Driving low power tractors?

They ran somewhere around 80-90. With 5 speeds you had no choice, run er up to 2100 eat lunch, light a smoke and it slides in at 1200. @MACK E-6 will tell ya the same. Dry liners you could run swamp water in the darn things and in the cold they were pull starting all the other trucks.

 

I had a city Truck w/238 7 spd in a 78 Jimmy. Had to put 2 gallons of oil in everyday .It sounded like a dragster coming off the line at a red light!!! Blew turbo hit shoulder and shot flames out the stack burning the overpass.After an hour waiting I started it up and drove it 10 miles in. It had 3 million miles they claimed. They overhauled it. It was a blast to drive. Top speed 50 mph

 

KTA 600 single turbo Cummins 18 double OD back against the dash. Old gal had airplane gears,

 

Well my story earlier was my grandfather. Now we lost dad in 2016. Still hurts, but 51 years a steel hauler he was. If you drove a Gm or chrylser, and few fords in the 1970', 80's early 90's it had steel he hauled. He was the Double Nickle Champ, Steel Warehouse, Mr. Shine Wheels, and Wild Child nick name. He hated ford because some ####### at ford asked one time "why don't you drive a ford truck?" He stated when you can built a truck like a KW or a Freightliner and treat your employees well Ill buy a Ford". Well we all see where the Dorf heavy truck divison is now. I try but will never be that guy I now remember and look up too. I had been in and out of more steel mills before I had two wheels under my butt than most any kid had car rides i knew when to hide and duck down, and why we were breaking up doubles. I only wish I could have done it like they did, or try to do it like they did.

 

Is that reputation from a systemic design flaw, or because they have a three quarters market share in the industry, so 3 out of 4 trucks you see in a shop happen to be a detroit diesel engine?

 

They’re very reliable and not tempermental like the “others “

 

The first truck I drove was a Ford L8000. Had an 8.3 liter Cummins mated to a garbage 6 speed. I have no clue what rears it had, but at 65, it was screaming.

At 80k, running over 7 mountains on 322 in PA, I believe I could've walked faster. No air conditioning, or radio either. I'm guessing they left that stuff out, because there wouldn't have been enough power to turn the A/C compressor, and the radio would've been pointless with the windows open.


Then I got into high cotton....a 95 CH Mack with a 350/9 speed. Luxury! That truck loved a good hill. You could bring a 25% Vermont grade at it, she'd just smile and ask "is that the best you got??"

Next up was an IH 9200 with a C13 Cat . It was just OK. Not real impressive at all, and I don't wanna waste any time on it.

Then I got into a '04 Freightliner Classic with a Cat 550/ 13 speed, 3.90 rears. That thing was just stupid fun. Nothing slowed it down.

I'm running a Western Star with a 475 Cat and a 10 speed now, and it works nice hauling 80k in the hills of Central and Eastern PA. Not overly impressive, but not a dog either.