Liftable rear axle.

We were just trying to warn threadstarter what problems he might have when importing a truck from USA. My friend has a W900 imported from Canada, it used to be a heavy hauler there, axles are almost double as strong as normal US imports.

Oil companies in Middle-East use Kenworths because there's a lot of "greasing" in that business. One company asked some oilfield experts what vehicles to choose and they all said something like MB/Titan, MOL, Nicolas etc. are the best but surprise surprise: they chose KW!

 

yes that is true but we are talking here about road truck that would be converted into 6x2

if i am correct usually us truck are rated for 60-65tons 132000-143000lbs and if somebody remove one drive axle that would be problem when you pull 106000lbs


also there is a mercedes actros slt rated for 500ton or 1102300lbs but nobody talks about such truck

 

Thers a company here in CT and thats all they run singe drive axel long nose KW's with pusher axels they buy them new like that , can gross the same weight as a tandem with it down, we make fun of the drivers telling then they need to get rid of the training wheels and get a normal tandem. A few years back there where quite a few companys running trucks like that mostly tank haulers.

 

Man that thing does look cool, but bet it rides like a pogo stick!

 

I called and got a price of $10,000-$15,000 dollars. With out knowing what truck and what wheelbase/lift axle they won't give a firm quote. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Sodrell (spelling?) Trucking out of the Clarksville IN area runs Mack day cabs with a tag axle. They are the only company that I know offhand that still runs them.

 

30 year old 953s are still running in the middle east. 953 and 963s have more in common with a D9 than any of the trucks you mentioned.

http://www.rac-export.de/eng/pictures/transportation_on_oilfield.html

Even the C540 (which actually has a suspension) is typically spec'd way heavier than any of the HET trucks I've seen in europe. The light duty C500s (as opposed to C540) from the canadian oil fields can be found on truckpaper regularly:

http://www.truckpaper.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&catid=27&Manu=KENWORTH&MDLGrp=C500&bcatid=27

 

What is D9 and HET?

In Middle-East everything is +30 years old.

 

HET = Heavy Equipment Transport (the term MB, Scania, MAN, DAF, etc give to those super heavy duty and military trucks they build). However they still need custom trailers to be able to pull that weight. A 953 or 963 just loads it right up on their back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_D9

The 953/963 has a suspension that looks like an upside-down bogie that directly mounted to the frame. The only "spring" comes from the natural bend of the incredibly massive suspension members and the tires themselves.

The C500/540 is used for both heavy transport where a trailer isn't used or for mine truck type duties.

In both of the markets currently there is mainly one player (KW) which is why CAT has decided produce an off highway truck of their own even though it would seem like they already have plenty of offerings in the heavy duty truck market.