Feeder drivers what has been your favorite tractor???
- Thread starter NEFARIOUS
- Start date
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
I think I was 5 or 6 when Santa brought me this one:
P
pickup
Guest
the short nose tractor is the best for backing up for 53 footers in spots where they really shouldn't be (but they want them there) and the turning radius is better than those long nose macks(where exactly does the front end anyway?
68 mustang
Member
I also started in the cab over volvos...however I am 6' 4" and the newer sterlings fit me great and also have great napping capabilities. I know a lot of drivers dont like the sterlings...but it fits me great
bluehdmc
Well-Known Member
Prefer Sterlings myself, nice roomy cab, rides nice, good turning radius, I find they're the easiest to blindside with. The newer Internationals seem to have the most power for hills, but they seem to be designed for someone about 5' 6", great speaker system though, they tend to ride rough when bobtailing, seems to be an International trait.
The Mack visions are pretty good all around, the cab could be a little roomier though. They are very quiet, almost like riding in your car. They tend to pop out of gear a lot though, ant the fith wheel release is a nightmare, instead of just pulling the handle you have to move the handle forward then pull it.
The older long nose Mack are good also, only depending on what year, the turning radius's are all over the place, ex: the "261" series turn quite well, but a "265" will have you pulling up 3 times. Trucks can be specced out pretty much down to the last nut and bolt, of course when someone who thinks a "fifth wheel" is the steering wheel specs them out based strictly on price this is what happens.
This is a company that reduced left turns for package car routes because it saved something like 7 seconds per turn, but probably for a modest (if any) increase in cost, could spec out a steering system on a tractor that would save how much time when spotting a trailer, but doesn't.
They all have there good and bad points, kinda wish could have a combination of them.
The Mack visions are pretty good all around, the cab could be a little roomier though. They are very quiet, almost like riding in your car. They tend to pop out of gear a lot though, ant the fith wheel release is a nightmare, instead of just pulling the handle you have to move the handle forward then pull it.
The older long nose Mack are good also, only depending on what year, the turning radius's are all over the place, ex: the "261" series turn quite well, but a "265" will have you pulling up 3 times. Trucks can be specced out pretty much down to the last nut and bolt, of course when someone who thinks a "fifth wheel" is the steering wheel specs them out based strictly on price this is what happens.
This is a company that reduced left turns for package car routes because it saved something like 7 seconds per turn, but probably for a modest (if any) increase in cost, could spec out a steering system on a tractor that would save how much time when spotting a trailer, but doesn't.
They all have there good and bad points, kinda wish could have a combination of them.
FracusBrown
Ponies and Planes
Whats wrong with the classic friend model Macks? No AC, knees hit the dash, wind blew through the rust holes...what else could a feeder driver ever want?
NEFARIOUS
BOTTOM FEEDER
I will agree the Visions are nice. Super quiet inside and ride great but all the ones I have driven are dogs no power on hills...Plan to drop at least two gears. The newer Internationals 268 series are power house trucks ,they will turn 10 sharper than any other truck. They also ride like a brick loaded is bad but bobtail your hitting your head on the roof and I'm only 5'7"... I only got to drive one Mack cab over a long time ago before I was in feeders they had me put trailers in our building once in a while. ( They knew I grew up in a trucking family and could drive one) Well this truck had some really touchy front brakes and I almost stood her up on the cab...Well It probably wasnt that bad but it got the rears off the ground a little and scared the crap out of me....
lazydriver
Well-Known Member
I like it when we get rental tractors for peak season. The best one was a Freightliner daycab, it was brand new only had 1000miles on the clock. It had power windows, power mirrors, air ride suspension, amfm radio, incab 5th wheel release, 500hp Catapiller motor, cruise control, jake brake, twin stacks, chrome wheels. One peak season I was using a rental with a sleeper, after dropping off the preloads I would get in the back and take a nap. My current bid now is cover driver, so I am in different tractors everyday. I prefer the Mack Visions
paidover95
Well-Known Member
I think I was 5 or 6 when Santa brought me this one:
I guess you dont have enough senority to drive feeders???
68 mustang
Member
I also used to run sleeper teams for about 5 yrs and the Freightliners were the best....the new international that UPS switched to look nice...however they do not have the interior room or storage space that the Freightliners have. Either tractor rode like a cadillac compared to any brown.............
I'm not a Feeder Driver and I don't play one on TV, but I am a Yard Shifter. Currently we use a regular Mack to shift the yard, which is no fun. Though at least they all have power steering, not like those Beasts of Old I used on occasion.
But the best was those middle years we had an actual Shifter, a vehicle specifically designed for shifting. Originally we had a yellow one that didn't have an inignition key. Just turn a switch and it started. Then later a white one like most buildings have.
Shifters are automatics and have two brake pedals. The second is where the clutch would be. You drive with your left foot operating the brake and your right operating the accelerator. Very stable and comfortable considering all the twisting and turning you do in the seat.
The Fifth Wheel raises and lowers by a lever in the cab, so you don't have to get out and raise and lower the trailer legs all the time.
Disconecting from a trailer is just a matter of pushing a button. No need to get out and pull a release lever.
Lots of window visibility, and easy rear-door access to the air hoses and light cord.
Alas, my building doesn't rate a real shifter anymore. Now we use tractors with cracked frames that can't be taken out on the road.
But the best was those middle years we had an actual Shifter, a vehicle specifically designed for shifting. Originally we had a yellow one that didn't have an inignition key. Just turn a switch and it started. Then later a white one like most buildings have.
Shifters are automatics and have two brake pedals. The second is where the clutch would be. You drive with your left foot operating the brake and your right operating the accelerator. Very stable and comfortable considering all the twisting and turning you do in the seat.
The Fifth Wheel raises and lowers by a lever in the cab, so you don't have to get out and raise and lower the trailer legs all the time.
Disconecting from a trailer is just a matter of pushing a button. No need to get out and pull a release lever.
Lots of window visibility, and easy rear-door access to the air hoses and light cord.
Alas, my building doesn't rate a real shifter anymore. Now we use tractors with cracked frames that can't be taken out on the road.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
No--I don't have enough desire.
The thought of driving down the Northway at 3am in a snowstorm just is not worth the extra $.50/hr to me.
cosmictrucker
counting the months
Volvo VN series. Even tho UPS currently doesn't have any in the Feeder Fleet, Overnight had them in their fleet before the UPS purchase. Volvo was the only class 8 truck manufacturer in the USA to offer a driver's side air bag system as standard equipment. Volvo is the only manufacture to actually crash test their trucks. Volvo is the most roomy and comfortable truck built. If I had anything to do with purchasing trucks for our fleet, Volvo would be first on the list. Sadly, the only experience most UPS Feeder drivers have had with a Volvo was a truck that actually had no Volvo engineering. The old Volvo cab over trucks we used to run back in the early 90's were GMC/White that Volvo bought out, and just slapped their name plate on the front. Anyone who's driven a Volvo has liked it. If Volvo made a pickup truck, I would buy one for my personal use.
cachsux
Wah
Is widdle ol` you not liking package car now that peak is coming? lol
JonF, the shifting horses are either Capacity or Ottawa. Capacity, the latest ones at least, were designed by someone with no clue as to what the job entails. I`ll take an Ottawa any day.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
When I drove Feeder temp for UPS during peak, I'd get a nice comfy Ford if they had me run NDA to the airport. The rest of the time I got a COE International with the absolute worst 7-speed transmission I'd ever operated. It didn't matter which IHC you got...they were all like that. Fords get a bad rap, but the Sterlings are nothing but re-badged Fords.
A
anonymous6
Guest
toyota sunrader
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