2012 volvo 780

No Volvo bashing from me, they're an excellent truck

 

You guys are lucky you dont have speedlimiters , they are a dangerous device!

I would recommend a tag axle, they would save you quiete a bit of fuel! I drive an r620 twin screw but the other r620's are tags and are over 1mpg better on fuel. I used have a rear lift/steer tag, now that was special, no understeer in slippery conditions and handled like a go-kart! With the tag lifted and fifth wheel set behind the drive axle they are better on ice than the twin screws just not as good on soft ground. Just make sure before you buy it that it has a weight transfer function and you can lift it while loaded, some trucks don't allow u to lift them while loaded but this can be bypassed

 

Unfortunately in Ontario we have real speed limiter set at 105kmph or 65mph. Yeah. This is clearly a stupid idea.
I can not lift up the tag axle here, because some state does not accept as tandem. What I can do, deflate the rear airbag and transfer the maximum weight to the drive axle at low speed. I think it does the job. The axle makers talking only about two percent fuel saving, what seems low for me, but still 2%, and 2% here, 2% there can add up easily 10%, which is lot of money.

 

Not a run for the feint hearted that's for sure.Worst place we have experienced.
Very good money on oversize loads sometimes.
On 2 loads I make enough to buy one of thoes 2nd hand DAF 85's you love so much!

What I mean is that on this side of the world there is a general perception that the European quality of truck is superior to American.
In America I don't think you will find many in agreement.
My perception is that the Americans build a great engine, transmission and deferential.
The Europeans are way ahead on the rest.
I don't think it is even worth an argument as far as quality is concerned.
The Americans score points on cost and simplicity.
Cost and simplicity is what is needed in some markets

 

Excellent answer as always! Yeah the dafs! The thing is you are buying them cheap and you can't go too far wrong, I'm trying to warn people off new ones, spending all that money and not even getting warranty! Although I am still thinking about your friends theory about their susceptibility to water. Other countries don't seem to have as dramatic problems as we see here, only 3 weeks ago I brought home a 09 daf superspace with the engine completely ruined, wouldn't even start!

American trucks have a trump card on euros because you can choose your driveline, let's face it currently there are only 2 manufacturers in Europe making good trucks, mercedes have gone downhill since the car company decided to cut costs! Man went downhill since the tga came into existence , and I don't think an American would justify an approximate 30% higher price tag for a 'smaller' euro Volvo or scania no matter what the quality is like! Just a pity the safety systems haven't made it across like ebs disc brakes and retarders which are quiet cheap

 

I do not even know what is the retarder. I guess something like the International Prostar had in the first couple of years, but after everybody was very unhappy they swithed to Jake brake.
I am thinking about the disc brake on my next truck, but at first I have to figure out the truth about warping and other issues. If it goes, what is your vote? Wabco single piston, or Bendix dual.

 

A retarder is a hydraulic pump that is often incorporated in to the gearbox.
When switched on it used the energy coming in from the prop shaft to drive it.
It then pumps the gear box oil through restrictor plates.
This creates retardation.
Much more effective than a Jake/compression brake.
I'm willing to bet that once you guys have used them you wont want anything else.
You also get an electro magnetic type.

I think CAT had something called a brake saver that was similar but very expensive and more complicated.

I like disc brakes because they are effective and quick/easy to work on.
Can fit new pads to a wheel in under an hour including the stripping and refitting of the tires.

 

About the gearbox. I can promise you that you can't do better than the I-shift. It changes gears in places you wouldn't even think about it. Of course it needs help some times but thanks to the very good design on the shifter it's so easy to use it's almost more fun in manual mode. If you want to skip a gear you just double click.
It doesn't matter how you ask, drivers how are 60 years old driven all life even praise it.

As for retarder, once you used it you don't want a truck without it. We have trucks going back to the dealer with over 50% left on the break pads after a million km.
If your not fully loaded rain could be enough to get the wheels to slip with the retarder on full power.
The one I'm driving now has 67% left on the front brakes, 58% on the drive and 70% on the tag with close to 900 000km on the clock (a lot of them put in hills with 6-10% gradient).


Scania Man:

Is the D13 500 the same we get here?
If I understand the praise, it's probably the best I have driven in it's class. Amazing fuel economy and power where it should be, from 1000-1500rpm.

 

The retarder is quiet a simple device and is very trouble free , also you can have it working from the brake pedal to supplement the brakes and it is even possible on motorways to do a journey without using the service brakes at all. It increases your brake lining life by 4 so really is a a great brake saver because you use your brakes 75% less

You won't have problems from discs on motorway work, where you get discs cracking is when you overheat them ( a problem you won't have with a retarder) and immediately drive through deep water like in offroad work or countries with very poor roads but for normal use they are far better than drums, braking distances are greatly reduced, they cool much faster and are lighter ,aswell as that if you have EBS on them you can stop a rig almost as fast as a car without skidding or fear of jacknifing ! And like king q said they are very simple to work on and cheap to replace pads. I haven't tried those makes typically I've always had KNORR BREMSE calipers which are excellent

 

Thank you for the answers Gentlemen!
I will look after the retarder, availability, local experience and so on. Although the Jake works fine for me, since I drive mostly flat areas, but for my next truck I would like to have the best things from both world. I am seriously considering the disc brake, because what I have right now is a joke. With 80,000 lbs basically no stopping power, I barely able to slow down. I see lot of resistance here against anything new, but I would like to figure out how much is the truth behind the stories what are going around. I know for sure one thing, the availability is problem. One of my friend got a trailer with disc brake, he was stopped at the weight station. The inspector found a crack on one of the discs. My friend was taken out of service, (demerit points on company, and his personal CVOR) and he sat there two days, to have the part and got fixed. Also, the new high performance drum brakes are getting close. But still the disc is better.
I can not have the I-shift, because I have issues with the new Volvos here. I know in Europe they are the best along with Scania. By the way, if I know well, the North-American Volvo owned by GM. In my truck the only Swedish part what I found is the side window. I am not kidding. Anyway, the new Eaton Ultrashifts are quite good too. But I have concerns. I believe they are very smooth and quick and comfortable. But I think I would be able to be more fuel efficient, and I worry about the more complex electronic system, the bigger cost and headache on the long run. I needed a new clutch at 1.5 million km, and other than that I need a new slave cylinder in every couple of years, sometimes more often, because of a bad design the water goes in. But I able to drive home without, what for example not possible with automated. I also saw drivers here or there stopped in the middle of somewhere, where at least I can still roll in neutral. Also I have concerns about icy yards. Through the years more than a few time I had to rock in snow to get free, or do other "tricks" what I learned to use with my manual cars. I never drove an automatic truck, maybe I am just too old and scared of new things? Although I do not like my wife's automatic car either.