Freightliner VS Volvo
 

Professional drivers & good teachers; I have a question for you. Which truck do you prefer to drive; Freightliner Century, Columbia, or Volvo. I have trained in the Century and liked it very much. I recently got to drive the Volvo and have gained a fondness for that truck. There is a possibility that after I complete training with this one company I may be assigned a Volvo. This company is converting their entire fleet to Volvos. Some drivers say that the Volvo is quieter, especially if you are in the sleeper and the reefer is running. Tell me professional drivers & good teachers what your opinions are over the three, also which model of the Volvo you are driving? Go safely; see you on the big road! :rock:

i heard the volvos are good, but are to heavy an less space in the sleeper than the century.

Volvo's are great trucks. You do have to get used to the smaller sleeper though. the best way is to use the cab curtains instead of the sleeper curtains.
In my opinion, Volvo's ride better than Freightliners and are quieter.

I love the columbia But I would lay money on Volvo any day.

Volvo has the superior ride and is the better made of the two. I have driven both and there is no comparison. 8) The down side is that the larger units (770, 780) are a bit heavy. You should still be able to scale 45M pounds, depending on the trailer. :D

professional drivers; it seems that the opinions are high on the Volvo. Century is still the work horse to many drivers and the Columbia is the mid range cruiser. My next question is what model of Volvo does everyone enjoy? There seems to be several models of highway Volvos, What model are companies buying. I had better get used to the Volvo being as that is what I"ll be driving at Western Express. 8) Is the interior configuration in the sleeper the same in the Volvo as it is in the Century, with cabinets up top, TV opening in the middle and a place for a cooler under the drawer desk on the driver's side? Thanks in advance. Go safely; see you on the big road! :rock:

There are two primary factors which most affect a trucks ride......weight and wheelbase. The heavier trucks are usually going to ride better than the lighter ones. A long wheelbase is more comfortable than a short wheelbase truck. A really short wheelbase can beat you to death. The Volvo's have a relatively short wheelbase, however the 770 and 780 are heavy and the company has found a way to make a decent riding truck out of them. These trucks are very heavy. The same can be said of other trucks. All of the Volvo's seem to have a decent ride. Driving a Volvo is more like driving a car than a truck. 8)

I drove a 610 for an O/O and the truck was great. Quite smooth and you cant beat the view from that one pice panoramic windshield. The turn radius is great. It was a one bunk midroof and for one person who have always drove condos i really enjoyed that truck

This is really interesting. My question would be why are so many companies going to Volvo and Freightliners? I know most drivers I talk to tell me if money was no object they'd be driving either a Pete 379 or W900 KW. So is it just pricing that has put so many Volvos and Freightliners on the road? You can spec a truck just about any way you want as far as motor, transmission, and rearend goes. So whats the draw? Right now I drive an International. Everthing in it is cheap plastic and falling apart. Probably due to driver abuse. Its a 99 and already had nearly 800M on it when I got it. Yeah it was pretty much worn out. Personally I dont like the looks of the new Freightshakers or the Volvos dont like the T2000 and whatever Petes version of that is. To me they are just ugly trucks. To me the 379,W900, and clasicXL are what trucks are supposed to look like. I'm sure its a matter of pesonal preference. To the big companies its gotta be the bottom line though right?.........Don

Price they are all about the same. Pete's are great trucks but they are like Harley's they are expensive to own operate and get worked on but they sure are nice machines