Trucking in North America vs around the world

Local (small) border crossings between The Netherlands and Belgium:

 

In your area not going accross the border would be a issue.

 

As I wrote last week (post #2479), it is the main border between Belgium and The Netherlands that is closed. Not the borders of the small enclaves.

If they did that, life would be impossible.

For example, the Belgian enclaves don't have supermarkets or food shops. They are all in the dutch part of the village.
To get to the nearest Belgian supermarket, I (and all the other people living in the enclaves have to go through The Netherlands.
People who live in the Belgian part of the village (like me) are not allowed to go shopping for food in the nearest larger Belgian city (Turnhout). We have to go to the dutch supermarkets/shops.

4 out of 5 gas stations here are Belgian.
People living in the Dutch part of the village can fill up their cars/trucks here. But the people living further north in The Netherlands are not allowed to go there.

It was very popular for dutch people (from outside of the village, as far away as Rotterdam or even further) to come and fill up with much cheaper Belgian gasoline, fill the jerry-cans in the trunk, and buy cheap Belgian cigarettes and tabacco (I've seen people fill their gas tank, buy another 150-200 litres of gasoline in jerrycans and 800-1000 euro worth of cigarettes and tabacco!)
Not allowed any more. There are random police checks, and dutch people who do not live here in the village are sent away.

The dutch seem more relaxed (or careless) about it. Less restrictions, less disciplined, and no enforcement.
But hospitals in the south of The Netherlands are full, and patients are transferred to hospitals in the north of the country.
And the number of people who died because of Corona (relative to total population) is much higher.

I still manage, but it is getting more difficult......

 

Did some maths if someone is interested
New Volvos are with new turbocompound 500hp engine, 2.31 diff
Older volvos are 500, stepC, 2.64 diff+baby axle
Dafs are 510, 2.53 diff, pre facelift model:

New Volvos:
1. Fuel 26,8l/100, AdBlue 1,51l/100km
2. Fuel 25,5/100, AdBlue 1,46l/100km
Older Volvos:
3. Fuel 28,06/100, AdBlue 2,27l/100km
4. Fuel 29,58/100, AdBlue 2,44l/100km
Dafs:
5. Fuel 28,8l/100
6. Fuel 31,3l/100
Adblue consumption in Dafs is around 1l/100km.

Conclusion is, Volvo has reached Scania level when it comes to fuel consumption. New gen R450 Scania also need around 25l/100km of fuel at similiar work.

 

It sure does - the higher fuel consumption, the higher Def/Adblue consumption. But it's been lowered on newer volvos compared to older.

 

Yes, on normal days there are no checks, no nothing.
There may be a random check, but it is very rare.

I cross the border multiple times every day (in my car or pick-up truck, not in a truck, I'm not a truck driver).

In the last 20, probably even more, years, I was checked twice. Both times on the way to a tractor-pull, just across the border.
It was a check by customs officers, and all they did was take a sample of my fuel, checking if I was running red ag diesel (because of the tractor-pull.... where else can you catch people running ag fuel in their cars/trucks).
Never even asked for passport or other papers.

 

The only disadvantages of the Volvos are the fact that the Turbo Compound system is a complex design and must be very expensive to work on it if required, and, while the Volvos still uses Complex turbo system and EGR, the Scania uses the simplier fixed geometry twin scroll turbo (Cheaper and easy to work on it) and has no EGR.

That's the main reason why one of the companies I worked on is replacing the old trucks with new T680 with Cummins X15, rather than the Paccar MX-13 (Even while the MX-13 is cheaper to buy), because while the MX-13 is VGT and has EGR, the X15 is FGT and has no EGR.

 

True, but then Scania costs WAY more and has problems with oil usage, even around 1l/1000km (Audi level) .. and layshaft brake in gearboxes. So it ain't perfect from any way either.