My Experiance with Watkins Shepard!

I thought that there was a FL plant "right around the corner" from Conover in NC. I passed the place a few times and also saw it on the Trucker show.

 

i see what you mean now....."made in america" got ya...

i just meant fl is not american as it is owned by daimler(german)
the way a toyota could be made in america but isnt american owned...

 

Ummm....

The largest FL plant is in NC.


http://www.daimler-trucksnorthamerica.com/inside/where-we-work-plants.aspx

 

I try to always buy American, but theres no way I would ever buy a Freightliner.

 

c'mon...they are amaaazing!! and suck a smooth ride!!!

 

and easy as hell to shift, obviously it aint a kw or a pete but come on for the $ they're not that bad lol

 

Just 4 More Months

Oh The Days are counting Down

 

I drove a 2008 Pete once. On a trip from Ontario, CA to NC pulling flatbed, I was in the shop 14 times. CAT C15 with all the garbage, EGR, ACERT, etc.... 14 times. Needless to say that load was late. I still like Petes, but I'm not ever interested in a 2008 CAT. The last ones off the line were piled high with all that government required crap that kills your mileage and destroys the engine. I've driven a Vulva 670 for a while. Too small inside but turned on a dime and rode very smoothly. Shifted normal with the EF straight 10, no real issues with the Vulva engine, although I would rather have had a Cummins. PS pump died, replaced by the shop ape, but not properly, put a new one in, and it leaked too. Other than that, that old stripped down Vulva was pretty durable.

As much as I love Petes, never drove a KW but would like to try, the Vulva was the most reliable and comfortable driving truck I've driven, the Century I drove was shakey as all getup and had a nasty rear main seal leak (fixed), electrical issues out the wazoo (I hear the Cascadia is plagued with these too?).

As for EGR, think about it..... a dog can only eat it's own excrement for so long before it dies.

If/when I buy a truck for O/O work, I'm going to try to get a pre-2003 engine and the truck has to be Aero. Not knocking the hoods, but the O/O's I meet who try to squeeze the last penny per mile out of their operation tend to be the most successful. Aerodynamics are important these days, especially with the price of fuel. 1/2mpg over a year can make a huge difference in your paycheck. Keeping it at a slower speed helps, aero helps, low rolling resistance tires help, etc.... Make the choice: Truck Beauty contest or profitable business.