Why do so many Americans hate European trucks?

So 8k lbs difference. I permit more than that all the time.

I'm confused. There is 153 pages in this thread of you telling us how much are trucks suck, our weight restriction laws are archaic, our infrastructure is collapsing, and the only reason we don't love and embrace euro trucks is because we are a nation of backward rednecks. And yet Germany, who quite possibly has the worlds best infrastructure(which a great part of it was funded by the backward redneck american tax payers) has nearly identical weight restriction laws.

That pretty much sum things up to this point?

 

Not much different than Canada. I think out west you're good for 17k kgs on tandems and steer axle weight is based off tire and axle capacities.

 

You really don't have to be confused. The weight restrictions discussed here are about axle loads, they are higher in Europe. Then you have the complicated bridge laws, we have much more simple rules. I think it is at least the fourth time that I add a link to Council Directive 96/53/EC where you can read all about the European length and weight restrictions, axle loads and so on. It all starts at page 7. It does require reading, but it is in very simple English.

The German infrastructure was paid for by the Germans. They already had autobahns before WWII, and they built many more afterwards. If you want to know hoe much money Germany received, and how much it paid back, please look for "Marshall plan" in Wikipedia.

 

98989 here's a log loader for you...

 

What I meant with cranes on tractors was the knuckle boom crane on that green Kenworth.

This type of crane:



Is unknown here. That makes sense, because it would stick out far too much over the front over a COE truck.

This is our equivalent of the blue truck with a crane:



A bit more compact (as usual).

But most of the time this kind of crane is used in various sizes:

 

The MAN Trucks We get here use ZFastronic Gearboxes as do Iveco & DAF...

 

@spyder7723 what you need to remember is;
that They're allowed that weight (88,00lbs) on 5 Axles
whereas you guys are allowed 80,000lbs on 6 axles..

so in effect they are allowed higher axle loads..

Not taking sides, just saying...

 

Our typical otr set up is 5 axles NOT 6. And allowed 80k lbs. Can also permit more in most states. Steer axle, tandem drive axle, tandem(or spread) trailer axles. That's 5.

 

We can have 80k lbs on 4 axles, and even more. A four axle tipper can have 95k lbs on 4 axles.

A semi has 9000kg on the steer axle, 11,500kg on the driving axle, and 2 x 10,000 kg on a spread tandem = 40,500 kg. In Europe a maximum of 40,000 kg = 88k lbs is allowed.

 

I get the impression that the AS Tronic is going to be replaced by the Traxon gearbox. It's only available in automatic versions:



It's a very interesting modular concept. There are 12 and 16 speed versions, a normal one or two plate clutch, a double clutch, a unit for hybrid drive, a unit for direct PTO from the engine, and a torque converter.