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The MR is about to turn 40...


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In the early 80s an mh cabover and a KW Cabover hit head on in a one lane restriction in a pa tpke tunnel at 35mph the Mh  was hauling Coleman campers. The KW driver was killed instantly the Mack driver was seriously injured(never drove again!) But he was walking around when I spoke to him at Ryders Pittsburgh terminal! Macks engineers were so impressed that they came to Pittsburgh from Allentown to view the wreckage! The reinforced fibreglass on the MH is apparently very strong!

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I remember  picking up a BULLDOG  magazine  at the O'Hare Branch (Elk Grove Village,Il.) around Christmas time '76,showing an engineer  measuring  a clay model of what would  become the MC/MR and now Terra Pro. I thought  to myself,they can't  replace  the  MB, NOOOOOOOO! . Well,they did and the rest is history. Timeless.    Al  

IF YOU BOUGHT IT, A TRUCK BROUGHT IT..AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH IT, A TRUCK WILL HAUL IT AWAY!!! Big John Trimble,WRVA

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The Mack MR has soldiered on since its introduction in 1978. Under Volvo, rather than invest in a much needed all-new cab and chassis replacement for the MR, they dragged their feet and finally introduced the hideous looking Terrapro in 2007. Certainly this low-cost, modest refresh of a now 40-year-old truck, notable only for its tacky plastic front fascia (appearance), has done nothing to impress the refuse industry. Has anyone noticed the growth of Peterbilt 520 and Autocar Xpeditor sales?

The MR (Terrapro) is long on the tooth - the refuse industry would welcome a game-changing new refuse chassis that would revolutionize the business in the way the MR did in 1978. However Volvo has demonstrated no willingness to invest in that direction.

Historical note - The Mack MR was introduced in 1978, in response to Crane Carrier Corporation's "Centurion" launched in 1974. Mack President Henry J. Nave was so impressed with the industry-changing Centurion, the first vehicle of its kind designed specifically to meet the needs of the refuse industry, that he ordered Mack engineers to study and surpass it.

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42 minutes ago, Lmackattack said:

the same trend around here is that WM is buying natural gas powered trucks and they have drifted away from mack.  even with WM roll off trucks I see more new petes than Mack. that being said I think the Granite is a better roll off chassis.

There are many reasons I wouldn't buy a Volvo MR. The problematic Delphi-supplied fuel injection system is in the Top 5 (Delphi E3 unit pump or the new jury rig Delphi F2E common rail). I have great experience with Bosch, and Cummins-Scania XPI.

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