Should I buy a mack?

Well it depends how you look at it.

The trucks that you have listed above are like luxury trucks compared to a real Mack dump truck. Mack dump trucks are not particularly comfortable but they are a heavy duty bulldog.

I myself believe that those Mack Trucks from the 90s were really the very best heavy duty dump trucks that you could buy hands down.

If you like running with air ride suspension I would say stick with what you have.

If you are looking for a super heavy duty truck with Camelback suspension and super heavy duty Mack rears which are made differently than the other rears then yes go for it.

Go to a truck dealer someplace and try one out and you'll see what I'm talking about.

And those motors tend to be more of a low RPM high torque motor. It's probably a bit different than what you're used to but when you're crawling around off the road in super low low gear with giant heavy loads Mack trucks do very very well

 

I grew up on Mack’s ...... a RD Mack makes s a nice dump truck. The newer granites not so much.

But they don’t compare comfort wise to a W900 or 359........

 

i had a ch613 e7. loved that truck. i sold it at the flying j in pecos to a mexican and flew home

 

It really depends what kind of work you do.

If I had a dump truck business and my trucks did 95% Paving and Milling, I would buy Freightliner because I really like the fld120.

If I had a dump truck business and my trucks constantly were on construction sites and unpaved Roads and the worst of off road conditions, I would buy a Mack Rd model in the 90s era if I could find one with good frame rails.

 

We have a 1980 Mack Superliner 500 with the V8 format engine (E9?) and deep reduction 15 speed transmission. Its still on the farm where it's been retired. After the main blacktop business was closed. Somerset PA built the bed dump in the back with PTO and Air gate. It was also a road tractor with 5th wheel until it was converted at Somerset to dumptruck work.

Its not super fast due to reduction in deep low ranges but with 20 ton of rock on the back which pretty much pushes the thing to almost as much as 18 wheelers in gross weight she did well. On road, off road went everywhere. 300 gallons served as a tanker to support Paver fuel and bobcat fuel, backhoe fuel etc on long days and big jobs.

 

You really can't go wrong with a Mack for a dump truck. And a late 90's to 2002 were still pre emissions (once emissions came into play in '03, Mack became garbage for a while).

While they tend to get a reputation for being horribly uncomfortable demons with the Camelback suspension, I've got an uncle in his late 60's still running a Superliner with a Camelback suspension. He's battling Cancer right now, but he still manages to get in the truck everyday and run circles around everyone else. And still goes home and maintains the truck. He can buy whatever he wants at this point in life. But he won't give up that Mack for anything. So, are they really THAT bad? I drove his truck enough, and it really isn't horrible. Put that same suspension on a tractor and it would definitely suck though.

For what it's worth, when I think of different brands of trucks, certain things come to mind instantly. Someone mentions Peterbilt, I immediately picture a 379 flat top sleeper pulling a reefer. Mention Kenworth, I think of a W900 pulling a flatbed. Mention Freightliner? I see a beat up Century Class held together by zip ties pulling a dry van. But mention Mack? An R model dump truck is the first thing I think of.

@Brettj3876 seems to know some about the E-7 engines, and could maybe chime in.

 

I'm only familiar with the jacks of the 70s and 80s.Those were bullet proof.

 

I ran a '94 Mack RD tandem with an E7 350 and an 8LL. Truck had 47,000 hrs on it and ran like a beast. Lots of low end power and was actually comfortable ergonomically. The CL series was an awesome heavy duty truck too. The CL713's are mainly all Mack parts. Engine, trans, rears. The 733 had Cummins engines and mainly Eaton trans, then the 753 had CAT engines. They're great work trucks but guys will swear up and down that they lack in "class".

 

Conserve cash?
Freight will fall off a cliff with mfg/production offline 2-4 weeks.

With so many unemployed, consumption will drag trucking with it.