Unscientific Truck Make Survey

[noteven]

I am social distancing boondocking camped off a main logging road somewhere in the Canadian wilderness this morning. 

Since yesterday there have been some Yuge 8 axle loads of logs, a couple 8 axle chip trucks (processing slash?), this a.m. some machines leaving by a couple lowbeds. Trucks look like owner operators and company mix.

Jake brakes, glorious clouds of dust. Suspensions rumbling over warshboard. Rocks clicking and clacking on steel...

Not a generator or drunks partying to be heard...

Anyway the scorecard is Kenworth 10, other brands 0. 

[rickeieio]

That's what we observed when we drove to Alaska.  The farther north we went, the higher the KW to "everything else" ratio became.  Coincidentally, KW dealers were scattered about, but no other brands.  Which came first, the Chickens (trucks) or the eggs (dealers)?

[mr. cob]

Howdy All,

I noticed the same thing whilst gallivanting around Australia, however Kenworth has a truck plant down under so I suppose that makes a big difference. In my area of western Washington, I would put the log truck numbers at 75% Kenworth, 20% Peterbilt, 5% other.

Dave

[rickeieio]

The shift in different areas is interesting.  There are a lot of gravel mines, thus dump trucks, around here, and Mack has a huge share of that market.  At least half of the rough service trucks ( mining, demolition, construction) are Mack. Some of the tractor/trailer gravel trucks are KW or Pete, but they appear to be old OTR trucks with big sleepers and acres of chrome.

[Steve from SoCal]

Yep, it is a regional thing.

 

In California/Oregon  Peterbilt is the major player in the trees.   Both Pete and KW were born to get trees out of the Pacific forests.    I know some heavy haul guys in the great white north that swear by the Star Car "Western Star"     Back east Mack and in the old days Brockway.   

Out here in the plains there ain't no trees, a few windmill blades and nacelles.    Mostly Paccar not a one horse kinda thing, not many Volvo's doing heavy haul in these parts.    In California, the hay wagons are almost all single axle Pete's pulling doubles.   

Steve   

[mr. cob]

Howdy All,

Where we live about 50 miles northeast of seattle ( way to close to that nut house ) there is still a lot of logging and rock-gravel hauling being done, 5 operating gravel-rock pits within 20 miles of our home.  When it comes to hauling gravel-rock it's about 50% Pete's, 25% Kenworth's, 15% Mack's and 10% others have NEVER seen a Volvo hauling logs, gravel, rock, or heavy equipment in this area.

A while back on another thread folks were discussing the single axle Pete's hauling hay in california, until reading that thread I had never given them any thought or even knew they existed, this time whilst in the southwest for the last three months I started to look for them and they were everywhere up and down the full lenght of california, almost all of them were day cabs or had the cigarette pack style sleeper.

Dave

 

[dblr]

Back in my early days ( 70-80's ) working for UPS it seemed that here on the east cost to mid-west they were mostly all cab over Mack's and in the west cab over Pete's, now when I retired in 2013 it was still mostly Mack but now it seems to be whatever brand gives the best price is what they get when they are ready to place a order. In my building when we got in a new to us Mack with less then a million miles on it we thought it we got a brand new truck 🤣

[jenandjon]

The gravel pits around here have an assortment of trucks. The one closest to me has changed out from Mack trucks to Peterbilt 567. However I have a friend that owns several rock trucks and he will only run Kenworth and Western Star.

In our Farming operation we run 3 Kenworth T-800s with the heavy duty 20,000lb steer axle and one T880 with a 16,000lb steer. I ran a Mack Vision for a while. I really liked it also. Rode great plenty of power but it had the Mack E7 engine and only the dealer cold work on it. Independent shops do not have access to the software. The 3rd time back tot he dealer for something simple I traded it off on the Pete. I ran that for a while and I loved it but I tore it up. Too much off road work. Sat too low. That is when I went to the T-880

[Wrknrvr]

  In northwestern Montana they run Ken-worth / Pete’s. I will say there is one local Volvo that runs as a dump truck.

  And I would bet 100 percent  are pre emissions versions. I was in the Pete store once in Missoula Mt and there were several older truck in there getting engines rebuilt. One logging outfit probably haas 15 old Pete’s out most day’s logging.

   Yea I do feel out of place up here. But I do have a Cummins N14. And no emissions to speak of. So I sorta fit in.

 

 

  Vern in a T-shirt