So I was curious because I don't and probably never will drive the big rigs, but given the choice, what makes one brand of big rig better than other to drive or own? Like is there a Chevy vs Ford equivalent argument in the big rig world like Peterbilt vs Volvo vs Kenworth vs whomever in terms of comfort, power, reliability, etc? I see and drive next to them every day, but realize I don't know a thing about them from a truckers point of view.

My personal view has always been colored by the old Smokey and Bandit and BJ and the Bear TV shows of the past and thought that semi style was the coolest, but that doesn't mean anything these days. I don't even know all the brands.

I owned an over the road truck once upon a time, had a "friend" driving it, and was contracted to a local freight company.

When shopping I quickly realized that most of the major components can be spec'd and you could get the engine/transmission/rear ends regardless of who made the truck itself.

The frame and cab are essentially what is different. Different sizes, different viability, some take longer to fall apart than others.

Several years ago I worked for a moving company that had a bunch of long haul truckers. They were mostly Owner/Operators (they owned their own trucks). According to them Peterbuilt were the top of the line followed by Kenworth.
Trucks like Volvo were frequently bought by fleets.
I believe that many of the components that go into these rigs are shared by the major suppliers.

Some Ford vs. Chevy.

Trucks are spec'd with drivetrain and trim levels that match the job. Some people are very engine specific not every truck offers Cummins for instance. Some want a classic look, others insist on maximum fuel efficiency.

I will generalize here. Volvo, International, and Freightliner offer baseline trucks mostly purchased by fleets. Peterbilt, Kenworth, and Freightliner tend towards the Owner operator that is willing to pay a premium for comfort and style.

Remember the Mercury Marquise vs Crown Vic vs. Towncar? All the same yet very different? Most trucks have that going on.

Dad had a whole string of Macks. It's the only truck I know of that you can get that'll have MACK stamped on everything. Engine, trans, driver axles, etc.
you can get them spec'd, but he never did. It sure made buying parts easier.
I'm not 100% sure on that now with all the Volvo and Scania, etc out there today...
He did own a couple of T600 KWs late in life, and they had Cummings engines & Eaton trans & either Rockwell or Easton drivers.

But he started in a B-Model Mack & he & I drove in an '83 Superliner Mack.

I will say that in my experience loading trucks day after day that Volvo makes a heavy tractor followed by Pete and Kenworth. The Freightshakers are the lightest tractors and can usually take 44,500 in cargo all day long. These are all with standard size sleepers, the custom double sleepers are even heavier.

Peterbilt extra long hood with a 12V-71 Detroit. Hell's a poppin.

I have drivin pretty much all the tractors posted above including the BJ and the Bear KW cabover. Several other cabovers too. Road trucks such as Mack, all the Freightliners, long nose Petes, International and my favorite being W900L Kenworth with 18 speed. Even drove some old Ford dumps with V8 Detroits. A driver could get hearing damage from their short stacks. Autocars were my favorite dumps but when empty, they sure joust my boney upper body. I drove some Diamond Reo dumps. Never drove a Brockway thank you. Never drove a Marmon. Only ever backed up a Western Star. Drove Macks pulling dry bulk tankers which out pulled new T800 KWs, go figure. I pulled a lot of HazMat, Vans, reefers, flats and steps, common equipment but I never pulled animals, heavy equipment or doubles. All the transmissions and the 18 will spoil you. I never drove a automatic. Only thing among drivers thats important, aside from safety is who's got a bigger radio...

Just wondering if EATON transmissions still are a player, they almost completely owned the market for years, built a couple miles from my house. Million mile warranty on them.

Every trans was run in on a stand with two 100 HP electric motors.

The floor of the production area was wood, several inches thick. (over a concrete slab) Much like a cutting board, wood blocks, set with the end grain up. Done to prevent damage to a gear etc in case a worker dropped it.

The plant got moved several years ago.

I like the Detroit and Cat engines best. Volvo are often Mercedes Benz powered. The short tractors are good for backing manuevers. I have drivin several Volvos and those are good tractors.

quote:

Originally posted by black1970:
Peterbilt extra long hood with a 12V-71 Detroit. Hell's a poppin.

Hell's a covered in oil.

There's really only four truck makers left.
Paccar (Kenworth/Peterbuilt)
International
Volvo/Mack
Freightliner/Western Star

Trucks are much more vertically integrated than they used to be. Each maker offers their own exclusive engine now. Paccar has a Mann engine, International the Navistar, Freightliner the Detroit, and Volvo offers a Volvo engine. You can still get a Cummins engine in any make, and you can speck any transmission/rearends across all makers. Cat is out of the engine business.

As already stated, the real difference is in the cab. While each maker offers certain models for each market segment, certain makes cater better. For example, Freightliners are thought of as a fleet truck (a pejorative), they also cater to o/o with their Cascadia line.

Bottom line, when you think of o/o trucks, Peterbuilt is the winner hands down. They have the most luxurious cabs and sleepers, millions of gauges that can be customized, and just seem built to be covered in chicken lights.

I been away from driving for some time now. Think Eaton Fuller and Rockwell are the 2 major companies still.

If I hit the lottery I'll have me and old Bulldog Mack. You know, for hauling off the trash and such.

Used to be a wrecker in town built out of one. Looked a lot like the one in the photo below except it had a long frame and dual drive axles in back... straight pipes of course. Could hear it for miles... rolling coal and growling!
Dad was a contractor and I can still remember it recovering a stuck concrete mixer on the construction site. What a treat that was for a young boy!

I will try to explain the modern day Heavy Duty Truck.

All heavy duty truck makers are going to what is called full integration drive trains.

They all make their own engines nowadays. Even though they may not make their own transmission or rear ends always, they are getting second party suppliers to make them and brand them as their proprietary model.

Caterpillar has dropped out of the heavy duty truck engine market. Caterpillar had a joint venture with International . If I recall Caterpillar was suppling the engine block, crank, and pistons and rods. International was suppling the head and fuel delivery system. They were trying to meet emission standards and after treatment requirements internally in the engine. Instead of an EGR Valve system like a car and a Diesel Exhaust Fluid wash in the exhaust stream. They were trying to do it internally and never could meet the emission requirements. Look up Caterpillar ACERT Technology.



Thus Caterpillar dropped out of the on highway engine market. Caterpillar was even making their own truck for a while and also dropped out of that.

Back to who makes the best truck in the US? Depends where in the US it is purchased and will run. Need the dealer network for support.

As far as technology and emissions are concerned the Europe Market is way ahead of the United States.

So Freightliner which is owned by Daimler-Benz or Volvo is way ahead of the rest in technology. Freightliner has a driverless truck operation in Nevada for a while.

Bendix heavy duty brake is owned by Knorr-Bremse a European Company.

The heavy duty disc brakes that are recently appearing in the US have been in use in Europe for years.

Peaterbuilt, Kenworth whose parent company is Paccar purchased an engine manufacturing company in Europe called DAF. To market their proprietary engines in the US.
http://www.daf.com/en/products...range/daf-xf-euro-6#

International because of the failed joint venture with Caterpillar in the engine build is financially struggling a bit in the heavy duty market. International and Ford have done very well in the mid-size truck market.

All heavy duty truck makers are going to full integration of components to make a profit on all the components, better serve the warranty claims, and be able to fit it all in their truck configuration as this continue to get more and more aerodynamically designed.

So which one. Find a deal and order what suits you. Almost all trucks are built to order. For the one person buyer or a fleet purchase.

Don't forget the jake brake! Which engine is gonna have the best sound? I always love hearing that.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYB0yV4I0A

I owned the company and operated two Freightliners that I occasionally drove because I liked driving and they gave good service going over 550,000 miles each without any major problems. Not the most comfortable for all day hauls but we delivered our own products we manufactured. I am seriously looking at a Kenworth next if I get another truck because they are very comfortable and Paccar is turning out a decent product. I will go with an automatic transmission since I have shrapnel wounds in both knees and the clutch is a killer in heavy traffic for me.

Current cost per mile is running about $1.38 per mile and that includes driver pay as well. Now is good time to be an owner/operator. Freight rates are in the $2.00 - $2.50 range depending on the type of product being hauled.

EDIT: There is no better sleeping than in the berth while it is raining. If the engine is idling that even makes it better.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimineer:
Don't forget the jake brake! Which engine is gonna have the best sound? I always love hearing that.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYB0yV4I0A

Those days are long gone.

Due to emission requirement all exhausts are ran thru a Diesel Particulate Filter and Diesel Oxidation Catalyst then to the straight pipe exhaust.

There are no longer any need for a muffler for the Diesel Particulate Filter with its fine honeycomb element will get rid of all the rumble sound.

I always wanted to drive a US Oshkosh HEMMTT for a day. The huge 500 ton mining trucks are so cool. Big Cats and Kawasakis. They load 350 tons of earth. I hauled scrap metals in large roll offs for 1 season. GVW was 107,000. I got to 106,540, being the heaviest truck I have drivin. Hauled cars for a short while too. I will forever remember loading my 1st vehicle, a Astro van backed up over the rails and over the Petes hood. I bet 12 attempts before I gave it enough fuel. Damn nervous.

Ran mostly Mack's, had one Kenworth. The Mack's had better visibility. The Kenworth had air ride suspension which made for a much better ride. Hauled heavy machinery used in road and building site construction, oversize and overweight permitted loads. Now for the last nine years, I mostly run a Komatsu 930 e, 320 ton offroad mining truck, sometimes 240 ton Komatsu's, once in a while either a Cat or Komatsu 150 ton for hauling into tight areas. The bigger they are, the easier they are to drive...except during snowstorms...

Peterbilt And Kenworth are the two most popular rigs.. Both owned and built by Paccar.