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FedEx Freight | First Look - Kenworth T680

Roggie I want to personal say thanks for taking your time and trouble and posting these pics ! You are what TB is all about a member helping other members and keeping everyone informed . Once again thank you !!!!

roogie said:
Here are some better pics (click one to enlarge), I got to visit with the mechanic while he was washing R13160 in preparation for the Top Wrench competition for maintenance employees.

It is MUCH bigger on the inside, lots more leg room and it is a pretty wide cab, visibility and spaciousness is much like a Volvo.

It is Cummins ISX powered backed by an Eaton UltraShift Plus automatic transmission. He told me they ordered more of these with this one being the first off the line. The 5th wheel setup looks exactly like the rest of the T660 fleet with air release and sliding 5th wheel.

As a bonus I did get to take it for a short spin around the shop. :D

















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Looks like a nice tractor but as stated put a stick in it and leave the lane departure shi! At the assembly line and probably wouldnt be too bad, but honestly we wont see anything like this at our little dust bowl in the sticks this is reserved for the hubs or centers that are 100 miles from the hub when it gets 700000 on it they might let one slip to us!!!!
 
moose said:
Looks like a nice tractor but as stated put a stick in it and leave the lane departure shi! At the assembly line and probably wouldnt be too bad, but honestly we wont see anything like this at our little dust bowl in the sticks this is reserved for the hubs or centers that are 100 miles from the hub when it gets 700000 on it they might let one slip to us!!!!
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This is and will be the future of driving at FXF. I know a veteran Road man who was 15+ years Safe Driver who was fired this week. Who knows how the company was alerted to his poor driving habits...? But my guess is too many distance warnings from his Vorad. He was followed by a Safety person and Permanently Relieved of Duty upon arrival at his home terminal. This could be ME or YOU next week.
 
Richard Cranium said:
They figure out a place for chain racks? Apparently the forgot about that on the 660.
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Just so people know Paccar the manufacturer of the 680 our not responsible for the location of the chain rack it's FedEx's responsibility to order the racks on the invoice or leave a space open so that they can be installed at the freight terminals.
 
silent trucker said:
Kw's answer to the "Fuel Gap"?? One of the Socal drivers had a KW engineer ride with him for a couple of hours about 3 months ago. Had the chance to ask the engineer some pointed questions about KW's failures as a tractor. First question: "why is it impossible to get the temperature comfortable? I'm either too hot or too cold. There's no happy medium." Then I moved on to the fuel issue and he suddenly needed to go to the bathroom. I don't think he liked me. Oh well, I can live with that.

ST
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Let's get one thing straight fuel efficiency has to do with a number of factors aerodynamics or the drag efficiency on the cab it also has to do with the Cummings, transmission and gear ratio that FedEx determines that they want. Usually with an order this size Kenworth "Paccar" only makes suggestions on what to order to get the optimum fuel mileage.The 660 and 680 cabs have one of the lowest drag efficiencies on the market.
 
Test Driver said:
Just so people know Paccar the manufacturer of the 680 our not responsible for the location of the chain rack it's FedEx's responsibility to order the racks on the invoice or leave a space open so that they can be installed at the freight terminals.
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They had a new 660 at Cmh and the chain rack was behind the mudflaps
 
Lazer said:
I for the life of me will never figure out why any company would purchase an auto-shift, they are the worst thing any road driver could have. For P&D there could be a reason, but for the road ? I can't stand them.
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Fuel milage.. All you gear jammers runnin up the RPM to 2100 so you can get ahead of the ABF truck leavin the stop light.
It's all fuel milage. The less the drivers have control of the truck it seems the more profit is made. Numbers are what's making the autos look better and better.
Let us not forget about the clutch brake burners we have.
 
Any real driver would know something the steering wheel holders don't. You actually get off the line faster by upshifting at lower RPMs. I'll smoke a firewall jammer every time.
But the real reason is that the ideal employee no longer needs a large set of skills to drive that truck.
 
Test Driver said:
Just so people know Paccar the manufacturer of the 680 our not responsible for the location of the chain rack it's FedEx's responsibility to order the racks on the invoice or leave a space open so that they can be installed at the freight terminals.
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Now I didn't say who "they" was. I think most of us are smart enough to know that the manufacturer builds the unit as specified. Did I just help you out any with who "they" might be?
Just trying to be my usual cheerful, helpful self. Oh, by the way, looking at those pictures, "they" still haven't figured it out. Maybe we'll be like the PT drivers and hide when it snows.
 
Lazer said:
I for the life of me will never figure out why any company would purchase an auto-shift, they are the worst thing any road driver could have. For P&D there could be a reason, but for the road ? I can't stand them.
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The answer to your comments are: It's cheaper in the long run for major companies like FedEx to have the UltraShift installed because there many drivers out there that don't know how to shift they jam gears and wear out clutches, this takes that out of the equation. I'd much rather drive and 18 speed any day but I do in joy an occasional UltraShift/Autoshift so I can hold the steering wheel and eat my sandwich with the other hand and not worry about shifting.The newer generation Ultrashift are pretty smart by skipping gears while up shifting or downshifting. By no means are they perfect but better than the previous generations.
 
POPCORN said:
This is and will be the future of driving at FXF. I know a veteran Road man who was 15+ years Safe Driver who was fired this week. Who knows how the company was alerted to his poor driving habits...? But my guess is too many distance warnings from his Vorad. He was followed by a Safety person and Permanently Relieved of Duty upon arrival at his home terminal. This could be ME or YOU next week.
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It's always that simple!!!! The driver couldn't possibly have done anything wrong!!! The evil safety guys threw a dart at a dartboard and came up with his name. Go to you tube and search "fedex truck tailgating". Watch the video's and realize that every smart phone has a camera/video/recorder. If you're driving like an *******, you're going to get caught. Back off. Slow down. If you're in California, drive 55. BE SAFE!

ST
 
Lazer said:
I for the life of me will never figure out why any company would purchase an auto-shift, they are the worst thing any road driver could have. For P&D there could be a reason, but for the road ? I can't stand them.
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Lazer, they're eliminating the driver part of the fuel mileage equation. Way too many drivers over-rev the engine, because they think RPM is power. Torque is power. The auto uses the torque curve and saves huge amounts of fuel.

My Volvo (I-Shift 12 speed auto with D13/425), routinely exceeds 8 mpg (and has hit 8.8 mpg) with intermediate loads despite the fact I climb from sea level to 4100 feet, drop down to 2500 feet and climb back up to 4100 feet before descending back to sea level. I then repeat the process while returning from my turn point. So I have serious terrain issues, and the lowest mileage I've had is 7.0 mpg with 70,000 pounds both ways. The KW's I've driven would be in the 5.5 mpg range with the same loads. The fuel savings will run in the range of $25,000 annually, at $4.00 per gallon; which will pay for the truck in 3 years or so.

OOOPS!!! Going to anger the hell out of all the western drivers who claim KW is the utopian tractor. And believe me, I've heard way more than enough about how real men don't drive auto transmissions, and how KW is the tractor of choice for "real truckers".

So I say: Grow a pair of hairy balls. Technology is here to stay, which means auto transmissions, lane departure warning devices, anti-collision forward radar warning and God only knows what next. If you don't want any of the above in your tractor? Go buy a truck and haul ass.....at least then you can drive one of those buckboard rough piece of garbage KW's and smile all the while....and when you're on disability because your back is shot to ****, I'll be riding in my Volvo.....easing up and down the highway, while the computer upshifts/downshifts and operates the speed control for me.

ST
 
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