Why do most owner operators fail?

There's a reason yellow motors have such die hard believers. If driving one and comparing to anything else you've driven then knowing the power is always there on tap... I've driven 12.7L detroits, 15L ISX's, and D12 Volvo's none even come close to CAT on grunt. Pre-egr ISX was good and fuel mileage great but still not the same power. Bill you know I don't have a never breaks wonder truck but by and large it's other than the motor that breaks. Even when it did start putting coolant in the oil before the overhaul it still outpulled everything out there I ran it like that a 1,000 miles or more. Could have likely trucked a few more weeks with weekly oil changes lol. It was 1.1 mill at that point. And I have never seen a check engine light or notorious check ecu Volvo light.. if you drove my truck at your speeds I think you'd be shocked the fuel mileage being close to your 780. I've been to CA and back in it. Not afraid to go anywhere with this motor. They are expensive if they break but they rarely do...

 

i was at a petro in vegas. a volvo was in there for a leak in the rear end. it was the shaft seal. his company paid $300 to be filled back up. aparently he was empty. this gu y was trying to make it home to salt lake. and there's only one TA between points where he could fill back up.

can't remember why but for some reason petro couldn't do the seal. had to be taken to volvo.

and that wasn't the first time i've seen a volvo have to go to the dealer.

i think i'd prefer the idea of being able to be fixed anywhere. at any given time. not just the dealer. by appointment.

 

Company I worked for had mostly Volvo for their private fleet. Also 30% was KW. Ryder took care of their equipment and they hated when the company changed from all KW to 70% Volvo. Many times they just sent them to Volvo dealer.

 

They couldn't/wouldn't have fixed that on any truck make. It's a TA/Petro that's not what they do....

 

Ok chris I got it and bill sent me a pm. Thanks bro. RW

 

Well imagine that more tall tales from Snowwy.

I'm starting to see a trend here.

 

what was the TALL TALE.

i missed it.

SHOW ME THE TREND HUNNEEEEEEEEEEE

 

Can't decide if I agree or disagree with this post.

On the one hand, the current truck I drive has a 6NZ Cat set at 475hp. And, I really do love the motor. I think it might be a bit more accurate to say its the low-end grunt of a CAT motor that so many guys like. Grab a gear at 1400rpm and it picks it up like its nothing is there.

But, by the same token, I've driven Cummins and Detroits, and they each did fine once you figured out how to drive them. That's the big thing, and the biggest reason I think so many guys who drive CATs and have to switch to a Detroit or Cummins complain, is they're trying to drive the truck like it has a CAT in it, and it just won't run the same.

That, and the gearing. A lot of guys don't seem to realize how important gearing really is. I personally prefer lower gearing, 3.70s, 3.90s, and deeper, but, that's because I run heavier than highway guys. And, the right gearing for the sort of work you're doing can make a world of difference.

The most gutless motor I ever drove was an MBE4000 Mercedes in a Columbia, only drove it a couple of times, never that heavy, but, it always felt like nothing was there when you stepped on the throttle.

 

I know how to drive ISX put over a million miles on those. D12 Volvo 450k in one of those. 12.7 series 6/ maybe a hundred k. Every make has different shift points and must be driven differently. Never seen any that would pull 80k up a mountain with as much ease as even a stock MBN which is about as weak as any CAT gets. Agreed gearing matters. Just wonder what the difference is though, there can't be that much between what I have with 11r22.5 tires and those other trucks with 22.5 lopro, direct drives trans,and 3:55's, 3:58's..the rpms are close to the same at same highway speeds.. the gearing must be close to equal. Only advantage those specs have over mine is running direct in the big hole less parasitic loss better fuel economy cruising..

 

1995 N14: major injector issues. Got so bad we carried a spare.
1998 M11: leaks oil from everywhere plus 3 head gaskets and a cylinder head later. finally a mechanic found the sunken liner. ~$20,000
2005 C-15 Acert (MBN I think): Broken VVA housing caused replacing of cylinder head. $13,000
2008 ISX: Coolant leaks, countless doser valves, EGR valves, EGR coolers ~10,000

2001 6NZ C15: We've put an alternator on it.