International Prosatar/Maxxforce: Worthless junk!!!

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by diesel_weasel, Feb 7, 2010.

  1. JohnP3

    JohnP3 Road Train Member

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    Cat could not make an engine that was compliant and efficient. They are not building a truck for highway operation and seeing as construction equipment has to be compliant in a couple of years they will be out of that market too.
    They are quite happy in China.
     
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  3. dieseldan2005

    dieseldan2005 Light Load Member

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    Ok, well whatever. I guess you know more than the guys who work for CAT.
     
    Rafferty and end of the road Thank this.
  4. freedhardwoods

    freedhardwoods Light Load Member

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    This isn't exactly on topic, but I wanted to reply to some comments made in this thread. Someone made the comment about getting their brakes hot in the mountains because of a poor or non existent jake brake. Getting your brakes hot going down any grade only shows a lack of experience and common sense. Thousands of drivers have gone down these grades for years without heating up their brakes without a jake brake. If your brakes are getting hot you are going too fast! You need to be able to stop in an emergency, even on a steep grade. If your brakes are already hot halfway down, you probably won't be able to stop.

    Although I will occasionally use a few light taps on my brake going down a grade, the ideal safe speed for any grade is landing at the bottom without touching your brake pedal. Unfortunately there are way too many drivers that think nothing of landing at the bottom with smoking rolling off of their brakes while using a properly working jake brake.

    Someone else thought it was silly to use the engine fan to help slow you on a grade. In every truck I have driven, turning the fan on when going down a grade does make a noticeable difference. If you are going down a grade and your rpms are slowly climbing, the fan can be just enough to make the rpms level out.
     
    scottied67 Thanks this.
  5. diesel_weasel

    diesel_weasel Medium Load Member

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    Well it is on topic, and based on the facts already given what you just said is a pretty stupid comment.

    Of course the plan when going down a steep grade is not to get your brakes hot. And this becomes next to impossible when you have a truck with non-existent jakes. I know how to drive a truck without jakes, did it for 3 years OTR.

    Let me see YOU take a truck without engine brakes or retarders down a mountain like cabbage, grapevine or even Sam's gap with a 46,000 lb load and tell me you're not going to get your brakes the least little bit hot. It doesn't matter if you drive 15, 20 ,25, 30 you WILL get your brakes hot and spongy. And lots of these roads don't have safe places to pull over and let the brakes cool off.

    The minute you step on them, even at a stoplight in down, they begin to get hot.

    If you go slow enough to keep your own self safe then you are a hazard to everyone else on the road. 30 or 40 years ago it was common to see trucks going 15, 20 ,25 down the big mountain passes, people expected it. Not today. going too slow you run a high risk of getting rear-ended, going to fast your brakes will turn into jello.

    Oh yeah, and who wants to lock in their fan clutch going going down a mountain when its 20, 30 or 40 below zero? Real good for the engine. That is a truly pathetic fix and excuse from International.

    Of course with 30 years of experience you should know this stuff, RIIIIIGHHT?

    I would expect that kind of quality out of a B59 or Diamond T, not a 2009 International. I'm sure people used to say "you aint a real trucker unless you know how to drive a twin stick"

    or

    "back in my day my truck didn't have A/C, cooked all summer and froze all winter."

    Who would want to put themselves through that??

    Having a new truck without a working Jake is like riding without seat belts and air bags. Or driving around on a car with Bias Belted tires.

    There is NO EXCUSE, and International should be ashamed!

    The more I read it, the more your post sounds less and less like a truck driver with any kind of experience, and more like a salesman or dealer trying to defend International.
     
  6. diesel_weasel

    diesel_weasel Medium Load Member

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    Cat should not have had to make a truck that was emission compliant, nor should any of the other engine manufactures. Before the liberals and green proponents ruined everything CAT, Cummins, and Detroit all built good stuff. Now its garbage that it even more inefficient and won't run right. Enough said.
     
  7. chalupa

    chalupa Road Train Member

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    Cat did not have to make " a truck " weasel, they had to make their engines "compliant" and they CHOSE not to and exit the truck market.

    This was an economic decision. You will see many more ECONOMIC DECISIONS like this in the future and not limited to truck engines. It's possible you will see older refineries go, especially if their owned buy minor league players, you could see small engine mfg's leave the market too.

    It's all about economics and folks like Cat are not staying in a market where they lose money. Did you know Mercedes is leaving trucks too?

    I agree it's junk today...and it will probably get worse.
     
  8. king Q

    king Q Road Train Member

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    Please tell more about Mercedes leaving trucks as this sounds unbelievable.
     
  9. Pablo-UA

    Pablo-UA Road Train Member

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    I do not think so. They build trucks all over the world.

    I think later US truck market will change and it will look like a Australian market with mix of EU, UK, US, Japanese and Chenese trucks.
     
  10. freedhardwoods

    freedhardwoods Light Load Member

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    I firmly stand stand by everything I said, but not by the things you imagined I said. I don't know why you think I am defending IH. Never said a word about them good or bad. In my opinion having the fan come on "automatically" when the jake comes on is dumb for the very reason you (not I) stated about cold weather.

    I ignored all of the whining in your first post and only commented on safety issues. Your reaction to being called on your unsafe driving habits is rather juvenile.

    A properly working Jake brake will only make about 10 mph difference in holding power as compared to no jake brake. Apparently a safe speed is too slow for you. Using the excuse that you are afraid of being rear-ended just so you can go down a grade too fast is dangerous as hell. I don't care how uncomfortable or badly designed a truck is. If you or anyone else is going to drive it, you are supposed to drive it safely.
     
  11. chalupa

    chalupa Road Train Member

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    Sorry Pablo...it's true. Like Cat, Mercedes is exiting the U.S. truck engine market. This is a quote from my shop manager.

    Probably like Cat...emmissions or warranty or even both made continued production unprofitable.

    It's my personal experience that the MBE 400 isn't very good. It certainly doesn't deliver 400 horses, fuel mileage is the same as our Detroit's and it's seen plenty of shop time. Mostly nickel and dime stuff but it's still down and that's what counts.

    :biggrin_25511:
     
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