It was a nice way to pass an afternoon, especially a hot and humid one in the Carolinas. Get into an air-conditioned truck, drive it a few miles, get into a tractor-trailer, drive it a few miles, then repeat twice more with two other rigs. Object: Experience the performance of the '03 diesels offered by Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star.
Another objective for our hosts was to instruct us truck writers in the post-Oct. 1 engine strategy of Freightliner LLC, the Portland, Ore.-based parent of the three truck brands. To sum up lectures and Q&A sessions over a day and a half, they will offer three lines of engines: Mercedes-Benz, Detroit Diesel and Caterpillar. These come with and without exhaust gas recirculation (see "Pick Your Engines").
Like the other CDL-holding editors on this jaunt, I drove four of the five trucks available because there were just four scheduled legs on the route between suburban Charlotte and the outskirts of Asheville, in the mountains of western North Carolina. The route via I-85 and I-26 dropped us into South Carolina.
My four assigned vehicles were (in order of driving) a Sterling L-line dump truck with a non-EGR'd MBE4000 engine; a Freightliner Columbia tractor, also with an MBE4000; a Freightliner Century S/T with an EGR'd Detroit Series 60; and a second Century S/T with an MBE4000. There was also a Western Star 4900 tractor with another MBE4000.
The four rigs hauled light to moderate loads, which gave us some idea of how the engines behaved. All ran smoothly and the M-B diesels were rather quiet, just like the execs said. The trucks themselves had distinct personalities:
The 'Star reeked of class, but alas, I didn't drive it. Freightliner's Century could be called the Fleetliner, given its mostly fleet buyership, but they were nice, nonetheless.
The Sterling is a big, comfortable Ford, which is a good thing, as Ford Heavies were some of the nicest driving trucks out there, and still are since Freightliner bought them from Ford Motor Co. about five years ago.
Of all the rigs I drove, guess which one I liked just about the best? Aw, you know because you saw it in the headline (and I'll bet you looked at all the pictures first, too).
Yes, it was the Series 60-powered Century S/T owned by Schneider National. What – a big-fleet truck that's worth praise? Yes, because it rode and handled well (it had the new Hendrickson air-ride front axle), steered steadily, was quiet, and had a roomy, comfortable interior. I recall myself thinking these Schneider drivers have it pretty good.
I was thinking that as I climbed a 6% grade in 8th gear (out of 10) at 1,300 rpm and about 45 mph. The Dee-troit Dee-sel was growling smoothly, and the coolant temperature gauge didn't seem to care about all that scorching heat supposedly in the engine block from the EGR system, or the fatigue-inducing (to humans) temp and humidity outside (high 80s both ways). With the A/C set to compensate, I sat back and enjoyed the ride.
Another editor was in the passenger seat while Chuck Blake, a DDC senior applications engineer, sat in the sleeper, ready to answer questions. He asked at least one (albeit rhetorically): "What's the mileage on this? – 87,000 – and it's still running good. I don't think this one has given Schneider any trouble at all."
He was referring to the fears of Schneider National and other fleets about the unknowns of EGR (see page 33). Schneider has been testing this tractor and one or two others with Detroit's Series 60, plus another with the MBE4000. It's trying to pile on mileage fast. This 2002-model tractor, repowered last spring with the EGR'd S60, came briefly out of team service, Blake said.
Blake acknowledges that 87,000 miles isn't a lot for an engine meant to go 1 million. But he also notes that Detroit has about 2,500 EGR'd Series 50s, the 8.5-liter four-cylinder version of the 12.7-liter S60, running in city transit buses. That's just about the toughest application in any town because of the stop-and-go operation and high heat.
I talked with two bus-fleet managers who maintain some of those engines, and they said that overall they're running pretty well. However, most of those EGR'd Series 50s working their tails off in transit buses for the last year and a half have had turbo problems, the fleet managers said. Turbine shafts have broken in both EGR and non-EGR S50s, so the problems are not related to the EGR systems, whose gas coolers, valves, sensors and electronic controls are holding up well following some tweaks by Detroit engineers.
Back to why I say I like the Schneider Century S/T "just about the best." Which one was best? The other Century S/T, mainly because because of its slick-shifting Eaton Lightning 10-speed (and I never even used its Top 2 feature) with nice, tight linkage (better than on most Freightliners). The 12.8-liter Mercedes, by the way, feels like a Cat C12 with the same throaty exhaust note, but is mechanically quieter.
Anyway, the point of this demo ride was that the new engines should not be feared, that the engines run well and are durable. Run well they did, but a half-day's experience certainly can't qualify me to testify to any durability. Fleets will need another year or two to run the mills through their on-road wringers.
By then, the engine and truck builders will – or should – be well on their way to meeting the next EPA-mandated cut in emissions in 2007. Those regulations have prompted at least one truck builder exec to ask "anybody know how to burn water"? If you do know, you could be on your way to a fortune.
