Favorite Truck

WildHeart

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While talking to my trainer the other day about getting me into one of the new T-800 rentals at the hub so I didn't have to drive the yard dog over the passes every night I realized everyone has of course their favorite truck. When I causally pointed to one of the newer trucks and said jokingly, "Well it's not a W-9, but it'll do." He curiously looked at me and asked, "What's a W-9?" :kickedoutsmile: I corrected myself, "You know, a W-900.." I heard crickets.

How do you not know what a W-9 is or a long nosed Pete is? How are you in this industry for 5 minutes and not know what the grand daddies of trucks are? It struck me funny. That got me to thinking.. what is your favorite truck and why? Is it an aero with a great ride and fuel economy? A chopped Pete with all the chicken lights you can muster? Old school cabover for the nostalgia?

Post a pic of your favorites and why, old school or contemporary it doesn't matter :)

I'll go first... and you don't have to have just one favorite!

I picked this one because of the massive grill guard on it.. I think it looks mean, LOL

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I don't think I have seen the snorkel looking things on the breathers ever before.. I think this is from a different continent. HA

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Anyway, I would take a W-9 just because I like the way they look and I have had both KW's and Petes. I am not a chopped truck kinda gal. I want them bigger, beefier and lit up like a Christmas tree, ostentatious kind of girl. Maybe it's the inner super trucker in me, that I should be ashamed of.. but I am not easily shamed. LOL


Please note these pictures are the property of their respective owners
 
never driven one but the new Lonestar is the best looing truck on the road
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out of the ones i have driven, comfort interior room and handle I love the Volvo
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Friend of Mine got assigned this tractor after winning the National Truck Driving Championships, he is now retired
 
I have heard the Volvos are top notch for comfort.. I have yet to drive one.

I like the Kenworth air tight cab, I haven't been in one that you haven't had to crack a window to get the doors to shut tight in.
 
I picked this one because of the massive grill guard on it.. I think it looks mean, LOL

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I don't think I have seen the snorkel looking things on the breathers ever before.. I think this is from a different continent. HA

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Those are Australian trucks. The snorkel breathers are to get the intake out of the dust from the outback dirt roads they run on. The big bumpers are to keep the trucks rolling when wild animals run out in front of them, much like trucks that run in the Rockpile Mountains here in the states.
 
Those are Australian trucks. The snorkel breathers are to get the intake out of the dust from the outback dirt roads they run on. The big bumpers are to keep the trucks rolling when wild animals run out in front of them, much like trucks that run in the Rockpile Mountains here in the states.

I thought as much, still I would feel like a trucker in one of them, LOL. I had a Pete that had a deer strainer on it, I like the looks of them.
 
I have heard the Volvos are top notch for comfort.. I have yet to drive one.

I like the Kenworth air tight cab, I haven't been in one that you haven't had to crack a window to get the doors to shut tight in.

You should see the KW trucks at FedEx. You can wash both sides of the windshield at once. I owned two different W-900s, neither were very tight.

Guardrail
 
You get that from drivers who have never driven in what,
you and I would call "the real world"..lol

Anyway...my choice would be something like this. I got to drive a 389 for a couple weeks and you could just keep going with it, it was so comfy. They don't have the body movement that a Volvo has, and they handle great..plus they turn sharper than my second favorite..a W900
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P.S. I looked at 2 used ones from that company, and they both had a lifetime average of around 6.3mpg...unrestricted
 
Of the trucks I've driven or owned, my favorite for looks was tied with this 94 Pete 379. (Yes, that's a 25 year old Guardrail)

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and this 99 W-900 I ordered from the factory.

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As far as comfort and ride on the inside, the Mack Vision I owned was the bomb.

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That Mack sure was easy to drive. (Unlike any KW I've ever drove. They always seem like a chore to keep them on the road)

In the daycab world, Volvo is the best, hands down, for driver comfort. Not so much for working on and keeping them running, they suck mechanically. Here's the last one I drove at FedEx.

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Guardrail
 
I will make a correction, the airtight cabs I have found have been on the T-800's.

My pipe truck to be specific.. thank goodness it was, dust in the patch is brutal, and also my newer rental which is also a T-800 although it lacks the raised roof extended cab. Even though they have a skinner width on the cab, I like it that way really. I can put things in the passenger seat and still reach it without stuff meandering across the floor boards.
The only thing I would change about these particular trucks would be a wing window, a thing of the past it seems.. I really like the drop window on these trucks now, but I like having a window open without getting blown across the cab, lol.



I rode in one of the new Mack's like you pictured, only a day cab. The guy that runs out of the same center as I do has one, and it was quite comfortable and I liked the way the dash was set up.


My first truck was a Mack.. an old one, gold dog or "thoroughbred" like the Mack aficionados like to call it. It was a hunk-o-junk, lol.

And yes that was a 26 year old Wild@heart..:D




 
By the way... I really like the W-9..

Thanks, that was my baby. When I pulled a reefer, I had over 160+ chicken lights on the set. That was before the days of LED lights, so it was definitely a workout for the alternator. I've long since grown out of the chrome and chicken light stage, but still fondly remember and I do pine a little bit when a big chicken truck passes my little bitty daycab.

Guardrail
 
i remember back in the days when i went to truck driving school. many of us voiced our opinions on what was best and why.

when we asked the instructor what he thought, he said (basically) "give me a truck, any truck, let me do my job, then go home"

"you can have all the new trucks you want, but will you get paid the money to drive such a fancy rig, since they cost so much..???"

to me personally, i liked the Pete's 379( drove 2 of 'em). not much anything else, and i have driven the big K-Whoppers as well as, Volvo's, Macks, Freightliners, Ford's, International's, GMC's, but no Marmon's...

as i am nearing retirement...my opinion on "favorite truck", is..."give me one where everything works, runs great, and that the door locks work, so when i am done for the day, i can lock it up, and get the hell outta there"...
 
I started out driving cabovers in the late 70's. I never drove a Mack until i started with this outfit 18 years ago. They run 98% Macks. I started with this R Model




Now i'm driving this Vision Cab and have to agree , the Vision has a decent ride and better visibility then the CH i just came out of.


 
My favorite truck is any truck that doesn't have a sleeper. You can pry the wheel of my daycab off my cold, dead hands.

In all seriousness, it's hard for me to pick a favorite, because they each have their pros and cons.

I started out with a International when I was driving for DHL. That POS was like sitting on a washing machine on final spin.

My next truck was an 07 Classic with CR England. Nice riding truck on the highway and very comfortable, but it SUCKED driving in cities, and at customer yards.

My next truck with England was a 2010 Cascadia. Not as comfortable as the Classic was, but it handled city streets and customer yards better.

Then I went to the Post Office, and got introduced to Mack's. They started me off with an R model, then I grabbed a newer CNX. The Mack CNX trucks were alright, but lacked in comfort severely.

I just started a new run last week, and I'm in a new truck. It's a 2013 Cascadia daycab. I didn't even know Freightliner made Cascadia daycabs until last week. So far I love this truck. Granted its a 10 speed manual whereas the Mack's are 6 speed automatics, it's a much better ride. Feels more like I'm driving a car and not a truck.
 
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