Kenworth T880s Preferred by Aggregate Hauler for Driver Comfort, Durability and Lower Cost of Operation

[kscarbel2]

Kenworth Trucks Press Release  /  December 12, 2018

Roderick “Roddy” J. Valente founded R. J. Valente Gravel, Inc., in 1989 with one dump truck, a bulldozer, and dispatch located in his kitchen. Today, R. J. Valente is one of New York state’s largest material handlers. Serving the Albany, N.Y. region, the company is a family affair operated by Roddy, along with his daughter Daniella, son, Stephen A., and nephews, Anthony and Stephen J. With 52 trucks, the company is able to offer timely service and quality rock products from several of its pit and quarry facilities located in and around the Capital District.

For many years, Valente ran another truck make. That all changed about four years ago when the company switched to Kenworth. “We didn’t have a Kenworth dealer in our area until Kenworth Northeast Group moved to Albany,” says Anthony Valente, who is in charge of sales and fleet management. “We dipped our toe in the water with Kenworth Northeast - Albany, got a good feeling, and bought a round of Kenworths. That was it. Our drivers absolutely love the T880s. Not only do the trucks look sharp going down the road, everything in it feels well built. It’s a heavily spec’d truck and we’re very happy with the T880s.”

That first round of Kenworths included 10 T880s — five dumps and five tractors — all with PACCAR MX-13 engines. After working the trucks and seeing how they lived up to the Kenworth reputation and “after the sale” customer service, the company was sold on Kenworth. Since then, R.J. Valente has purchased a total of 38 new Kenworths based on driver appreciation, low cost of ownership, reduced downtime and superior service from Kenworth Northeast.

“We’ve had great experience with PACCAR MX-13 engines,” says Valente. “At first, we purchased the extended warranty with them, but over the past two orders we stopped buying the extended warranty because we haven’t had any problems. We plan to buy 10 more Kenworths this year or early next year, so that will pretty much turn the fleet over to all Kenworths.”

The company fleet is split between 26 dumps, and 26 tractors that haul dump trailers. Kenworth T880 dumps are spec’d with PACCAR MX-13 engines rated at 455-hp, while the T880 tractors are rated at 500-hp, all with Eaton UltraShift transmissions.

As good as the Kenworth T880s are, says Valente, the service department is second to none. “I’ll be honest with you, the Kenworth trucks have been very good, but the service department is even better. I can’t say enough about them. New trucks are going to have an issue here and there. When I take a truck over to my Kenworth dealer, they troubleshoot it right away and get it back to us. It’s horrible when you take your truck to another dealer and it sits there for two days just to find out that a cooling sensor failed and it could’ve been fixed in 20 minutes. That kind of scenario doesn’t happen with Kenworth Northeast.”

Valente says his maintenance costs have dropped by half since the company started running Kenworths. “Going forward, we’d like to trade out for 10 new Kenworth trucks every year,” he says. “We used to be a run-em-till-they-drop kind of company. When we started purchasing Kenworths, we decided we’d run them for four or five years, trade them in, and keep recycling them because Kenworths hold good value.”

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[TS7]

So what brand and what dealer did they deal with?

[Bullheaded]

Preferred by THAT gravel hauler, LOL.

Here in my town there is not one happy Paccar engine owner. One heavy haul fleet is working with Paccar engineers right now trying to get them to pull. The old 500 version was better than the new 510. But ya, they don't pull and lots of electronic issues. But they did say they are good on fuel.

They have gone from 40 KPH up the hills with an 1850 torque Cat and Cummins to 15 KPH with an 1850 Paccar.

[kscarbel2]

The DAF (Paccar) engine, as composed in DAF trucks in Europe (Euro 6 emissions), is a high-performing, reliable and durable engine. I can promise you that no DAF operators in Europe would disagree with me. The US operators I know are generally satisfied. They all note that Paccar charges a premium for Cummins power.

[TS7]

I hear the same thing about Paccar all the time.

[MACKS]

Ten wheelers,what's with that?

[41180]

On 12/14/2018 at 8:42 AM, TS7 said:

So what brand and what dealer did they deal with?

They had mostly mack but for the past 15 yrs or so theyve had all kinds of makes freightliner ,pete, volvo,maybe even some western stars plus macks. I still see some of their old CL's and Rds and other macks but must be their phasing out everything but new Kenworths. 

[B MACK]

I'll throw my nickel's worth out there.     I am currently driving a 2016  T880 for construction outfit in western Montana.    It is a 4 axle tractor,  I lowboy with it and pull belly dump singles or trains and side dumps.   We have 6 new T880's , tractors and end dumps. All with ISX CUMMINS 's and 18 speeds.    I do like this truck, it drives good , its comfortable .    But  it is NOT a T800.     My own personal feeling is there are a few "little"  things that make the 880 not handy for construction.   1) For me it is a bit of a pain getting up on the steer tire to check or add coolant, ( with the hood opened , the front of the fender is in the way to step on the top of the bumper)       2). The wider cab , I can't reach across to the center to clean the windshield  with cleaner & paper towels .      3).  They are not designed to have the windows down in the rain.    If  I am getting  loaded with an excavator while it is raining, and run the window down only a couple inches the water runs right in and gets all the electric stuff in the door wet.                 Just some minor  things,    I prefer a T800 . But that's just me .

[Bullheaded]

That's the new generation B MACK. The old trucks that served a purpose and did the job are no longer desirable. Look at the new W900 replacement. The new generation wants giant wide cabs, bland lifeless interiors with flat surfaces,  and no gauges because they need room in the dash for a television and home computer and phone to do telemarketing as they drive down the highway hovering over the center line.

[TS7]

They have 15+ year old Mack trucks still running and will only buy Kenworth now and keep them for 4 - 5 years. That is what stupid emission laws have done to truck owners now. The small trucker can not buy new trucks every 5 years. 

[41180]

It's a throw away world.