rockinrandolph

you are right about "that sound" I especially enjoyed rolling my window down as I go up over Fancy Gap just to listen to those puppys growling as they blew that nasty 500 detroit in my cornbinder right off of the road. I miss my Macks, I think that my Cruiseliner with E6 350 2 valve would pass that pathetic excuse of boat anchor material known as 500 horse 12.7 litre detroit, maybe my F700 with a 237 /5 speed would have been fairer competition for that detroit.

I always had good luck with my camelback's . I ran a 76 f700 for almost a million with only one broken spring I was using it hauling my car crusher from site to site, I hauled though plowed fields,up logging trails and pulled my dump trailer, flatbeds, and packer trailers with it without major malfunction, it only had 34,000 springs in it and I know that when I was hooked to the crusher that it was running close to 38,000 if not more. I had to get a d9 with a winch to pull me out of a big swampy spot about a mile up a logging trail but only because the flattener was settled into the mud up to the belly pan up against a huge tree. 80,000 plus slid sideways down the hill in the mud up against a huge tree that wiped out the profit had to get it cut down and then buy it. I really miss the good old days. I had reyco suspensions and airrides but my preference was camelbacks with auto mack powerdividers. the macks just kept going no matter what the on or off road conditions I had 3 mh,s 1 had airride and 2 had camelbacks I preferred the camelbacks over the airride any place I put them. I ran my 82 cruiseliner pulling reefer trailers all over the east coast from miami to new hampshire to ohio,new york city and jersey. I was grossing up to 90,000 plus to new york city with an e6 350 2 valve and 9 speed only broke one 34,000 lb spring and that was on the cross bronx. I never really felt that the airrides rode a whole lot better for the extra repairs replacing z springs, air bags and air valves.

I,ve got a 76 cruiseliner that had an air ride cab suspension, but it was welded together, don't know why but it did have it in 76

In my experience the camelback is the best for off road. it has a lot more travel up or down which lets the wheels stay with better ground contact than air ride will.

I was hard pressed to answer just 70/80's because I rode in my dads 53 mack with the integral cab(at least my diapers got changed there a lot) as my mom and dad ran from fla. to ny with a reefer trailer and then I really got a taste of otr riding with my dad in a 63 F model Mack the summer of 63 That mack was a diesel w/duplex trans. It ran 80 plus mph. My first truck was a 74 F model 237 w/ 5 speed,I owned 3 F models ,3 MH's and my favorite 1982 Cruiseliner WS787lst Still sits in the backyard , starts and runs yet. only had 680,000 miles when I parked it.I bought a 76 ws with a 325 v8 from Oregon but I never got the time to put it back together. I started in conventionals in 96 but I still miss the power of that old 2valve 350 mack with that 9 speed fuller going up over fancy gap or through the poconos, outpulls my 500 detroit and got better fuel mileage. I never did get my dreamtruck (80's superliner with big puppy power) oh well maybe someday. I am ashamed to admit that I strayed and owned a gmc, and several cornbinders {International for the youngsters)