What's new

Averitt | New Truck

jeepman

jeepman

Truckload Mercenary
Credits
0
Got the call last week, leaving out tomorrow working my way up to Nashville, got to trade in my TRUSTY Cascadia for a NEW ProStar!
I not really thrilled about it My Cascadia has 300k on her, still rides good, still air tight, love Pre DEF ISX 425, love the 2x120 gal fuel tanks, and of course the reliable Quiet TRIPAC! I can load 45k with me in it and all my gear. Now From what I've heard and learned from speaking with drivers of the New Trucks.....The 400hp ISX is a DOG!, 62 on the pedal 65 on the cruise(Which is the DUMBIST THING AVERITT HAS COME UP WITH), it is a nose heavy truck...drivers are carrying 12300 or better in the steers, or they have to run around on 1/2 fuel, 44500lbs is about the best you could hope for. NO ROOM to put your things. The Comfort Pro APU SUCKS..Doesn't cool like it should, and is NOISEY!...along with the hassle of resetting the unit EVERY TIME.......so....we will see...I've looked them over in the past...this is the reason they are nose heavy
30a5oiq.jpg

I am going to have the Nashville shop unbolt the Fifthwheel and slide it back to the last hole on the bottom mount, that will take the weight off the front axle and let me tweak it to get it right! If they don't do it, I'll raise enough hell to keep my Cascadia.....more to come......
 
I had an international. It is a heavy truck but it does ride nice. Compared to the Volvo the bunk area is hugh. Would definitely prefer the thermo king...having said that I would rather have my volvo and would never drive anything freight liner makes...
 
Does anyone know the purpose of the split speeds on the pedal and the cruise? I took one out for a run, very irritating! Other than that the FL pulled great and rode like a caddy.
 
Cutsawah said:
I wouldn't think they would need to twist anyone's arm.
Click to expand...

You would think but I rode with a driver 400 miles to pick up my truck at a dealer (broke down there) he had his foot in it the entire way...couldn't figure it out...
 
1tt1 said:
You would think but I rode with a driver 400 miles to pick up my truck at a dealer (broke down there) he had his foot in it the entire way...couldn't figure it out...
Click to expand...

You would be surprised at just how many drivers will NOT use the cruise. We have a couple of them that I know of at my house. I am on cruise for every mile that I possibly can (except on wet roads or when I am super sleepy).
 
Here is a UPDATE...Got to Nash,got my NEW ProStar,went into shop asked them if they could move the top half of the 5thwheel assy back....nope...got to get approval from the director of Maint. Got his phone number and called him up, explained to him what I wanted and why, his answer was NO, this is the way the ENGINEER's at Navistar designed it for the BEST FUEL ECONOMY and TIRE WEAR, I tried to re explain why we need to move the 5th wheel further back,but his answer was the same. So I filled the truck full of fuel and DEF,hook onto a MTswingdoor,517716, and off to the T/A in Antioch, I pulled the unit onto the CAT scale, this is the result
Str 12100
Drv 13240
Trl 10340
Grs 35680 Total load capability 44,320 when full of fuel :LMAO: 12,100 on the front axle when MT,with the 5th wheel ALL the way back,are you kidding me! It does'nt take a GENIUS to figuire that this is not going to work, so I called the Director of Maint, and informed him of the results....silence..I faxed him a copy, I will continue to send him copies in the future. I will be composing a letter to GS,stating the obvious and hope something can get done to resolve this issue, before MY CSA points are maxed out with over weight and over axle tickets.
 
Update #2..Intial 2013 ProStar observations....SITTING IN KNX BROKE DOWN, IN LESS THAN 2 Days broke down with the same thing. Before I got back from the T/A to AVRT NAS 16 miles round trip,I got a check engine light,,engine coolant sensor low voltage, turned it into the shop, they could'nt do anything with it, so I drove it over to the dealer in Nashville....sat there all morning yesterday. They said they fixed it. Got a dispatch to go over to Nissan in Mt Juliet, pick a load up and take it to CKV,drop it,pick up a MT go to KNX, wait for a load coming in Fri going towards the south. All was good until I woke up this morning and started the truck....you guessed it, check engine light came on,the same issue. Here it is the 4th, I'm in knx,shop is closed. I'm here at the T/A, since there is NOTHING at KNX for me. At least the T/A has prepay WIFI...All AVRT yards have WIFI,but we are locked out(another topic for another time)! So early tomorrow morning I'll be going back over to the yard(shop)and have this looked at...want to bet I'll be going to the dealer, wasting my time,burning up my hrs....their will be more updates when I get HOME, with my intial reaction to the PROSTAR.....BTW there are 30 more at the dealer in NASH that AVRT has'nt picked up yet.
 
Fact per THP at Knoxville Scales, you are allowed 20,000lbs. per single axle that includes steers, but here's the kicker, you can never exceed the weigh load restrictions per the manufacture's rating on the sidewall. Ex: if the tire says 6500lb per tire max, single, that means we can weigh up to 13,000lbs on our steers.I have been down this road before with my daycab, same problem with exceeding 12.000lbs. on my steer, same story, max mpg gained by keeping the trailer as close to trailer as possible. Just to get a better perspective I have spoke to several car haulers and they have said the same thing about the 20,000lb steer allowance, since they haul heavy SUV's about their cab at times.
 
I see your point.....HOWEVER....this is not universal thru ot the country.....Ga for example gives NO allowances,neither does La and Ms.I have had steer tires blow out,anyone that has had this happen will attest it is a HUGE azz pucker moment. I still believe moving the 5th wheel back a few inches will be better overall. I would be able to tweak the setup to get the most LEGALLY allowed out of the truck and feel alot more confident about the steer axle weight on then steer tires. Of course I'm just a T/L load driver, what do I know, after 3 million miles under my behind!
Of course if you want to have the trl close to the rear of the cab...you don't purchase a already heavy truck, with a 3000lb+ motor ISX 15 VS a 2500lb
MAXFORCE 13....BTW 95% of the ProStars I see on the road run by other companies(OUR Competitor's) are running MaxForce 13's. I guess we know something they don't!
BTW Those LOW PRO 275/22.5 Contenentials on the front of this are rated at 6175lbs x 2= 12350lbs Hmm!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My friends that have the Maxforce absolutely hate them and my SEFL pal told me this week that his has been in the shop the last 30 out of 100 trips. I assumed that it was a country wide law to allow 20,000lbs per single axle? But like I said earlier I won't sweat the limit until I see a load that puts me in the the upper 12,000lb. range. http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/658-17-weight-19725648 ' (f) Except as provided herein, States may not enforce on the Interstate System vehicle weight limits of less than 20,000 pounds on a single axle, 34,000 pounds on a tandem axle, or the weights derived from the Bridge Formula, up to a maximum of 80,000 pounds, including all enforcement tolerances. States may not limit tire loads to less than 500 pounds per inch of tire or tread width, except that such limits may not be applied to tires on the steering axle. States may not limit steering axle weights to less than 20,000 pounds or the axle rating established by the manufacturer, whichever is lower.'
 
Oh yeah. If it's your time, AVRT could care less. If it is YOUR suggestion to do something, tossed on the trash heap because you are driver. Only the wizards of smart wearing their cute little khaki pants know anything. Do not question their intelligence. They are just too smart for their own good.
This is exactly the reason that nobody around this camp gives a *****. They can sing their own praises in the monthly Pravda but the rank and file (us) know better and also know BS when we see and hear it.

I dread the day we go to electronic logs. No more crooked pencils can be used. I can see my days in the trucking business winding down. Time to move away from big bother's prying and watching eyes. I am sick to death of it.
 
I had an International for a year and never had a weight problem and I had 250 gallon tanks...(2-125's)
 
1tt1 said:
I had an International for a year and never had a weight problem and I had 250 gallon tanks...(2-125's)
Click to expand...

10-4...I knew when I accepted this truck,I would spend alot of time running around on 1/2 fuel,as I did when I had a 05 Pete. I knew before hand that the Prostars had weight issues, especially on the front axle, due to the ISX motor...will see what happens, I am going to keep a record of my load weights and scale results, if I take this issue to HIGHER Leadership, I better have documented facts!
 
jeepman said:
10-4...I knew when I accepted this truck,I would spend alot of time running around on 1/2 fuel,as I did when I had a 05 Pete. I knew before hand that the Prostars had weight issues, especially on the front axle, due to the ISX motor...will see what happens, I am going to keep a record of my load weights and scale results, if I take this issue to HIGHER Leadership, I better have documented facts!
Click to expand...
jeep...squeaky wheels get the grease.
 
The fact of the matter is that at the end of the day Averitt will follow the engineers and designers of our truck makers who have designed the trucks for optimal MPG. If the weigh issue was causing problems in the system I promise safety would have stepped in and made adjustments, in the world of CSA scores, we cannot afford preventable black marks on our record. In our competitive business everyone watches our CSA score and a lower score than the competition could keep us from landing a major account. If I was concerned about overweight issues I would start with the safety department, that is their department not maintenance.
 
I hear you ICE....but I have to have verifiable facts..... the picture and the MT scale ticket are a start. Any over weight/ over axle tickets will add to it unfortunately they will go against my personal CSA score.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top