Volvo reviews or opinions

HwyPilot.

Thanks for info, after some thought and some more research, I have considered most probably going with the manual trans.Main reason = durability!

Seems like the Auto's are good new, better for fleet trucks
( for reason's unknown to me ) rather than O/O's. Seems as they get up in mileage, the failures could happen more often VS. failures on a manual.

I'm probably going to go with a Volvo exactly like yours or a choice of one of two '07 Volvo 780's.

What is your real opinion of the Volvo 780 VS. other manufacturers?

I have driven Peterbuilts and I do like the way they drive and handle, they are more $ with more mileage.

Thanks for the emission info, if you know of anything else in the future, post em so I can find em please.

I can't PM you due to not enough post's.

Thanks,

crusin

 

Good Grief, the guy asked for info on the Volv0 780 and specifically asks for anyone not owning or driving a Volvo to not answer. What's the difficult part about that?

I have to agree with him. I have the same frustrating problem on these blogs that are supposed to be a specific item and instead you get a bunch of hot air that is totally off the subject.

So, Emerson SC, we do own a 2007 Volvo 780, with a 500 Cummings engine and yes we love the space. But we have been having some mechanical issues which I blogged about under the Arrow Truck Sales thread, also being blabbed on by people about stuff totally unrelated. We have fixed most of them, but seem to still be having an air leak issue. So, I'm going to post that next here and thanks to Rookie Trucker for pushing me in this direction.

 

This is a repost that I put under the Trucker's Forum and was suggested to repost here:

Volvo 780 Air Compressor & Air Leaks

Posted 3 Hours Ago at 12.24 PM by daddy&mama2go
I'm begging for input from fellow Volvo 780 owners/drivers. We have had air leaks on top of air leaks fixed on this truck, but we still have a problem.

While we are moving down the road the air pressure stays steady, 115-116 normal, no worries... Except that we think maybe the air compressor is staying on the entire time as it spits out air about every 30 seconds....But when we stop and need to idle the truck slowly but surely it starts leaking air. So much so that after 3 hours
the air buzzer starts screaming like a banshee.

Then we can get up, drive around the block,
accelerate to build up the pressure, go back to bed and repeat in about an hour. Or we can turn off the truck and freeze our patooties off.

Is the air compressor going out or is it possibly a sensor that tells the pump when to kick in and out?

Does anyone have a clue what the problem could be? We are avoiding spending another week in the shop if we can. It'd be nice to have a place to start with suggestions on
the repair when we got there?
oh brother!

 

It might be a problem with the air dryer itself. Usually when they cycle that often it is either a problem with the air dryer or a massive air leak. Do you hear any hissing when you shut it off? If it takes 3 hours to lose pressure, while you are idling I'm assuming from your post, it must not be a terrible leak, but perhaps a malfunction in either the dryer unit, or the sensors for the compressor.

 

Well so far since January 4th, we've had numerous air leaks fixed sorry can't say where all, the air tank replaced, and the air dryer replaced. Today the air leak is worse! Don't wanta go to the shop in Reno. Does anyone know of a Volvo repair between Winnemucca, NV and Sacramento, CA?

 

Ok so I've read the reviews and the pros and cons of volvo's, weighing it all, I still really like the look of the 780 except for things I've heard about the weight issues. Has anyone found a way to keep the unit and their gear at around 19500? I The best I've heard on tare weight was from a dealer who said somebody weighed one out at about 18500 with 1/4 tanks before loading up their gear. Has anyone found any weight reduction strategies that would enable the 780 to be used reliably in refridgerated settings? perhaps removing some skirting or other unesessary features? Any feedback appreciated, I havn't seen anything else that looks like the sleeper would be exactly what I'm looking for right out of the box.

 

IMO opinion, you'd have to go with smaller tanks - maybe dual 110 gallons or less - because you can only run about 75 to 80% of their capacity. My truck had dual 110's before I bought it, and I had them changed to dual 150's - gaining all of about 45 usable gallons of fuel. I'm probably carrying 300 extra pounds of tanks and unusable fuel sloshing around.

And I hate to say this - because I wouldn't do it myself - but the Volvo engine is several hundred pounds lighter. I'd just hope that it was reliable and the weight wouldn't cost you down time or waiting for parts. They don't pull nearly as hard as a Cummins, and you will be downshifting more.

If you stayed with a standard 10 manual trans, that would be less weight than the 13 I'm running - as much as 400 pounds if I remember it right.

Just in those changes added up, it looks like about 1,200 pounds or so - and my tractor weighs about 20,500 fully fueled (2,100 pounds of fuel).

I wouldn't pull the fairings, they amount to mpg, and just don't weigh very much. And I would never run Super Singles to save weight, if you ever blow one you'll wind up buying a wheel along with it - and you'll never get off the shoulder. At least you can limp along with a blown dual and get safely off the road.

 

We were extremely worried about the weight when we chose the truck. As most companies have stringent sign-on limits. Our truck with all the skirting, and our basic gear weighed 18,600. We only had about a quarter of a tank in it when we weighed. The weight ticket had to be under 19,000 for us to sign-on.

However; we pull a reefer as it looks like you do and most of our loads are heavy, average 42,000. We haven't had any problems at all. We were over gross once, but the BOL stated 38,000 lbs. So we had some freight removed, but otherwise easy breezy lemon squeezy.

Good luck if you choose the 780 you will love the space!

 

It sounds to me like you've got moisture in your air system causing these problems. Could definitely be a bad air dryer as previously mentioned. The next time you stop, you need to shut the truck down, open the drivers side fairing, and pull on all three air dump valve cables until the hissing stops (purging the air tanks).

This process should be repeated weekly, about the same time you need to do a very thorough walk around (not just a pre-trip) inspection. I'd be glad to go over any notes I have with you on what to look for, watch for, as I run across it. It sounds to me like your truck was previously driven by someone who never bothered to dump the air tanks, and the air system is wet. While it's unfortunate, and a PITA, it is not the truck causing the issues, just someone who had no clue or care how to operate it.

A good shop should be able to address and solve the problems with the air system - it still sounds like moisture is freezing the valves up on you. Purge the tanks (all 3 - one cable may be underneath the truck like on mine) and idle the truck awhile, and then purge them again. Then dump the air bags whenever it won't cause you a delay to try and blow the moisture out of that air circuit as well.

If it's causing issues while you're trying to sleep, make sure you're popping the trailer valve when you park - the trailer may be bleeding off air or leaking as well. And when you shut the truck down, walk around and hang out outside it awhile to see what you hear. A slight hissing for a few seconds is normal for it to level itself and settle - but a constant or prolonged hissing is a leak.

When you do take it to a shop, ask if you can speak to the tech that's going to be doing the work. Symptoms scribbled second hand on a sheet of paper never tell the story, and the driver knows what it's doing and when. If they don't sound like they know, and will help solve the issue, take it up with the service manager, or take it somewhere else. There are alot of parts changers in the industry, and it always seems like you can change every part on a vehicle - and still have the problem you had.

Best of luck, and drop me a PM if you have any questions too small for the forum.

 

We started our day by purging all 3 tanks, well I can't take credit for that but Daddy did. One of those tanks is brand new. The other two came with the truck. We completely deflated every tank, only the brand new tank had some moisture the other two did not.

Once we got the tanks empty the compressor did not want to kick back on. We had to rev the truck at 1600 rpms for 15 minutes in order to get enough pressure to build to 60 psi and release the brakes in order to drive.
Once we are moving the compressor is fine. It goes from 60 psi to 115 psi in about 5-7 seconds.

Our question is why is it taking so long to build to 60 psi when we deflate them and only 5-7 once we are moving?

The air dumps every 36 seconds while we drive.

We do have a minor air leak, and we've been playing footsie with several shops already. The leak is so small that we aren't as concerned about that, it takes 3-4 hours for it drop below the 60 psi.

I totally agree with the parts changer theory, God knows that's true.