CRETE - A Year in Review

i wonder why more Van/Reefer companies don't give this truck a try

http://www.overdriveonline.com/files/2012/01/Mack-Pinnacle-Axle-Back_optimized-aero-aids.jpg

Macks seem very popular among flatbed/tanker fleets. I like the look of the truck inside and out and it doesn't get any more apple pie than a Mack.

 

He also said something about throwing out all of the brunch items and them setting out the dinner items at 1600. So I was gonna play some craps but decided I should keep my money so I bounced back to the terminal and am doing laundry

 

Ain't Macks really 'spensive or something? For all I know, the Volvos could be, too, but you sure see a lot of them...yet I don't see too many Macks on the road. I see more Pete 386s and the like than Macks, and I KNOW those are expensive trucks.

 

When I was picking up my previous truck in Lincoln(the Century class, 5 yrs ago) they had 1 test Mack. All chromed out w/dual stacks. Wasn't impressed with it. I drove the previous model Macks for years at Arnold. The CH model. Talk about guttless. My Maxxfarce running on 4 cylinders could pull circles around it and they had the 427's(castrated of course). They rode great and the jake would almost skid the tires bobtail if you forgot to shut it off after dropping a trailer. Remember the song 'give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around'? Bobtail you couldn't do a u-turn on a 4 lane road (w/turn lanes). Unless they changed things once Volvo bought them(or merged w/them) then if they put me in one, I would make 1 run...to the house. What's the saying...the reason they put a dog on the hood is so one a'hole will be staring at another a'hole, and nothing breaks wind like a Mack(I actually saw the 'break wind' slogan on a poster in a Mack dealer while I was getting recalled wheel bearings replaced on my steer axle...they had a bad batch and wheels were departing the front end while running down the interstate.)

Macks aren't that expensive, but it's like driving a Geo Metro or a striped down Ford Focus. Very basic, no frills. They make good vocational or regional trucks, they're not meant for OTR. Volvo on the other hand, the Caddy of trucking. Very smooth, very quiet, very heavy, very expensive. I had one when I spent my few months at Raven. They were still 770's then, and mine had the D15 Volvo...pulled like a freight train, but forget about getting quick repairs. I had a crack at the top of the muffler...I had to leave it at the shop and drive a loaner for almost a week before they could get one. But even w/550k+ miles, it was quieter and more rattle free than this piece of Prostar I'm in now w/135,000.

I'm seeing more KW 660's with other companies similar to Crete's size. I've even seen Walmart with some. Maybe since Walmart is trying them, we'll continue to follow their lead and try them too.

 

Volvos are definitely better than freightliner. I'm driving a 2011 Volvo with a 12 speed automatic. I am working for a small company with a fleet of around 150 Volvos. They ride well and are quiet when new. After a few years, they get noisy too. They also tend to have as many breakdown issues as Freightliner. Our drivers are always complaining about too much shop time. I think they have so complicated the design that breakdowns are more frequent and much more difficult to diagnose.

 

I read that many of the new trucks are starting to come out with remote diagnostics. I'm not sure if it's something that requires a q/comm or peoplenet-like communication link, or if it's a system similar to GM's Onstar. I think Volvo was one of the 1st to advertise it. Would be cool to pull in a shop or dealership and they not only knew what was wrong, but had the parts ready to install. I had also heard that the Volvos of late had EGR and electrical issues, and the Volvo motors lost a lot of that 'freight train' pull once they put the EGR on the motors. The one I had at Raven was pre-EGR.

 

If I just say week-end dispatch will everybody know the "H" "E" double hockey sticks I'm in right now?

 

put on your wet suit and your snorkel...you're in deep doo-doo!!!

 

Well over an hour since I sent my message into ops so I called. No ops mgr today try back tomorrow. He said they're "a bit behind" today....ya think?

 

I just parked for my hometime a few hours ago. I sent in BOTH a mac62 and a freeform message stating my PTA, because I believe I submitted the incorrect PTA yesterday. 12/19 at 0700 is correct.

I'm getting all my junk out of my truck when the QC lights up....new message.

"So, are you ready now or what is your PTA??"

This was from the same person I had it out with a few mornings ago at 0500 in Indy. I had a good mind to go on another rant (they got three pages of professionally-written critique from me the other morning), but I decided to just put "12/19 0700" and leave it at that.

I'm home until....guess when?