It hasn’t been much of winter this year with regards to snow fall but that hasn’t stopped the new plow trucks from rolling off the line. Who knows, old man winter may still have a few tricks up his sleeve and give these two trucks a trial by fire.
Workstar Plow – Click to Enlarge
Workstar Plow – Click to Enlarge
Workstar Plow – Click to Enlarge
Have you ever looked for something but was unable to locate it? Usually you find the object of your search only when you stop looking. And many times you discover that what you wanted to find was right under your nose the entire time. For example, this Mack Pinnicale that was part of the Capitol Christmas Tree Tour. When I first heard about this truck back in late November I scoured the web for photos. I found plenty of articles relating to the truck and its voyage but couldn’t find a photo. Eventually one turned up on the Mack website and was able to publish this article. Now Christmas is just a distant memory, the magic gone for another year, the search for the Mack Christmas Convoy truck ended. It’s only fitting that it turned up a dealer five minutes from home toward the end January.
Mack Pinnacle - Click to Enlarge
Mack Pinnacle - Click to Enlarge
If you’ve been a Daily Diesel Dose visitor from the start you will remember this truck. As a matter of fact this very truck was the subject of the 9th post EVER on this little slice of the web. Thanks to Jim we get to pay a visit back in time and also learn a little more about this great old piece of iron. As mentioned before this truck operates for ProPave but it appears this is not the first time the Giant has worked in the service of a paving company. Jim called my attention to the blue stripe near the top of the dump body. He believes that blue stripe is left over from when the Diamond-Reo worked for Ruston Paving, another local Syracuse company. I would have to agree as I remember seeing this truck sit on the corner of their property years ago while the attempted to sell it. Their corporate baby blue paint hastly covered with a thin coat of white paint. I often wondered where it ended up, well, now I know. Jim figures this truck is powered by a Cummins NTC290.
ProPave Diamond Reo Giant - Click to Enlarge
ProPave Diamond Reo - Click to Enlarge
Thanks for the great shot Jim!
Do you know of an old truck or piece of heavy equipment that is still earning it’s keep? Email Me!
Another reality TV show based around the trucking industry is set to premier on the Discovery Channel this Monday at 10PM EST. According to the Discovery website..
From transporting cattle through the desolate, sun baked roads of the Australian Outback to carrying fragile loads through the icy, treacherous Indian Himalayas, eight of the world’s most experienced truck drivers go head to head in some of the harshest environments on earth.
Hmmmm, sounds familiar *cough* Ice Road Truckers *cough* but any TV show based around trucks I am willing to give a shot. However, the folks over at Commercial Motor have a greatly different impression after viewing the first episode.
“I never thought any programme could make Ice Road Truckers look authentic, but that’s what World’s Toughest Trucker – Episode One- has done.
Ouch. Click here to read the full review.
Based on the clip below will you give this show a chance?
Today we have a Kenworth T800 (maybe) behind the fences at Kenworth of Buffalo. What caught my eye about this rig (besides being a plow truck) was the Onondaga County DOT seal. I can’t say that I have ever seen a Kenworth plow truck, much less a red one, in the employ of the County. Is this a test unit? Or is the County following a radical diversification plan? Right now you can find them running Internationals, Volvos, and Western Stars. They may even have a Freightliner or two kicking around. Inquiring minds want to know.
Onondaga County DOT Kenworth – Click to Enlarge
By the way, this truck was located at K of B’s new and much larger facility in Syracuse, NY.
Milton CAT in Syracuse had not only the new CT660 on the lot but also an entire fleet of brand spanking new heavy equipment. Believe it or not the massive 966k wheel loader and the 349E excavator shown below are considered medium size vehicles according the Caterpillar website. I suppose that makes sense when you manufacture a 400 ton dump truck! From what I understand these are all new models. Click on any photo to see a larger version.
Once again, apologies for that pesky winter sun.
If you watched the Super Bowl this past weekend you probably saw the Chevy Trucks commercial that placed some well centered jabs on the chin of the Ford blue oval. Apparently Ford didn’t care for the content and asked both GM and NBC to pull the ad. The request fell upon death ears and now we know that you will die if you drive a Ford truck when the end of the world falls upon us. Continuing the corporate sissy fights I bring you this video of MB using their new Actros semi as taxi to pick up employees of rival truck manufacturers Man and Volvo.
All joking aside, I want taxis to be big trucks across the globe.
MB Actros
At Daily Diesel Dose we’ve talked about the Caterpillar CT660 more than a few times but until now this new truck line has remained elusive…until yesterday. On a whim I decided to swing by Milton Cat to see if they had one laying around. A few months back I made a random drive by but was greeted with a lot devoid of any equipment, not even a dozer. I was expecting more of the same but luck was with me today as one Cat CT660 sat on the lot waiting for my inspection.
As a quick recap you will recall that this truck is made in partnership with International Trucks at their Garland, Texas plant. This happens to be the same factory that produces the Paystar line of trucks. Obviously you would expect the two trucks to share some common parts. In the case of the CT660 it happens to be the cab and frame. Taking a look in the cab there is a great difference between the dash and the materials used compared to its Paystar cousin. Some feel that the hood looks the same as International ProStar with a fancy grill stuck on. I must disagree.
The midday winter sun played havoc with getting a shot of the Cat but they are still worth a look.
Caterpillar CT660 - Click to Enlarge
Caterpillar CT660 - Click to Enlarge
If you build it will they come?
Past stories on the CT660
Caterpillar Reveals New Truck Line
Here is a truck model that at one time was so numerous it was nearly impossible to drive on any road and not see one. Most of the major carriers ran units like this for decades or more. All the major truck builders at one time offered a cab over. Who could forget the great models like the Kenworth K-100, International Transtar II, GMC Astro or the White Freightliner Powerliner. The list could go on for pages. Each model was the direct evolution from the generations of the past. But seemingly overnight they all disappeared. Now for the most part they are gone, either scrapped or moved south of the border. Not a single OEM still builds one for use in North America even though Freightliner still lists the Argosy on their website under legacy trucks. There are no shortage of theories for why the cab over fell out of favor. Some blame deregulation. Other point to DOT changes that allowed for increased truck lengths on major highways effectively negating a major selling point of trucks like this International Eagle 9670. Some drivers liked the high view of the road while others cursed the heat and noise that came from sitting atop a diesel engine. Eventually the debate begins to resemble the ageless question of what came first, the chicken or the egg. That is to say, there will never be an answer that all can agree on.
International 9670 Eagle - Click to Enlarge
T. Boone Pickens. Now that’s an honest to goodness Texas name through and through. Just forget the fact he was born in Oklahoma. You may recall a few years back when Mr. Pickens made headlines with his plan to build the largest wind plant in the world. Ultimately that plan feel through but you can’t keep a millionaire down. Yesterday Navistar and T. Boone’s company, Clean Energy Fuels Corp, announced that both companies were set to begin an aggressive push to develop natural gas powered heavy trucks and a nation wide fueling network. By the end of the year Navistar says it will be able to offer natural gas powered engines in the majority of its product lineup while CEFC plans to open 70 LNG filling stations across the country. Will this be enough to help sway an industry away from a proven and establish fuel source like diesel? Recently unveiled tax breaks for commercial NG powered vehicles just may help. It should also be noted that from an industry stand point this is hardly new territory. Many truck manufacturers already offer NG powered engines. Case in point, Freightliner, who recently celebrated their completion of their 1,000 CNG powered truck. Or how about this LNG 386 model from Peterbilt. The technology exists and has been proven to work from a variety of view points. Truck drivers no longer reak of fumes at the end of the day. Truck companies no longer have to worry about spikes in the already high cost of diesel. Environmentalists can be comforted by the fact that emissions are drastically reduced with a NG powered vehicle. And perhaps the biggest feather in the cap, the fuel is 100% domestic. No matter what happens the winners of yesterdays announcement are Navistar and CEFC as their respective stock prices rose by four and three percent by close of trading.
International ProStar+ Soon to be NG Powered.
