Hopper, Dump O/O's & Drivers

Hey guys, I am loving pulling a hopper and being a o/o, my truck has been causing me massive headaches so far i've got a new clutch, new oil filter housing, new valve covver gasket, and 3 new injectors. in a freakin month, I'm already in the market for another truck, I rented a VNL630 with a D13 and a IShift and was very impressed, but I love the 13 speed too much, so I'm thinking of dumping the cummins and going with a D16 with a 13 speed, I love the hopper, I love the lifestyle, Just wish i could get away from NE Illinois

 

Pyro is working good.Got beans lined up to haul all week myself.

 

Cowdoc,how are you doing? We had to do a DA on one of dad's really good cows today,the 'ol girl had completly quit eating.

 

The D16 was having some massive issues in the past few years, and broke a few small fleets - you might want to ask around before you go that route. I'd also be picky about the model of the trans you find, and get yourself an 18913 Eaton (rated to 1,850 torque) 13 speed.

Not saying any truck is problem free since EGR equipment became standard, but do some research before you jump on that bandwagon. I do know that many of the Volvo hopper fleets out there (Foltz is one of the larger ones) are running D13's and the drivers I've talked with had no complaints.

I'm going to stick with my opinion on Cummins, although I'd much rather have an older 770 with a Detroit under the hood (grass is always greener ). From the list of work you posted, what happened to the oil filter housing?

 

Oil Filter housing was cracked which was very odd, and dumping oil everywhere, id rather have a detroit as well, let's see how things go I'm looking at d13 now this isx has made me hate cummins

 

You hauling something over to NE IL or over there hauling for farmers?

That's too bad, was she just old, or did something cause her to quit eating? We are hauling beans too. If this weather stays nice and dry like this, there's not going to be much left around here in another week. Maybe some late beans, but that'll be about it. This harvest has been the slowest ever for us in the 13 years we've been doing this. I should have bought a bunch of corn futures last week, before the market went beserk, wasn't too hard to predict. Hey, at least the Bears are competitive, can't have everything right?

 

Dairyman we are finally seeing the end. We like about 850 acres. Hasn't rained here in 6 weeks. We still got the beans after that but that won't take long. Did you roll and tack your DA or open her up?

 

Ddg almost everyday to channahon/Elwood/Morris,Illinois

 

I know the feeling - so far I've replaced a fuel pump, EGR cooler, EGR valve, starter, small belt tensioner, and had it reprogrammed about 3 times now. Still getting 6mpg at best (average), and a friends truck regularly gets high 7's dragging a reefer. Now it's taking awhile to build air, and I'm thinking the compressor's next...... and it kinda looks like I'm still losing some coolant (head gasket?). Although I have to admit it hasn't put me on the shoulder yet - always made it to a shop so far.

I'm more ticked at Cummins dealers charging me everytime they even glance in the direction of my truck. I steered away from Volvo power thinking I'd get more power and an easier service network - but everything that breaks is a Volvo specific part and not available outside. The extra torque I was hoping to get was capped with a weak transmission at a 1,650 cap. Sometimes you can't win for losing.

To chase into the mpg issue, I'll have to pay to have the intake tract pressure tested, and then a dyno pull. They're gonna see me coming.....

 

Sounds like you need to pull the radiator cap off and put a Kenworth under it.