Classic Trucks

In about 1/2 of our trucks I can not put my leg between the clutch pedal and the door to straighten my leg. And the dash is in the way on the right of the throttle to straighten my right leg. I guess I got spoiled when I drove a Western Star. I don't like my seat sitting on the floor either.

It is only a problem if you are on long runs or pulling a belly dump all day where you don't get out of the truck.

And I am only 5'8" with short legs... LOL

 

True enough Semi. Even my wide calls if "diesel" or "fuel"..

EDIT: "Wife"....geez I hope she doesn't see this.

 

I've struggled to get over 6mpg this year. Been around 5.5 due to excessive idling. I have a T600 with no roof fairing pulling a 53 dry van. Yeah it looks cool and I love it. All paid for and makes good money. To be sure my next tractor will be more aerodynamic that is most definitely on my short list. But for now what I have is working great. I know guys in brand new trucks getting 9 mpg complaining about rates. Go back and read my 5,000 discussions, comments here over the past several years and point to one where I was crying about the rates I was getting..... it is amusing guys who will criticize others equipment without really knowing anything about that person or their operation. I've been doing it my way in a cool truck that guzzle fuel and getting by just fine the past 6 years. Paid cash for a brand new trailer in Jan. What have you done with your aero truck? Do you even own a truck?

 

im flat deck work many times your aerodynamics of your load are bad so a the shape of the truck plays a very small part in fuel economy


out of these trailers all loaded at the same weight hopper gets the best fuel millage by far followed by belly dump and last comes side dump. the worse the aerodynamics of the trailer the less difference it makes to have a areo tractor.

 

I drive a W900L and didn't have enough leg room. I'm 6'2".

Easy problem to solve. I drilled 4 new holes and moved the seat base back. I can get it slid back enough now I can barely touch the peals.

 

My 99 379 does the job very comfortably and why would I want to replace it for 230 to 250k. I get 4 to 7+ mpg depending on the load and it about as aerodynamic as a brick, 600 hp Detroit and all the comforts of home. Hook one of your new fuel saver trucks to some of the loads I haul and you would never get over 50 mph going into a strong headwind. Besides I look good in it
and it and the trailer are all mine.

 

All the W9's I drove which where 76/77/78 models had the same problem for me. The acceleration pedal was dang near 90 degrees to the floorboard seem like, and cruising along on the big road my foot would be in a bind trying to hold it at such an angle with no cruise control. Pull out of Kenova / Huntington area and by the time I would get to Shippensburg, PA my right knee would be hurting. I'm 6'-2" so maybe shorter legs would have helped I don't know. The O'l 76 Freightliner Pop had with the 87 hood on it and a KT450 under it was not as bad but still no prize winner. And his 1975 359 daycab was actual better for me because of the angle of the Acceleration pedal, it was almost on the floor when it was running full tilt boogie. But still not a lot of leg room just as you said earlier. Newest truck I have driven is a 2011 Freightliner, (Ryder) we rented to pull our RGN to Mobile with loaded both ways. Although it had some leg room but it had absolutely no class, at least not to me. That's just my honest opinion and my opinion is as valid as anyone else's, take a W9 or 359/379 any day of the week with A/C and power steering, Pops 359 had manual steering and no A/C, you slept good after driving it.

 

with just 1 truck that 1 - 2 MPG difference wouldnt make up for time lost. now if you had 500+ trucks to worry about and youre only making $25 a load because you offer cheap ####ing rates then it matters.

 

This is really the story IMO. If you have lots of trucks and you don't haul time sensitive freight and you don't pay your driver when his truck breaks then heck yeah just put any truck under the load. If the truck goes down, then just DH another one in there and let the driver sit for no pay. Not my kind of operation though. I will take the KNOWN expense of a titch more fuel in a RELIABLE truck vs the UNKOWN expense of a 2004+ truck and an unhappy customer.

EDIT: Actually, 1-2 MPG would make a huge difference but those aero trucks don't get that much better than a hood.