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XPO | New Freightliners, what happened to the power?

Hate to say it, but fleet trucks are not race trucks. Unfortunately, as a fleet they want fuel savings, and not power {we can't handle the power or was that the truth?} anyway the gearing is set up for low rpm, running flat roads pulling so-so weight. Trucks out west might be set up a little different {they got bigger hills} but I don't know for sure. So with a ratio of 2.71 when you hit that hill it's all over if there is no HP to pull. Remember they might be 400 HP engines, but you loose up to 15% of that HP between that back of the engine thru the drive line to the wheels.
 
With DM Bowman I used to have to deal with Town Hill. They had me in a old 300 cummins 1987 Freightliner COE which was a NICE cab. But the engine was ::shit::. Along with the fuller transmission. (Flatbed out of frederick)

Townhill was 5 miles close to 6% up towards Breezewood PA on I-70 That tractor at 80,000 would grind up there at 17 mph give or take one depending on outside air temperature. Every time. 5 miles at 17 mph takes a while. You lose time. Lots of it. Then theres Fishertown Rte 56 with a two mile pull straight up to go.

They finally gave me a brand new early 90's Mack C model daycab. I think a computer 350 with a short transmission ratio. We flew up townhill at about 47 mph at 80000 and was zipping up to Fishertown on that ridge even on ice. 10 to 14 minutes ahead of schedule. The lumber yard up there demanded a perfect 8 am arrival. Not 805 am not 755 am so the engines and trucks were a night and day difference.

They were both still 55 mph trucks so that Mack was a asset. The Freightlienr was a liability.
 
Frootloop said:
I drive a new Freightliner at the big E and it is just as you describe. Cummins X-15 efficiency series and it has no power, a set of empties pulls like 40,000 lbs. It’s got a hair over 25k miles on it now and it’s not as bad as it was new but it’s still pretty weak.
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Tell the boss you only want to pull one trailer.
That's plenty. Any more than one and you are getting ripped off.
Not a 53 either.
A 45 is a fair days work for a fist days pay.
Anything bigger you are getting ripped off.
 
1984Sideways said:
The good older tractors redlined at 2300. One was a two stroke detriot and we got 3000 out of it. Now why it did not explode at 3000 I dont know. But there were 6 of us Macks at 95 mph on the DC beltway racing for the pentagon silos together at that speed. So all of us had our engines turned over at the bottom of our tachs in top gear.

Company raised holy hell. Fire and brimstone. They told me that they will automatically fire me the next time they saw the truck break 65 on the old circular trip cards that went inside the clocks on the dash board back in the day. (Recorders)

The speed limit of 65 cost me about a load a day. At about 60 dollars a load times four loads daily instead of five I was losing about 300 plus dollars a week over what I made. Minus speeding tickets.

I know damn well some people not alive back then will jump on here and furiously call BS on my 3000 RPM claims and stories. But they can stuff it too. =) Been there done that.

If that was not bad enough, we had a couple of big block gasoline v8's a few times. They shifted at about 5500 RPM. Why they did not explode I dont know. Kicking like a old 460 to 5500 is really something. Scary. I was deathly afraid of some minor gasoline leak in the engine area somewhere and get cremated.
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Damn I forgot about them card recorders we used to have. Tach cards is what we called them at UPS way back in ancient history. I used to just throw them away and tell dispatch I dropped it on the way in and the wind blew it away if I was misbehaving that night lol. The good ole days. I am glad I don't have to put up with all the new crap now
 
I drove one for the first time yesterday in the city. Not impressed, not so much by the lack of power but the frickin side mirrors that stick out like a set of wings obstructing your view, not to mention wipers coming on at random times during my peddle run and the flashers not wanting work. Only the best here at XPO…
 
None of you guys have ever driven a set of doubles for Gordon Food Service, I watch every night as you guys fly by me and pull a set of triples up hills at 65 miles an hour.
 
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