Don't overload that trailer without proper permits.

samhill wrote: A properly mufflered truck doesn`t make all that much noise but you got the drivers that insists on straight pipes.

The Mercedes I had you could barely hear it, When you hit the exhaust brake it wasn't much louder than down shifting. That truck was the quietest nicest truck you could drive. I had to run around with no muffler for a few days once and it still made less noise than some other trucks. Everybody laugh at me but I had the last laugh, especially going up a hill as I passed them with a full load on or smoke by them doing 70 going down the highway on flat ground.

samhill wrote: A properly mufflered truck doesn`t make all that much noise but you got the drivers that insists on straight pipes.

If your an owner / operator, straight pipes will save you THOUSANDS of dollars in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle. Straight pipes allow better flow, better flow = more power, more power means better efficiency. When your doing 5K miles / week, that adds up quick. & the jake brake saves you thousands in brake jobs .... & it might even save your ass if your a little heavy! There are still alot of guys out there who can't afford $250,000 for the latest, greatest,quietest machine on the planet. In the days before electronic fuel injection, the pipes were the first things to go. I happen to enjoy that sound, but as I stand & look around myself, I'm a dying breed.......

When I was living in Phoenix, we used to head out on the bikes to Flagstaff on 89A ( BEST riding besides highway 1 in CA ) & take 40E to 87 thru Payson .... all thru Payson & all those yuppie towns there were signs warning of massive fines for jake brake use. This is just a product of our society today -- people want the entire world to themselves at a time when that is becoming impossible. They have their little bubbles of space, & when ANYTHING ( sound, drivers, off-roaders, someone stopping to read a road map, etc..) invades that space, they revert to their spoiled childhood & whine whine whine to anyone & everyone. Then public officials become involved & you have signs & fines for everything. If you want an example of the little bubble, just take a drive to any city on the east coast.

SMITTY wrote:

samhill wrote: A properly mufflered truck doesn`t make all that much noise but you got the drivers that insists on straight pipes.

After 25+ years of driving loud dumps,mixers,tractor trailers, excavating equipment i will take quiet every time. After 12-14 hrs the noise wears on you. The old screaming Detroit (2 stroke) engines were the worst. I don't miss the old days at all. The new trucks drive like a pickup truck compared to the old. Problem is, its easy to forget you still have 40 tons rolling down the road.

I drove a newer Marmon awhile back, hardest thing I had to do was stay awake.

Do they still make Marmons? I thought they were long gone along with others i cut my teeth on like Brockway and Diamond Reo.

I don`t believe they make the Marmons any longer, I think they priced themselves out of business, now that I think about it maybe the mid to late 90s was when I drove the new one. A sweet ride. Then too I was normally a Mack or Auto car driver so after the Macks just about anything drove nice.

'97 was the last Marmon, International bought the line where they were produced for building Paystars.

samhill wrote:I don`t believe they make the Marmons any longer, I think they priced themselves out of business, now that I think about it maybe the mid to late 90s was when I drove the new one. A sweet ride. Then too I was normally a Mack or Auto car driver so after the Macks just about anything drove nice.

Yes i know what you mean about the Macks, they had a reputation of being a good Co. truck, but not very driver friendly. But after driving a new one last year, they better get with the program or they will be gone too. An Absolute POS, in about a week of driving it the check engine light came on and left me sitting in the middle of a hill until i turned the key off and back on (bad sensor) then it threw all the belts off (Penske said they all did it) and left me waiting for the wrecker on the side of I95 going into the Bronx. That was the last time i saw it thank God.

Sometimes it isn't the load , but the rig you chose. http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Works ... -Car-A.jpg

efo141 wrote:i cut my teeth on like Brockway and Diamond Reo.

I remember the old diamond Reos well, bouncing off the cab roof everytime you drove over a pebble, one rough riding cab-over.

Class lll Hitch Install

Wouldn't you love to see how the trip went, reckon he ended up doin' some off roadin' somewhere Check the 'hills' in the background.
She's hitched up and ! ready t o roll!! Amazin' how the extra weight smoothes out the ride.Needed to air up the rear tires a bit ('bout 160 psi).


Added some heavy-duty chain for extra support on the tailgate, (note the 'Heavy-Duty 'S' hooks to attach the chain) Also paid-up for some BIG 5/16 sheet metal screws to attach the frame to the tailgate.
Yep, prob ably overkill, but didn't want the possibi lity of having an axerdent!


Most of the time was spent on the front porch whittling down that MASSIVE 4x4 to fit precisely into the ball mount receiver.
Note: The 14'x14' piece of 3/8' plywood on the underside of the tailgate to distribute the load more evenly.
'YOU CAN'T BE TOO SAFE, Y'ALL !!'. B'gosh it costs a little more, but jeez, you just can't be too safe.

Razzler wrote:Class lll Hitch Install

Wouldn't you love to see how the trip went, reckon he ended up doin' some off roadin' somewhere Check the 'hills' in the background.
She's hitched up and ! ready t o roll!! Amazin' how the extra weight smoothes out the ride.Needed to air up the rear tires a bit ('bout 160 psi).

1.jpg

Added some heavy-duty chain for extra support on the tailgate, (note the 'Heavy-Duty 'S' hooks to attach the chain) Also paid-up for some BIG 5/16 sheet metal screws to attach the frame to the tailgate.
Yep, prob ably overkill, but didn't want the possibi lity of having an axerdent!

2.jpg

Most of the time was spent on the front porch whittling down that MASSIVE 4x4 to fit precisely into the ball mount receiver.
Note: The 14'x14' piece of 3/8' plywood on the underside of the tailgate to distribute the load more evenly.
'YOU CAN'T BE TOO SAFE, Y'ALL !!'. B'gosh it costs a little more, but jeez, you just can't be too safe.

3.jpg

You got to be kidding ! Now I have seen almost anything that proves Darwin really does exist .

Classic! Makes me wanna fire up the still & break out the banjo!

I HATE Macks -- especially the EAR-SPLITTING turnsignal/hazard warning beeper! Why the hell did they make it so loud? You can hear that damn thing 1/2 mile down the street! Makes me not use turnsignals 'cause it's soooo annoying! Plus they ride like sh*t.

Autocar is basically a Volvo now. They bought some of Volvo's existing design plans. Those things (Volvos) had strange triple-redundancy in the braking system that no other truck has -- fun to work on! Those too, ride like sh*t -- at least the ones I drove.

I know the volvo I dove for awhile was a piece of work, never could get the shifter down right, gates too close for me. And I would always pray that I didn`t have to jam on the brakes, the tires would spin on the rims & brake the beads.

I just heard about this one today.

State, county and municipal officials are making preparations now for the "monumental" journey of two gigantic, 510-ton steam generators, which will travel the length of Lancaster County as they move from Maryland to Three Mile Island

It is to be the heaviest load ever hauled on PA roads.

See article here http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/235213