Bullheaded

Sad truth is you can't manufacture anything in the US (or Canada for that matter) for as cheap as the Chinese can. Their wages are lower, and their manufacturers are subsidized by the government. I just recently at my Polaris/CF Moto atv dealership. One of the owners is on some board with Polaris. He said Polaris currently has a couple Chinese CF Moto atv's at their factory trying to break them and they can't. And they are getting very afraid because they said there is no way they can ever build anything with all the features and quality at CF's prices.

I didn't even know this was possible, but I big local fleet here has been putting pre-emissions C15 cats into their 2016 KW's and apparently it is legal and they pass annual inspections, at least here in Ontario Canada. Apparently if the truck is 2016 (maybe even 2018 I can't remember) you can put an old engine in it and the only requirement is that engine has to be equipped as it came from factory for it's year of build date. So in other words you can't use an engine that came with a DPF and delete it.

Last week I got bored one day at the mine and parked my loader and jumped in a new Granite dump truck because I wanted to try one with the M-Drive auto. Lets start with the truck. We had some rental Peterbilts and T880's and they started falling apart so we brought these Mack's in and they have been taking the punishment. They are running 30 KM round trip loaded with 25 to 30 tonne of ore on horrible pot holed washboard. I can say, they ride incredibly good, especially considering these ones have rubber block rear suspension. They ride every bit as good as last truck I used to run, a loaded air ride 2020 4900 Western Star. And no squeaks or rattles. Pretty impressed with the truck itself. Now the M-Drive auto. They might be good on road, but not my thing off road on hills that are shown as 15% on the dash displays in our Cat rock trucks. Actually panicked me a few times because they feel like they go in to neutral between shifts there is such a long pause. And I spun out on one hill because it decided to shift (and pause) right at the peak of the hill. Yes I know I could have used manual mode, but wanted to see how they did in auto. I did not like at all. But then I tried performance mode and performance plus and they performed a lot better. But in this application of big hills and having to slow constantly to almost a stop for giant potholes, they seem to get confused and shift way more than necessary. The MP8 505 has plenty of power to pull a gear but they would still shift down. Not my cup of tea, I'll take a manual any day. But they might be nice for use in town or for idling along with a roto-mill. Engine brake was pretty strong too, compared to Mack's of old.

Kinda funny, I used to think the Anthem was the ugliest Mack ever created, actually second ugliest truck after the W990, but now I'd take that any day over a Pioneer.

Love it! That was always my favorite scheme on the Superliner.

I looked at all the news on the Mack web site and there is no mention of it at all, so hopefully just more FB BS. But I did see the spy photos of the new model and I'm not impressed at all. But sadly I'd never buy a new Mack anyway. Too much electronic safety crap in them now that can't be turned off.

There's a company I used to drive for in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario that has a grave yard of all the old Mack's we ran. Everything from R Models, to E9 powered Superliners and Ultraliners and CL's. All heavy spec. But they never ever wanted to part with anything. They're still all sitting there rotting away, as they hauled salt their whole life.

Yep, the RD800 was developed and built in Canada. So was the CL350ST. And the big M Model off road trucks were built in Oakville. Was quite the sight to see some big M Models sitting in the lot at the factory back in the day.

Saw a post on FB claiming it was the last Pinnacle off the production line, as it and the Anthem are being replaced by that horrid looking Volvo with the bulldog on the hood. Is this true? The spy photos of that new Mack have me very glad I don't ever have to buy one again.

Kinda like back when I ran E9's, they too seemed to become more reliable the more you cranked them up.

I just realized the Kenworth in the old show Movin On had a V903 in it. I just watched an old episode and they opened the hood and I can say, they sure did look pretty cool in a truck with those big square valve covers.

Sadly I don't have much hope for any new cool Mack's again. You see that new spaceship Volvo just released, and the new factory in Mexico, the future is bleak. Even the latest Granite....just like the Anthem......is Mack now in competition with the new W990 to see who could make the ugliest air intakes on the side of the hood? LOL Maybe they can put a hood scoop like the new Volvo so you can pretend your in your 60's muscle car. LOL

And Western Star. Now they're aluminum and plastic Freightliners.

I did once get to see brand new Mack M Series and CL350ST's lined up at the Oakville Ontario plant where they were built though.

No I don't. But that sounds like it would have been cool to see. I'm surrounded by mines and have seen a lot of cool trucks and equipment, but that would have been way before my time.

Hell, I'd just be happy enough to see them go back to the late 2000's Pinnacle Rawhide. The new plastic interior sucks. Looks so cheap and cheesy. And the lack of side exhaust stacks. But lets face it, all new trucks suck now. Look at Western Star. They are Freightliners now with a W on the grill. And cheap crappy FL interior and a paper thin cab now. Luckily I don't have to run any of them any more other than the odd time I do a float move with the mines plastic garbage KW T880.

Is there pictures of that somewhere? I live close to the Sudbury mines.

Pics are always welcome.

Very cool! Thanks for posting the pics Truelove and Geoff. Truelove.....did you get a pic of the truck behind that Dart? What was it?

P.S. that pics was taken at 5 years old. As you can see, not a mark. They did keep busting sideboards off though so I just eliminated them and welded angle iron to the top rails instead. So that no rocks or dirt would collect on them.

When I had my Paystar I went on a blasted rock job for 4 years and never got a mark in my box. I welded an angle iron across the front and used 2x10's and welded another angle across the rear to hold them in. Never came out and worked perfect. That first time I used hardwood thinking it would be better. But after year two just the rear by the tailgate wore down so I tacked in a tee in the center of the box and just replaced the last 10 feet of board for the next two years. And left the original 10 feet in the front. That second time I used softwood and it lasted exactly the same. My friend who gave me the idea did his sidewalls the same way, but because I had a Diamond Line box with curved sides and tailgate, I welded studs all along the top rail and just drilled the tailgate for bolts and I hung conveyor belt from the top like curtains. left the bottom loose so that if anything did get behind them it just falls out the bottom. Did for years of big blast rock every day all year round and never had any of it fail and not one dent. When I was done, just cut the welds on the angles and dumped it all out.

AWESOME PICS Other Dog! Thanks for posting. What's with the roof on the green CH??

I hope all your gardens and crops stay well. Been a strange year for weather. Well all the best to you all on your Independence Day. Hope you all get some time off to enjoy life.

Well, my Friday involved getting my truck and trailer washed in a thunder storm and pouring rain. Thought my Saturday Canada Day tractor parade was going to be a wash. But then Saturday came and it was beautiful all day! The 67 Ford was wonderful to drive. I had a blast. 120 tractors participated.

That's a nice looking truck too! Unfortunately no more Mack's in my life but I am attending the first antique farm tractor parade for the season next Saturday in my area. Taking the 67 Ford 3000 diesel.