2019 Rubber Duck Truck Reborn???

[Amos V.]

Just found this nugget on the internetowebogram... Glad to see Dan Bruno is back on the grid. I just feel uneasy about his new concept. Although, it is completely logical and makes sense... I just love this CLASSIC movie and the truck. But, I REALLY hate to see it be anything else...  But, GREAT JOB Dan!!!! Your Western Truck looks amazing!!!

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rubber+duck+truck&sp=SBSYAQHqAwA%3D

[Amos V.]

Hope the link loads. Here is Dan's YouTube post.

Published on Jun 4, 2019

Convoy’s Rubber Duck Reimagined for 2019. Although we had fun finding, saving and restoring the 1970 Mack RS700L and 1960 Trailmobile Tank Trailer, along with finding and saving the purpose-built 1977 Mack RS700L used in the movie Convoy......we couldn't help but wonder what a modern version of the Rubber Duck's truck would look like.

For a moment, we had to delve into fantasy land and assume that Martin Penwald (the Rubber Duck) was real and that the events of the movie Convoy were a reality. We started by assuming the look of the truck was chosen by Martin Penwald for whatever reason.....all black truck with some limited bright accents, single right exhaust, large modular sleeper, cab mounted old-school air deflector, long hood conventional, black interior and a long wheelbase 250" or more. Given the nature of trucking now, we also didn't believe that the real Martin Penwald would be interested in dealing with SCR, DPF or e-Logs. This narrowed our choices.

Mack wouldn't talk to us about a single side mounted exhaust and wouldn't build gliders. Peterbilt things grey is the only color for interiors, and KW dropped the modular sleeper. Western Star and their local dealer Truck Centers, Inc. was eager to work with us and was willing to build exactly what we wanted. Securing one of the last glider slots available, we ordered in in July 2018 for June 2019 delivery.

Please check back to follow along with the completion of the build and its debut around the country at key events.

[Vladislav]

That must be an interesting project.

Unfortunately there's no link in your post above.

[Terry T]

Dan posted some pics several weeks ago of his WS still being assembled on the JOT site.  Sad that Mack wasn't interested in working with him but the WS looks very good.

[nops]

I guess this is the direct link to the video.

 

[Amos V.]

Thank You Jammer!! I sometimes have a hard time getting my pics or attachments to link in on this site.  God I love that pic of that ole Gal!!!

[Lmackattack]

another missed opportunity for Mack to be part of... Looks like Dan is doing just fine. good to hear.

[staxx]

[bbigrig]

Hold up....every daycab ordered Mack (Granite ) come with a single stack mounted to the cab. (AN/CHU) on a stack mount.  Ok, so it would have an emissions box under the RH of the cab....and we all know a few guys with exhausts on new Macks that have some things " re routed" with a big stack on the passenger side and a few program updates. Its totally doable. The Rubber Duck had an aftermarket sleeper, could have slapped that on any new Mack. This factory WS bunk looks out of place. I'm thinking someone was just really peeved at Mack/Volvo for a reason yet to be disclosed and went else where.

Edited July 11, 2019 by bbigrig

[Quickfarms]

I want to see more pictures

But it does look funny without the driver side stack on that sleeper, I think it would look better with a custom sleeper

[Amos V.]

Mik Mak of Canada still makes custom sleepers for dual and single stack configurations. I reached out to them to see what a 60'' mid-rise flat roof would cost. Needless to say they would have been able to replicate something comparable for a brand new Mack. Maybe Mack just wasn't on board with the concept of what Dan was trying to accomplish. Dan, if your out there WE WANT ANSWERS!!!!! LOL..

[Oso2]

"If Martin Penwald was real what would he drive today?"

Probably a white aero truck.

[convoyduel]

YOU WANT ANSWERS??  YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!

Alive and well indeed here in St. Louis.  Never stopped playing with trucks, just pulled back quite a bit from the public eye.  

So, to answer the question, I started with Mack a couple of years ago.  Had some discussions at both a dealer and corporate level about what I wanted to do.  Dealer seemed completely disinterested.  Mack corporate was too enamored about chasing an NFL player that had the last name of Mack but had nothing to do with the industry.  We pitched a pretty cool limited edition concept but just heard crickets in return. In the end, we were certainly welcome to buy a new truck and modify it, but we were stuck with a cheap, crappy grey interior with seats that look like they belong in an AMC Gremlin, an emissions motor, no single cab side exhaust and no cab mounted deflector.  Aftermarket sleeper on a daycab Pinnacle or Granite was indeed an option but really wasn't thrilling given the stark lack of enthusiasm, the complete junk grey Gremlin interior and the shop queen emissions engine.  In the end, the choice to look elsewhere stemmed from it being apparent that Mack corporate had ZERO interest in this project and continued to completely ignore and disregard any ties to what is arguably the single most globally recognized Mack truck ever made.  Their silence was heard and noted.  

As indicated in the video description, I shed no tears and looked at other options with other dealers and manufacturers.  I'm extremely happy with the direction we went.  Right out of the gate, our salesman Greg understood exactly what we were trying to do and he pulled his local and corporate resources and contacts in to make it happen.  

We are putting on the finishing touches and modifications now.  We will have a lot more to follow, including roll-out of a new website about the film and the trucks.  Lots of good new information for the Convoy groupies.  

 

 

 

[Terry T]

Good stuff Dan.  Looking forward to seeing "the adventure" continue...

[Maxidyne]

Looks great!

Mack would probably work with you on a custom build- For example they've built a couple trucks for small to medium sized operators specced for ultimate MPGs with the MPE-445 engine, very long gearing, liftable pusher axles, a low friction Dana rear drive axle, and even an 8 millimeter thick frame so they can load the 14,000 pound front axle to maximum capacity and run with the pusher axle up much of the time. These trucks are now doing 9 to 10 MPG, which is a game changer!

What Mack couldn't supply would be a pre-2007 emissions engine or a glider built to take one- The EPA won't let them install a per-2007 "grey" Mack engine and the current cab and electronics are designed for a current Volvo or Cummins engine.

[david wild]

Towards the end before we sold out we had gone from Mack to Kenworth and ended up at Western Star, what a change, instead of no, it can't be done and any other negative view, we went to it can be done or we will work on it and figure out how to do it, If I ordered a new truck today it would be a Western Star, completely different attitude than the other truck builders.  

[navypoppop]

I agree with david wild about Western Star. If you go into a dealership to ask questions or just look around they have a totally different attitude towards you. They seem to want to answer questions, help you with anything you might think of and generally welcome you to their dealership. There might be exceptions to this but I have never found any. And just my 2 cents on the "Duck 2", although it is a beautiful truck, it will never be a "Rubber Duck" unless it is an R model Mack. Sorry it's just my thought.

[james j neiweem]

I can see Western Star passing Mack in the future with their can do attitude and Daimler deep pockets.

[bbigrig]

Still could have built it on a Mack Chassis and called it your own.

You are correct, it was bad timing as Mack was rolling out the Anthem, pushed a football player etc.... Mack probably couldn't get clearance from what ever movie studio who owned the rights to Convoy related names etc to allow it's creations/ideas to be used by Mack and make money from it. It would have been cool. 

[convoyduel]

The movie studio is irrelevant....  I own the rights to the image and likeness and shared them equally with those that purchased the two surviving trucks.  

Don’t get me wrong....I didn’t expect a Mack-centric forum to love a Western Star.  The exercise wasn’t just about copying a modern Rubber Duck.....it was about honoring what that character was based in and what the independent of that era was.  As others have pointed out and this die-hard Mack fan found out....Mack corporate is not in the game anymore.  For that matter, at least in my region, Peterbilt isn’t either.  Unless you’re buying trucks a dozen at a time or buying some stock spec unit they ordered and have had sitting, they don’t have time for you.  

As someone who was fascinated by Mack and loyal to them despite all sorts of horrific experiences with products (ASET ring a bell with anyone?) for over 40 years, it was no easy choice to go with another manufacturer, but from an experiential level, it was painfully obvious who was interested and who wasn’t.  

Whatever spirit used to exist at Mack (and Peterbilt for that matter) that allowed them to pursue independents and small 2 to 5 truck fleets is dead and gone.  Their product offerings aren’t geared for the small guy. I really hope they wake up and realize what’s been done to their iconic brand.    

In the end, I’m delighted to show this new truck and explain why it is the brand it is.  The people at these shows aren’t the bean counters at a big company, they are the men and women that drive the truck, change the oil, swap out the brakes, grease the chassis, troubleshoot at 2AM on a freeway off ramp and try to rest in a truck stop parking lot next to a SWIFT reefer running wide open.  These people work hard, start small and build on the successes achieved by being able to work on their own equipment without needing a laptop to plug in.  What Mack is telling them is that they don’t add up to enough of a percentage market share to pursue.  It’s a business decision and I get it.  So was mine.  

[Lmackattack]

WELCOM BACK DAN...

I look forward seeing the new build... sorry to hear about how Mack treats one of their Iconic trucks. some times people are just that ignorant. I hope someone higher up at Mack sees this. if anything just to make them think a little harder in a attempt to save the brand..

 

 

[Maxidyne]

Of the two high MPG Mack "specials" I mentioned, one buyer has all of 4 trucks. The other has around 100 trucks, but this is their first Mack. I think a lot of the customer experience depends on the dealer, some will do the work to get you what you want and some refuse to do anything but sell you what's on the lot. As for Mack not understanding the importance of the "Convoy" trucks, that was in the 70s and most people of working age were too young then to have seen the movie. Couple that with younger folks inability to understand visual marketing and it's no wonder your marketing concept went nowhere. I suspect you'd get the same response at Freightliner if you wanted to build a classic Freightliner cabover truck... Most people in the industry now have only worked with conventionals.

[Nick Triola]

On 10/4/2019 at 1:31 AM, convoyduel said:

YOU WANT ANSWERS??  YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!

Alive and well indeed here in St. Louis.  Never stopped playing with trucks, just pulled back quite a bit from the public eye.  

So, to answer the question, I started with Mack a couple of years ago.  Had some discussions at both a dealer and corporate level about what I wanted to do.  Dealer seemed completely disinterested.  Mack corporate was too enamored about chasing an NFL player that had the last name of Mack but had nothing to do with the industry.  We pitched a pretty cool limited edition concept but just heard crickets in return. In the end, we were certainly welcome to buy a new truck and modify it, but we were stuck with a cheap, crappy grey interior with seats that look like they belong in an AMC Gremlin, an emissions motor, no single cab side exhaust and no cab mounted deflector.  Aftermarket sleeper on a daycab Pinnacle or Granite was indeed an option but really wasn't thrilling given the stark lack of enthusiasm, the complete junk grey Gremlin interior and the shop queen emissions engine.  In the end, the choice to look elsewhere stemmed from it being apparent that Mack corporate had ZERO interest in this project and continued to completely ignore and disregard any ties to what is arguably the single most globally recognized Mack truck ever made.  Their silence was heard and noted.  

As indicated in the video description, I shed no tears and looked at other options with other dealers and manufacturers.  I'm extremely happy with the direction we went.  Right out of the gate, our salesman Greg understood exactly what we were trying to do and he pulled his local and corporate resources and contacts in to make it happen.  

We are putting on the finishing touches and modifications now.  We will have a lot more to follow, including roll-out of a new website about the film and the trucks.  Lots of good new information for the Convoy groupies.  

 

 

 

I'm sorry that you feel like the dealer and mack didnt take you seriously on your project.  I'm in sales in Nashville and have given your project alot of thought and would love to work on a project like this with you.  I've worked out alot of the specs in my head and think that ultimately we could build something on a Mack that would look more like the original Rubber Duck.  I'll be upfront about what we can and cant do so i'm not misleading you.  The external air cleaner and glider engine are not possible (anything is possible, but cost prohibitive in the least).  But the painted air, fuel tanks, and wheels along with the roof fairing are no problem.  Also the single side mount exhaust should be possible.  We could do either a factory flat top "48 sleeper for lower cost and ease of build, or go with a custom bunk from a couple suppliers i know if you wish to more closely mimic the original trucks look.  The interior is all a matter of taste i suppose, i may be biased but with the chrome trim and extra gauges and leather heated seats, i prefer the Mack interior. Not knocking yours at all, its a very nice truck.  We can do a traditional 13 speed manual with a Mack or Fuller trans and Mack rears, it would get a gold bulldog but that will get replaced with a duck anyway!!!  I know you want a non emissions engine, but the 505HP/1860lb/ft engine is GHG17 compliant and our customers have been very happy with them.

 

I have good corporate resources who are happy to help me.  Anyway, this may be too little too late but i wanted you to know that there are people at Mack who care and want to help.  If anyone wants to talk more please call me at Mack of Nashville (Nick) at 330-606-4568.  Thanks!

[Amos V.]

Well Nick, I have been a Dan Bruno fan since the beginning of 2005-2006 and have followed his journey/obsession myself to the point that I was taking notes, printing data, spending tons of man hours buried in old part books, chasing parts, trucks for my own RD build, and continue to do so only to be told by Mack the parts you need are obsolete and to hit the salvage yards for NEW 40 year old parts.. Even though we all know there is still a market out there and Mack should retool and reproduce them.

BUT, I am going to safely defend and agree with Dan's decision. The preservation of the concept in this case or build, matters more than the product itself. I also agree with Dan that Maybe the head honchos at Corporate Mack should take a stroll through here a little more and actually see and listen to what us consumers are saying. The last paragraph in Dan's October 5th post says and explains everything. There "CLEARLY" is a ring of truth to everything he is saying as well as everyone on here. Sorry if it sounds like a scolding.. But, a LOT of us that were raised in this industry made this movie part of their lives and loved the connection between the Mack and Convoy. That's what most of our Father's and Grandfathers drove. It's what we want to restore and drive now. Dan's Western Star concept makes total sense and if there was a reboot of the movie, and I hope there will be someday in the near future, those would be one of the two truck choices I myself would pick.

So Nick, I say now would be the best time to make a few calls to the Mack Engineering and Industrial Automotive Design Departments and sketch up some of those brainstorms you have been having and show us all some concepts and ideas.

Keep up the good work Dan!!!! A lot of us are happy with your continuation and obsession to preserve this historical vehicle and movie. Please stay on the grid and keep us updated and informed.. The truth does hurt, but I TOTALLY can handle it by the way!!!!!!!

[Quickfarms]

This has some potential if they offer it in a mid roof with a single stack.

Just add the grill guard and rooftop deflector