Why do so many Americans hate European trucks?

I'm sure you're right. Just want to be sure though. Better safe than sorry.

 

It would not surprise me if the load on the steer axle is more then 12,000lbs. The Scania may have a big 14 liter V8, and the cab is also big. Like I wrote before, if a modern unladen DAF XF already has 11,500lbs on the steer axle, then a heavy build Scania with a V8 and a big cab can easily put more then 12,000 lbs on teh steer axle.

Don't forget that a single axle in Europa has a weight limit of 22,000 lbs, Europe doesn't differentiate between steer axles and other axles.

But if you like I can give the Scania factory in Holland a call, after all they produce more Scanias then the factory in Sweden.

 

Hey Caesar, That would be awesome, thanks!

 

If you are a RV, not for hire... no scales around for you. Sail on by singing American Pie on the levee and rye.

No wonder you Euros are heavy on the front. 18K? That's logging time here in the USA for that kind of iron.

You gots to stretch out them things and enjoy the conventionals. Don't keep squeezing into those over built plush european heavy cabovers. sheesh. The one place they would hurt would be Alaska. Don't say I did not warn you. One hummock will compress your spine on that steer.

 

You can go 20,000 here if your tires and axle are rated for it.

 

Oh please.... The cabs have air suspensions, the chairs have air suspension. A modern European cabover has a softer ride and is more quiet then a passenger car. Most European drivers are employed, if a driver gets disabled because of bad trucks, it will be very expensive for his employer.

The type of conventionals your are using in the US are completely unusable here, you would get stuck. Scania had conventionals, but stopped producing them over 10 years ago. No one wants them. A typical 4x2 EU tractor with a sleeper cab may have a length of about 20ft.

 

I think It would be a Given that a Longline would be more than 12,000lbs unladen on the Steer.

Scania Sell quite a few trucks here in Australia, & we never got the Longline Cab for that very reason & we're allowed 6500Kgs (14,300 lbs) on the Steer here..

 

Haycarter, that's why I asked mate! haha....

I guess we could try the outlaw route again.... na

Seriously, if it isn't subject to DOT regs because it's an RV, what's to say it doesn't self identify as a perfectly legal 89 Freightliner and to .... with them if they disagree. :-O

 

Well, in that case there is no problem. The axle itself and the tires are obviously rated for much more then 12,000 lbs, it wouldn't surprise me if it is a 10 tonne (22,000 lbs) axle.

The reason that EU tractors have much more weight on their steer axles is very simple. The way they are build puts almost the entire weight of the engine, transmission and heavy steel cab on the steer axle. With a typical 4x2 tractor, the unladen weights will be a bit over 5 tonnes on the steering axle, and a bit over 2 tonnes on the rear axle. A fully loaded tractor will bring 8 tonnes on the steer axle, and 11,5 tonnes on the rear axle. With a 6x2 tractor (more comparable to US tractors), you get a bit over 5 tonnes on the steer axle, and almost 4 tonnes on the rear axles with an unladen vehicle, and 8 tonnes on the steer axle and almost 20 tonnes on the rear axles with a loaded vehicle.

Another reason why conventionals can not be used in Europe? This rule: "The distance measured horizontally between the axis of the fifth-wheel king pin and any point at the front of the semi-trailer must not exceed 2,04 m" , point 4.4 of Annex 1 of directive 96/53/EC.

On the other hand, we don't have bridge laws. European bridges seem to be a bit stronger then US bridges.

If you want to read the European version of the DOT rules, read European Directive 96/53/EC , in particular annex 1. I promise you, it is very easy to read, very simple English.

 

I called Scania, and they advised me that the weight on the steer axle depends on the type of axle itself, the engine etc. But it would certainly go over 12,000lbs. If you have a Longline in mind, just ask the present owner to put it one a scale if the weight isn't mentioned in the truck's documents.

I found one that may solve your problems, since it is a kind of conventional, it is a Scania Longline Torpedo T 144.530, so it has a 530HP V8 engine. It is a Euro 2 engine, so very pre-emission. Very low mileage, just 245,000. The cab is exactly the same as with a cabover model, they just put a nose in front of it.

Apparently the truck was previously owned by a company called VSB groep .