convoyduel Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 19 hours ago, Ditchdiggerjcf said: The important thing is that they don't beat the hell out of my wallet. I know they won't. I can't see how they could ride any worse than anything else spec'd out that heavy. Why do you think they ride worse? I always felt the same way about the MR’s. Then I bought a bunch. Had a handful of MR688p’s and MR688s’s. They were absolutely brutal to drive more than 30 minutes. The relatively short travel in the suspension seat would launch you into the cab roof with any kind of bump. Visibility was fantastic as was turning radius but the way the truck threw you around the cab was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Its like I tell my kids.....you can take my word for it that a hot stove will burn the hell out of your hand or, you can ignore me and touch the stove burner for yourself. If you choose the latter route, you’ll end up with the same lesson but maybe the pain will make the reality sink in a bit deeper. It’s your money...do what you like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lmackattack Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 24 minutes ago, convoyduel said: I always felt the same way about the MR’s. Then I bought a bunch. Had a handful of MR688p’s and MR688s’s. They were absolutely brutal to drive more than 30 minutes. The relatively short travel in the suspension seat would launch you into the cab roof with any kind of bump. Visibility was fantastic as was turning radius but the way the truck threw you around the cab was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Its like I tell my kids.....you can take my word for it that a hot stove will burn the hell out of your hand or, you can ignore me and touch the stove tinder for yourself. If you choose the latter route, you’ll end up with the same lesson but maybe the pain will make the reality sink in a bit deeper. It’s your money...do what you like. I think the postal service had lawsuits from its drivers that had sustained neck injuries from these trucks. I recall many were Tractors used to move Mail trailers from city to city. not a ideal truck for highway speeds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h67st Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Lmackattack said: I think the postal service had lawsuits from its drivers that had sustained neck injuries from these trucks. I recall many were Tractors used to move Mail trailers from city to city. not a ideal truck for highway speeds Yeah, and those USPS tractors had short wheelbases...I'd hate to try to stay in the driver's seat on one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lmackattack Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 4 minutes ago, h67st said: Yeah, and those USPS tractors had short wheelbases...I'd hate to try to stay in the driver's seat on one of those. Around here in chicago they had both single axle and tandem. most all were on camelback but the last batch had air ride tandem. they did bounce up and down badly. I can only imagine having to drive one daily... Ever notice how most of them MR trash trucks are always going slow around town. I dont blame them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxidyne Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 I had a chance to drive the three most common generations of USPS MC and MR tractors. The first was the mid 80s MC which didn't even have an air ride seat with steel spring suspension in back, it actually rode pretty well. The next generation from around 1990 were MRs with a heavier frame and air seats and rear suspension which rode a bit rougher, probably due to the thicker MR frame. The notorious ones were the 1996 models which had a different seat and perhaps other changes Mack didn't tell us about, they caused something like 100 injuries from drivers hitting their heads on the ceiling due to the too bouncy seats. Mack ended up replacing the front springs and seats on them and putting on smaller steering wheels to give the drivers more belly room. That helped the ride some, and the tandems ended up a decent riding truck. The common thread in all these MC and MR cabovers is that the trucks are built for heavy loads, IIRC a 3/8" frame is standard on the MR and most are sprung for heavy loads too. Thus they ride rough with no or light loads and a heavy compactor dump box helps the ride a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehummell Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 I spent time in an mr front load packer and it was ok it didn't ride any worse than some of the junkers i drove. i had to drive an int. triaxle flatbed with rubber block hendrex suspension that was ruff when empty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david wild Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Maybe the drivers could have slowed down, oops that's right we are talking about a driver doing something intelligent, never happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditchdiggerjcf Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 I will drive one before I buy. I will report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Something you've NOT seen in the past???? Quote Plodding along with no job nor practical application for my existence, but still trying to fix what's broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditchdiggerjcf Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 Wut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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