Mastercraft Posted August 15, 2016 Report Share Posted August 15, 2016 We were in France/Germany/Netherlands recently. Notice a few things about HDTs there. All cab overs, all run 315/70/22.5 tires. Most single axle teamed with a three axle trailer. All governed to 61 mph and must stay in the right lane in most areas. Almost all trucks are soft sided. All the trucks and trailers looked new....no loading dock damage, no tree damage, no crash damage, nice paint etc. All weed burner exhaust. Seems like there is a lot more competition in the truck market there, MAN, Scania, Mercedes, Volvo, DAF, Iveco, and others. Also, no air noise, squeaking and growning from brake actuation or dumping air for parking. Can anyone explain the near silent brake operation of the European trucks? Another question - why does Scania offer 800+ hp trucks? I don't think I ran across any grades that a truck could take going any faster than 15 mph. Inquiring minds want to know 2009 Volvo 780 D16 535hp 1850 ft-lbs I shift 3.36 Thermo King Tripac APU DIY Bed and Frame Extension ET Hitch, Stellar EC2000, EcoGen 6K 2002 F350 CC Dually w/ Lance 1181 2012 Mini Cooper S 2007 Teton Royal Freedom " The only place you will find success before work is the dictionary " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrap Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 They've used different versions of EBS since the 90's. So generally speaking, and on semi trailer trucks (not the drawbar type), and not in emergency mode, the control signals are done by wire so there are no control lines to exhaust. They also have spring brake modulation via a relay so you vary the spring brake apply by moving a lever with your hand. So if you go slow it is pretty quiet. Also all the valves have a huge plastic muffler on the bottom of them so you don't hear them exhaust. The 2013+ K270 over here has all the EBS stuff so you can look at it all close over here if you happen to cross paths with one. It is crazy how fast they can apply a drum brake.....keep your fingers way out of the way when checking stroke! You can also get the air dryer muffler over here. It pretty much shuts it up but it does kind of sound like somebody holding in a sneeze. They also have a lot more air disc brakes than us so lining chatter isn't quite as common. Their dock leveler keypad just inside the door is pretty neat too. You guys would probably like that. Sets and holds both your truck and/or your trailer air suspension at any height you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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