December
2009
"STORIES"

Today we will talk about Mack Trucks and what we are doing to improve the performance and fuel mileage.

  First though I would like to mention a very unique Biker's Church in Murrysville, Pa. just behind Dick's Diner on Rt. 22 east of exit 57 off the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  Now when I say Biker's Church, about 33% of the congregation rides motorcycles and every spring over 10,000 motorcycles come for the Blessing of the Bikes.  The minister is Daniel Lawrence, better known as Preacher Dan, and just in case you're wondering, yes, he rides a Harley.  This guy can preach for 45 minutes without any notes and he will keep your attention.  He will take a verse from the Bible and translate it into today's text so we can understand it.  I love this church, however it's a 1-hour drive from my home so I don't get there as often as I would like.  The reason I'm mentioning this church is because Rt. 22 is heavily traveled by semi-trucks and there is plenty of parking in Dick's Diner parking lot.  If you can spare 1.5 hours of your Sunday when you're driving by on the Pa. Turnpike or Rt. 22 you'll love his sermons and you will feel better about your life at least for the rest of the day. The address of this church is: Alliance Church of Murrysville, Pa. 4130 Old William Penn Hwy. 15668.

We are in the process of building a Pittsburgh Power Computer for the electronic E7 Mack and so far we have added an additional 80 hp to the rear wheels, testing is continuing and we will release the computer when we are able to add at least 160 hp to the rear wheels.

Our test Mack was averaging 6.0 to 6.2 mpg so we started studying the rest of the truck and found another crazy restrictive muffler and too many 90 degree elbows.  This Mack is equipped with an APU so he doesn't have to idle so we installed our straight through performance muffler and added a 4' section of chrome pipe and made it a weed burner dumping the exhaust out right before the differential.  The fuel mileage improved to 6.7 mpg, an improvement of ½ mpg.  Not bad for a $158.00 muffler and a used chrome stack.  We eliminated about 6; 90 degree elbows by eliminating the dual rear of the bunk stacks.  The next item will be a ported and Jet Hot coated exhaust manifold. We also ported and polished another Mack manifold and they sure are expensive.  After the manifold upgrade will be the installation of the FASS fuel system. The turbocharger on the Mack Engines is quite small and the next time this truck is in our shop we will do back pressure checks in the exhaust manifold.

I would love to gear this Mack to run in direct gear, single axle with a lift pusher axle and super single tires and see if we can get 9 miles per gallon like we do in the Signature Series Glider Kits we build.

  Speaking of glider kits, we will soon be building a Freightliner Coronado and a 389 Peterbilt.  We are shooting for the 9 plus mile per gallon out of each truck.  We will keep you informed as to how the build is going.

We still get the same question from many owner-operators; How much power can I give my truck before it hurts itself?  Think about that question, the truck never hurts its self, it’s the guy behind the wheel that has the potential to hurt his own truck and today we never see that happening.   Regardless of how much horsepower and torque we make available to owner-operators today, we never have engine, transmission, and drive line failures.  These trucks are tough, just go to a truck pull at a county fair and look at the abuse today's trucks can handle.  Forget about the torque rating of your transmission, you probably have never scattered a transmission in your life and you never will regardless of the power potential of the engine.  Now some company drivers could, however they don't own the truck and really don't care about it.  You're different, you own it, have to fix it and your brain goes through your wallet then to your right foot when it's pressing on the throttle.  Drive by the turbo boost gauge and pyrometer, don't lug it on hard pulls, and you will never have a problem.  And by all means DO NOT USE cruise control on the rolling hills or mountains; it will rob you of ½ mpg because it pulls too hard on the throttle.

Annual Owner/Operator Snowmobile Conference - February 27-March 1, 2010 – Grand Lake, Colorado

Now for some owner-operator fun, it's time to make plans to join us for the annual owner-operator snowmobile conference in Grand Lake Colorado on February 27, 28, and March 1st.  We will be staying at the Gateway Inn US 34 right at the entrance to the Town of Grand Lake.  This year we have semi-truck parking, so if you want to bring your snowmobile with your big truck, the Gateway Inn has plenty of parking for us.  We will help you unload your sled and that will be your transportation for the next 3 days or as long as we want to stay.  Grand Lake is a snowmobile town; they leave plenty of snow on the streets for snowmobiles.  Check out the Gateway Inn and Grand Lake, Co. on Google and you will love what you see.  Even if you don’t have a snowmobile there are plenty of snowmobile rentals available and 150 miles of groomed trails, so those of you with an eastern short track sled can ride. Grand Lake has it all, groomed trails, 14,000 foot mountains covered with powder snow to climb, boondocking through the trees and plenty of open spaces with 4 to 5 feet of snow.  We can even ride on the 3 lakes there, however you will want to stay where others have gone, lake riding is at your own risk.  Grand Lake is 250 feet deep, so if your sled goes in, it’s gone and I hear you have to pay a good sum of money to bury your sled in their lake.  Now the other 2 lakes are reservoirs and are only 15 to 30 feet deep.  I'll teach you how to ride across water on a snowmobile if you so desire!!  There will be plenty of ice fishermen in cabins on the lake and I have been told there is only one spot where the lake doesn't freeze.  Myself, I love to climb the mountains.  The Town of Grand Lake is a neat 5 block long western town complete with wooden sidewalks, plenty of restaurants, gas stations, bars, and shopping. 

The cost of the motel rooms start at $85.00 per night and increase depending on how many people you want to put in a room.  This Inn is a log cabin with all log furniture and a beautiful bar room area for us to meet in after a good day's ride to compare stories and talk about trucks.

Contact information: Gateway Inn, info@gatewayinn.com. Phone 877-627- or 970-627-2400. Address: 200 West Portal Road, Grand Lake, CO 80447.

Please tell them that you're with the Owner-Operator Snowmobile Conference. No pets allowed, in fact I checked with 3 other motels there and they do not allow pets either, however there are a lot of smaller motels and cabins for rent in town and they might allow pets. There are 30 rooms at the Gateway Inn so don't wait too long to book your room, I have the entire Inn on hold for us.  Plan to arrive on February 26 to ride on February 27.

Snowmobile Rentals: Grand Adventures, www.grandadventures.com. Phone 970-726-9247. $170/day for 600 RMK Polaris.

Remember; all roads lead to possibility, wherever the path takes you enjoy it and go at it with spirit!

Written by; Bruce C. Mallinson, Pittsburgh Power Inc., 3600 S. Noah Dr., Saxonburg, Pa. 16056. Phone 724-360-4080. Email: bruce@pittsburghpower.com