dipstick wrote:
Quote:
I have a few questions about Frieghtliner Centurys with Detroit 60's and Meritor 10 speeds. I realize not all company trucks are alike, Crete's setup is what I am most interested in hearing about. Is the Meritor 10 speed pattern identical to eaton- fuller and does it shift as well as the eaton? Do you like the Detroit, does it rev smooth? How is the turning radius in town, is it easy to get around corners? How about the air ride suspension-air ride cab, does it ride OK, handle mountain roads and curves nice? The older Frieghtliner I drove in school rattled but I liked the truck OK, has Frieghtliner improved with the Century? Thanks in advance!
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The Meritor 10 is a tight and unforgiving trany, you have to hit the RPMs just right(nothing to worry about though, just takes a little more time for the new driver to master). In my truck the gear shift lever rattles far more than I care for. I often have to hold onto it to give myself some relief from the noise. Quick note here, Meritor is no longer producing manual transmissions, Autos only from now on.
The Detroit is a good engine, but Crete keeps the horse power turned down on them to save fuel,(you won't be flying up any mountains with it).
One thing to remember about a Century, it's a Freightliner and they shake, rattle and leak air around the windows. Many of the ones I've driven leak around the windshield seals(not my current one, yeah) in heavy rain. Etc.
As far as the air-ride cab. If this Crete truck has one, it is not noticeable to me. Bounces just like all the other Freightliners I've ever been in.
I had the good fortune of driving a 2005 Volvo for a little over a year. It had a wonderful air-ride cab. Felt like a Cadillac in comparison. It was so smooth and quite. It took a couple of weeks to get used to it though. Felt like I was swerving all over the road at first. You just have to get used to the idea that the cab is swaying around and your chassis is solid on the ground.
In short, if a smooth ride is the most important thing to you in deciding what company to hire on with, go with a company that runs Volvos or Kenworths and of course Petes. The worse rides out there will be the Macks, Internationals, and Freights.