbean that were shipped out of FL ( closer to Caribbean and SA so cheaper shipping) as tractors converted to dumps. You guys would cringe if you saw some of the tractors that were actually stretched and converted in the Caribbean .

Tractors were cheaper to buy than trucks actually spec-ed to be built as dumps and also import duties on tractors were also cheaper.  Some were done right with creative upgrades but it was always obvious that for some of others the chassis, suspension, rears, gear ratios  etc were not made to have dump body put on them and so some operators would learn the hard way later. More so, there were little no regulations there for overweight etc so many were eventually overloaded because they looked 'heavy' and strong.

Back to the original 'Vision' I saw in NY though, the frame etc looked heavy spec. I am still wondering if someone put a Vision cab and hood on a CH or CL chassis. 

Edited October 22, 2018 by Jamaican Bulldog

[Maxidyne]

Most of these "chop shopped" road tractors converted to dumps were running on the roads of Florida. I've seen what started out as a highway tractor with 12k and 40k axles fitted with super singles on the front with no upgrade of the axle or brakes, maybe a fishplate or doubling up of the frame from around the cab back (perhaps to hide the spliced frame) and a pusher axle with duals. Thus a 52k GVW truck can legally (until Florida checks axles, brakes, etc.) run at 73,280 pounds!

[Jamaican Bulldog]

22 hours ago, Maxidyne said:

Most of these "chop shopped" road tractors converted to dumps were running on the roads of Florida. I've seen what started out as a highway tractor with 12k and 40k axles fitted with super singles on the front with no upgrade of the axle or brakes, maybe a fishplate or doubling up of the frame from around the cab back (perhaps to hide the spliced frame) and a pusher axle with duals. Thus a 52k GVW truck can legally (until Florida checks axles, brakes, etc.) run at 73,280 pounds!

Wow, I did not know the standards could be so lax in any state, especially where they can also be running 70 mph down the highway!

[bts-4120]

On 10/21/2018 at 8:32 AM, Mackpro said:

I believe the first couple of years the CX Vision was introduced you couldn’t even get Mack rears in them. But I do know that where I worked, we took lots of used CX Vision trade ins and pulled the sleepers off and beefed up the front springs, and slid Camelbacks under the rear end and put dump beds on them . I think we even had a local steel company bend us some frame rails so we could double frame them. I’d say we did at least 10 of them. We had a large local trucking company that would trade in 10-15 CX’s at a time and we had to do something with them. 

correct you could not get  a mack trans. or rears in a vision till 2004  all pre emmision visions was mutts from the factory