Spec’ing a new pinnacle. Looking for insight from those who have run Mack rears.

[Notch358]

Building a new truck with 46k rears and can’t find any information or testimonials of Mack rears on the internet. Only what Mack advertises. Personally like the idea of straight across driveshafts to avoid driveline vibrations but has anyone here run them and do the carriers hold up? The truck will be a 27’ Pi64t. 14,600 FA, 505c, MDrive 12 speed, 46k Mack rears with a 3.58 gear and a neway suspension. 

Edited yesterday at 07:35 PM by Notch358

[mrsmackpaul]

So these axles have top mounted centers ?

Or is this the Volvo equivalent ?

Certainly wont find many people that have anything bad to say about a Mack rear end 

Camel back springs are rough and tough but I'm pretty sure Mack stopped these a few years ago 

A photo of the axles may help get some better answers, I have never heard of a 46,000 lb Mack backend 

 

Paul

[Notch358]

It is the Mack top loader rears yes. Supposedly they’re assembled by meritor now but all Mack parts still but I could possibly be wrong. Just what I’ve found. Haven’t seen many out where I am in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island area. The normal spec out here for Mack seems to be meritor rears

[67RModel]

15 hours ago, Notch358 said:

Haven’t seen many out where I am in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island area.

What have you been looking at? 😁. Your in New England. Just about any vocational Mack older than 2007 (maybe newer) will have those axles under it. There has to be a litany of of those trucks still running around up there. You asking about an axle and carrier design with at least an 80 year legacy and have been essentially unchanged over that timeframe. Of course there are pros and cons when comparing them to other axles, however, generally speaking they are probably some of the most robust axles available without getting into specialty stuff. Of course this is a Mack forum so the information may be biased but I have never known anyone to dislike that setup for heavy duty work.....

[Notch358]

You would think that but everyone up here has meritor rears on tractors. I’m betting the trash industry, mixers and tri-axles are prevalent with them but I’m just a gas hauler that only hits the road when the sun goes down. Idk how these guys work days and sit in traffic all day.

[The Heinz]

I think Mack still sells the camelback, which they better. I haven't met anyone that actually likes the mRide (vRide with the stupidly expensive v-rods that break all the time), and there's obviously applications where air ride is not suitable. 

As for Mack rear ends, I really haven't seen any problems outside of age or abuse. I have seen more Meritors fail than Macks, but those probably weren't Meritor's fault.