UT's 2001 Freightliner Columbia

[Uncle Truck]

Uncle Truck's 2001 Freightliner Columbia expediter takes a break in route to MA at its home in Silver Creek, NY on May 7, 2005.

Basic Spec's:

Engine: Detroit Diesel Series 60 360/470 HP with Jake brake
Transmission: Meritor 10 speed manual overdrive
Rear: Single Meritor axle, 3.58:1 drive ratio
Chassis: Full double frame, FL Air-Liner air ride with stabilizer
Sleeper: 70" Air ride integral
Box: 24' Morgan dry
Current mileage: 360k

http://www.expediterworld.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10006/normal_CM240.JPG
Drive Safely,

UT

[Loose_Cannon47]

Unk, nice ride...so, you got it turned up to 470?...

Loose

[teacel]

Damn Mark, That is a nice ride. I am hiding under a rock with my little 14ft cut-a-way. Maybe some day! I will get to the point of giving up the local thang, and running along side the big boys!

[Twmaster]

Damn nice ride UT. Now I am 100% sure I have seen that rig -somewhere- on the rtoad. For whatever reason I thought your truck had a blue cab. :noclue:

Nice rig UT.....good to see people getting away from the medium duty trucks

[PSWH]

"Uncle Truck"

I dig that truck! Similar to the Centuries, obviously, but just enough uniqueness to look cool.

One question... how is the weight on that? How much can you haul? Reason I ask, I see a lot of those Class 8 rigs here, but most of them are either twin screw, or have a tag. Just wondered how being a single axle affects your capacity.

I would think those big tanks, while very convenient, (what are they, 100-120?) would add a lot of weight to the front end, and you would lose capacity.

I've heard the Class 8 ride is much better than my FL80, but I can load this truck pretty freely and have never been over weight on either axle.



Nice looking ride tho, hope you don't mind my questions! :cheers:


Kevin

[Jimbo]

Uncle Truck, I got a call from your dealership today. They said they are doing a recall on your truck, due to many reports that it had a nut loose behind the steering wheel. :rofl:

[Uncle Truck]

Actually it was recalled once, but not for me :wacko: It was for tie rod ends. The truck is front heavy, but even with the single axle will scale 11k, I have the limit set at 10k through dispatch to be safe. If possible, I usually start the loads about 5' back from the nose of the box. Doing this, I have not ever been overweight on either axle. Truck scales empty a bit over 21k with tanks at half capacity. A pusher axle could easily be added to this truck, but I have not had a need for it.

Truck is just very plain-jane heavy duty (and powerful) class 8 unit, about the only fancy "extra" is a Norcold fridge. As I run solo and am only out for about 2 wks at a time, I don't want or need all the bells and whistles most expediter teams desire to stay out for many weeks or months at a time. Just a nice, strong, good looking truck that gets the job done (exceptionally, I might add) and will have good resale value are all I sought after. I bought this truck 3 years ago with 54k on the clock for $56,500, and have seen in recent truck papers ones like it with the same miles I have now or more in not-as-nice condition selling for over $40k. I think this truck was a wise investment for this business. :cool:

Drive it like you stole it- safely!

UT