Peterbuilt or International?
 

The city I work for just got a brand new 2007 Peterbuilt dumptruck. (10-wheeler)

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...g?t=1187912028

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...g?t=1187912163


I've heard that while Peterbuilts are great over the road, when it comes to around-town trucks, or the kind or work we put on our trucks in the City, it won't be able to hold out like an International can. (Stopping and starting, going over bumps, having to literally go mud-bogging at the landfill after a good rain the night before, being banged from an excavator dropping something heavy in the bed, and stomping the brakes so that the tailgate will bang, getting rid of any mud or clay so that it will be able to shut. I've heard it will also be very easy to tear up the rear-end if you're in sand.

Is it true that Internationals can take the best beating?

I am glad that vehicles are not alive and CANNOT FEEL PAIN, because our International dumptrucks would be emotionally scarred from all the abuse we've put on them. :oops: :?:

Neither International, nor Paccar (Peterbilt) make their own driveline components (Although that is soon to change as they both are unveiling their own brands of engines soon).

Thus, you more than likely have the same vendor supplied powertrain and driveline components in the Peterbilt as you have in the Internationals. (Cummins or Cat engine, Eaton Fuller trans or Allison auto, and Eaton or Meritor Rears).

Front steer axles are another vendor supplied component, so not much difference from one truck brand to another there either.

Frame rails are pretty much the same on all brands, either they are spec'ed sufficiently strong to handle the job, or they aren't.

Basically, todays trucks are pretty much generic, with a brand specific cab and nameplate.

I should also state that my previous post is referring to American trucks.

We all know that Volvo produces their own drivelines, but that's not an American truck, and I have yet to see a Volvo in Municipal service.

Mack in years past produced their own engine, transmission, rears, suspension, front axle, frame etc., but since Volvo took over Mack about 6 years ago, Mack has become just another generic truck also.

Mack still produces their own trannys, rear ends, and suspensions :wink:

The TGI Friday's in Times Square had a tranny behind the bar a few years back. I'm not sure who produced that one, but it wasn't pretty. I didn't bother looking at the rear end, but a suspension may have been in order since it took forever to get a beer.

At least for now.

How long do you think Volvo will allow that to continue?

:?:

LOL!! Almost lost my breakfast!!

Quite a while because in a lot of appllications, nobody will go with anything other than a mack transmission and a camelback suspension

Well, I have been a lifelong Mack fanatic, driving and owning exclusively Mack trucks for the past 33 years, until I closed my own business last winter and went to work for a company with exclusively International trucks.

Now that we've got that little bit of background info out of the way, it disgusts me to see what Volvo is doing to the once great Mack Trucks Inc.

Many of the OTR tractors are nothing more than a Volvo chassis with a Mack cab installed on it.

The much hyped new "Mack" MP7 & MP8 engines are nothing more than camouflaged Volvo engines.

Think back about what happened when Volvo bought other truck brands such as White GMC and Autocar.

Over a period of time Volvo "assimilated" Volvo parts & engines into those brands until they basically became Volvos with a different badge.

Then those brands were eliminated completely.

Do you see a pattern developing here with what's happening at Mack?

I sincerely hope that Mack Truck does not suffer a similar fate, but it doesn't look good.

In my previous posts in this thread we were discussing the fact that Mack Trucks in the past produced their own powertrain including engine, transmission, and rear axles, along with their own suspensions, front axles etc.

Volvo so far has eliminated the Mack engines from that equation.

What's next? Transmissions? Rear ends?

I do know that a lot of the new Mack dump truck chassis around here are coming through with Eaton Fuller transmissions and Meritor rears on Hendrickson spring or air ride suspension. Why? I don't know. It doesn't make sense, since the Mack double reduction rears and camelback suspension are an indestructible setup for dump truck use.

Since Volvo took over, it seems they have also put the kibosh to parts availability for older (10 years plus) Mack trucks. Apparently the head Vikings over in Gotborg don't realize that Mack trucks from 20, 30, and 40 years ago are still working everyday across North America and need parts availability to continue doing so.

Now I realize that there are a lot of people on this forum that are Volvo truck fans, and let me state right here that I have no problem with anyone's preference for Volvo trucks, I'm just pissed off about what Volvo is doing to Mack.

Yes, but if Volvo were smart, they'd switch everything over to Mack, and eliminate the Volvo nameplate completely. :D

:lol: :lol: Now I gotta wipe off my keyboard. :lol: :lol:

I'll drink to that!!! :D

Actually if you buy a new Mack now, that's what you're getting. :lol:

Me and you both :evil: :evil:

Volvo going in cahoots with Mack?

Volvo owns mack. Volvo bought mack trucks inc. back in 2002. When they stop making the god damn R model toughest truck that was ever on the road.

Volvo has owned Mack Trucks Inc. since about 2001 or so, hence the comments about their ruining Mack.

Oops!

Mackman beat me to it! :lol:

A Mack now is nothing more than Volvo with a Mack bull dog the granite is real simaller to the volvos vhd except for the cab.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing ? In the sense, will the quality of Mack trucks improve ? Do the two brands share any components ?

In my limited trucking experience, I've driven Mack, International, Western Star, Kenworth and Volvo ( which I currently drive )....and I've become a great fan of Volvo : the quality, performance, spaciousness, & comfort. Mind you, I'm into heavy-hauling, where I pull super B pneumatic bulkers. The truck I drive is ideally spec'd out for heavy hauling.

When I drove a Mack, I'm sorry to say but, that was probably my worst driving experience. I'm not trying to denigrate Mack....I'm simply sharing my experience.

The r model wasnt exactly comfortable, but it was big improvement over the b model

Don't get me wrong I'm all in favor of more room and a nicer ride but Volvo has turend Mack into a peice of crap.

You're kidding, right??? :lol:

No, I'm not kidding. I asked a genuine question.

Volvo has not improved Mack.

Quite the opposite, The older pre Volvo takeover Macks were indestructible.

The newer post Volvo Macks may be more comfortable from a driver's standpoint, but they are not real Mack trucks anymore.

They are Volvos in Bulldog's clothing

Splitshifter the Granite isn't even that comfortable I found it mushy and just a plain piece of crap.

As a mechanic who works on both brands, new and used... Uou folks saying they are the same truck are wrong.


Yes, they do share alot of parts, but they are set-up quite differently and most parts are NOT interchangeable

The MP series mack engines and the D series volvo engines are identical except for the programming though :idea:


A mack is still a mack, a volvo still a volvo. They just happen to share certain parts


There is not a single dump truck around here ordered with anything but a camelback and a mack tranny

The oilfields are running mack trannys coupled with mack air ride suspensions



Its not the end of the world guys



Just my first hand opinion. Not meant to be argumentative or offensive :wink:

An addenum to my last post:


You want to tell the difference bewteen the two... Dirve both of them one right after another

The volvo will be more comfortable, more roomy, and and have a few hundred RPMs higher powerband


The mack still rides like a buckboard wagon, is cramped in places, and has low end grunt out the ass

Most volvo trucks have other drivelines.

Ever heard of autocar? I see them all the time, that's volvo.

Hmm. I never knew that. Interesting.

Yeah, the R Models were tough. Tough on the hind end, too. :P

I didn't say that all Volvo's had all Volvo drivelines. What I said was:
Allan 5oh Wrote:
I'm quite aware that Volvo acquired the Autocar brand many years ago, as evidenced by this statement in one of my earlier posts in this thread:
The Autocars you're seeing must be old ones, since Volvo eliminated that brand at least 10 years ago. Unless they're still selling Autocars in Canada.

I know they don't sell them in the US anymore.

To me it is :evil: :evil:

Yeah, what he said!!!

Volvo already tryed their consolidation crap

For a period of time you could not get a sleeper cab back or a voaction volvo


Guess what... mack is producing sleeper cabbed trucks and volvo just released the VHD vocation truck


THink positive my friends... at least yall dont have to work on the volvo sumbitches :cry:

Same here.

I do realise that what I'm about to say will most likely open up a can of worms, but so be it....

In some of the above posts, how much of all the Volvo-bashing & Mack-loving is based on a rational, unbiased, pound-for-pound comparison by drivers who have driven both extensively, and how much on xenophobia ( since Volvo is not an American brand ) ?

never driven a volvo and never will even my company has volvos and there not buying anymore. Thank God. I just really like mack trucks(2002 and older) the new ones aint to bad. You have to understand when mack built a truck there #1 rule was it had to take a azzwipin. #2 rule was they made them for real men to drive. I know you all like your air ride and woodgrain dash Its nice but it dont make a truck. Just my 2cents. BTW your right i hate anything that aint american.

By that token, Mackman, the clothes you're wearing, the shoes you're wearing, pretty much most things that you use, aren't made in America. How many of those things are you going to end up hating ?

Also, the reason that they aren't made in America, is because of the so-called "free trade" and "globalisation" mantras that were expounded by guess who....American economists, politicians and corporates, who forced these concepts down the throats of less-developed countries. And when the latter seized onto the idea, and turned the tables on American products, now American business principles seem to be hoist with their own petard.

Also, the idea behind driving trucks is not to show how much of a "real man" you are, but to make an honest, decent living. For those of us who own our own trucks, we don't go by which truck is going to prove our masculinity ( as if we'd need a truck to prove that !! ), but a truck which is reliable and would contribute to the bottom-line, rather than bleeding us dry....and if that truck also happens to have certain creature comforts, so be it !

well we are getting off topic but i will say i try to buy american when i can.