as for the 12 litre volvo if the salesman over here told the buyer he should buy the 16 litre for long haul all road types as we do in uk for europe . the 550 would be the kiddy blowing past the ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ /maxforce. just been home uk 4 a while done few trips down to naples with 16litre v8 580 scania and apart from the space it was a dream . 
stevejones:
as for the 12 litre volvo if the salesman over here told the buyer he should buy the 16 litre for long haul all road types as we do in uk for europe . the 550 would be the kiddy blowing past the ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ /maxforce. just been home uk 4 a while done few trips down to naples with 16litre v8 580 scania and apart from the space it was a dream .
I’ve always felt that European trucks had more power. I spent a few months each winter back in 2010/11/12 driving in the UK so could readily compare trucks back and forth and all the trucks I’ve ever driven in either country have only ever been basic average trucks with middle of the range engines in them. My first truck here was a Freightliner Classic with a CAT 475bhp engine and was as flat as a pancake, completely useless and it was only a few years old at the time and it pulled no worse than any of the companies other similar trucks at the time I ran with. Then came the Cascadia’s with DD15 engines, not sure of the HP they had but probably something similar and while they seemed a bit better than the CAT engine, they were still very under powered from what I had remembered of my European trucks prior to Canada, especially as with doing US only work, I was always well under UK full weights.
I then went home and for a while drove a 460bph Renault Premium on bulk tipper work, so 44T 50% of the time and it pulled like a train and rocket fuel, and apart from the very small living space, I found it to be an outstanding work horse and a joy to drive.
Since then I’ve driven Volvo’s in Canada, not sure of the HP but probably something between 400-450 with a ■■■■■■■ engine from memory and it was dire. Coming over the Cobequid Pass in NS at US weights, never mind Canadian weights I’d often be down to 25mph. Now I was led to believe at the time that the company who owned them had them de-rated as some kind of measure to save fuel so that could explain the complete lack of power. However that being said, I have always noticed that Volvo’s are some of the first trucks I ever pass on an uphill climb and this has always shocked me as I remember what a good motor they are in Europe.
Now people have said that its the same engines on both sides of the Atlantic so there’s no difference etc so perhaps I am just imagining it and the trucks back in Europe really are no better in reality. I have absolutely no knowledge of engines and mechanics so can only go by how I find the actual trucks that I drive for myself and the two hugely noticeable differences I’ve always found when returning home to do a short stint in the UK is that trucks pull better to get going and they stop far better when you push the brake pedal, being disc brakes etc. The first time I drove a UK truck after my first 19 months in Canada, I almost head butted the wind screen the bloody thing stopped so well.
ha yes robinhood nearly all volvos ive seen here are the small 12/13 litre 455hp because thats what the salesman tells the companies yes mr manager this is the truck 4 your operation . they mix em up with ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ fuller complete joke .also while home did bit for ralph davies new 500hp xl 13litre it would walk allover my last cascadia dd15 which are 505hp but here we are m8 lol
stevejones:
ha yes robinhood nearly all volvos ive seen here are the small 12/13 litre 455hp because thats what the salesman tells the companies yes mr manager this is the truck 4 your operation . they mix em up with ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ fuller complete joke .also while home did bit for ralph davies new 500hp xl 13litre it would walk allover my last cascadia dd15 which are 505hp but here we are m8 lol
I agree mate. All the trucks I’ve ever driven both in Canada and the UK have been between 400-480bhp and without a shadow of a doubt the European ones always pull a lot better. I know NMM will tell me its BS and they’re the same engine or the American ones are better and maybe to him they are and maybe on paper they are but all I know is what I’ve experienced personally and all of the 400-480ish bhp engines Ive had here have been very lackluster and most, if not all of the equivalent engines in Europe have been pretty darn good by comparison. Now I do like North American trucks for other reasons, but pulling power certainly isn’t one of them. Not when it comes to middle of the range fleet spec motors at any rate, which is where all of my experience comes from.
newmercman:
I don’t think the Volvo had a ■■■■■■■ under the cab, the bits I could see looked green, not red. That article also mentions the ISX12G being in Paccar vehicles and operating out of Washington, the decal on the Volvo was Westport Canada. You have to remember that ■■■■■■■ engineering department is like the Porsche of the truck industry, they do a lot of work for other manufacturers, every US manufacturer still offer ■■■■■■■ engines from the factory too, so they all still get along. They are the pioneers of alternative fuels over here through their tie up with Westport, so it makes sense that Volvo would go to them to adapt a Volvo engine as they have done all the groundwork already.As for the capacity, 12 litres is ample for the type of operation that would likely use a gas powered truck, grocers making store deliveries, drayage around the ports etc. Although Bison Transport do have a few gas powered Pete day cabs trunking turnpike sets up and down between Calgary and Edmonton, these fuel at the Flying J at Calgary, which has a gas refueling station, there’s no counterpart in Edmonton though. Vedder Transport in BC also have a gas powered fleet of Petes that haul refuse from Vancouver area into local landfills, quite a departure from their core business of food grade tankers.
If it definitely has Westport gas on it then I doubt that it’s a Volvo engine, since Volvo have a global deal for their gas technology, and kit supply, with Clean Air Power of Leyland and San Diego. Clean Air have Volvo’s running on every continent, based on both 12 and 13 litre engines depending on the market emission requirements. Or maybe that should be that Volvo have units with Clean Air gas conversions running all over.
robinhood ye m8 to me for few yrs now the trucks have just lost all feeling of having to be driven . getting old i suppose lol but out of em all id love my 143centurion scania 500 no limiter and i would enjoy jumping in a truck again most people say things are better now but the whole industry has changed . if i was 21 again i would not pick it as a career especially over here
acd1202:
newmercman:
I don’t think the Volvo had a ■■■■■■■ under the cab, the bits I could see looked green, not red. That article also mentions the ISX12G being in Paccar vehicles and operating out of Washington, the decal on the Volvo was Westport Canada. You have to remember that ■■■■■■■ engineering department is like the Porsche of the truck industry, they do a lot of work for other manufacturers, every US manufacturer still offer ■■■■■■■ engines from the factory too, so they all still get along. They are the pioneers of alternative fuels over here through their tie up with Westport, so it makes sense that Volvo would go to them to adapt a Volvo engine as they have done all the groundwork already.As for the capacity, 12 litres is ample for the type of operation that would likely use a gas powered truck, grocers making store deliveries, drayage around the ports etc. Although Bison Transport do have a few gas powered Pete day cabs trunking turnpike sets up and down between Calgary and Edmonton, these fuel at the Flying J at Calgary, which has a gas refueling station, there’s no counterpart in Edmonton though. Vedder Transport in BC also have a gas powered fleet of Petes that haul refuse from Vancouver area into local landfills, quite a departure from their core business of food grade tankers.
If it definitely has Westport gas on it then I doubt that it’s a Volvo engine, since Volvo have a global deal for their gas technology, and kit supply, with Clean Air Power of Leyland and San Diego. Clean Air have Volvo’s running on every continent, based on both 12 and 13 litre engines depending on the market emission requirements. Or maybe that should be that Volvo have units with Clean Air gas conversions running all over.
I will find out if the mag are going to investigate, if they aren’t, then I will. I only got a quick butchers at it as I was trying to get a photo of it as I passed and not crash into it lol.
If you want to see where CNG is going watch the Transit Bus industry…
in BC all new bus orders will be for CNG, mostly NewFlyer Xcelsior 40ft with ISL. Vancouver already has POCO garage with about 150 buses on gas, new fueling stations are being installed in Surrey and the new build garage in Delta/NW border… 100 to 150 new buses are planned to arrive in next 2 years despite the plebisite. Next orders for 24 seat shuttles will be GMC gasoline… no more hybrids either… seems the “green” aspect of the exhaust has found favour with the masters in Victoria… drivers find them sluggish, mechanics are getting used to their quirky behaviour…
I’ve also been seeing Smithrite trucks on CNG…
so, with BC’s LNG dream moving along it may be the new fuel for the left side of Canada.
yvr brit
I was at Mack’s place in Allentown the other week and there were about 20 day cabs in UPS colours being put through their paces on the test track. They were all natural gas powered; you could tell by the look of the fuel tank. I don’t know what engine was in them but Volvo must have had something to do with the tests.
There’s a gas refueling station in Salt Lake City next to the Flying J, I’ve seen a bunch of UPS motors filling up there, I won’t swear to it, but I’m sure there were some Macks.
It was a few years ago now as I’ve only stopped in that place once and only because I had broken down, I remember it because it was just before my birthday and my wife was throwing me a party, I left the Pete dealer with a new camshaft with enough time to get my trailer swapped in Edmonton and get back to the yard and home in time for the festivities if I didn’t stop and averaged over 60mph…
It was a bloody good party.
newmercman:
acd1202:
newmercman:
I don’t think the Volvo had a ■■■■■■■ under the cab, the bits I could see looked green, not red. That article also mentions the ISX12G being in Paccar vehicles and operating out of Washington, the decal on the Volvo was Westport Canada. You have to remember that ■■■■■■■ engineering department is like the Porsche of the truck industry, they do a lot of work for other manufacturers, every US manufacturer still offer ■■■■■■■ engines from the factory too, so they all still get along. They are the pioneers of alternative fuels over here through their tie up with Westport, so it makes sense that Volvo would go to them to adapt a Volvo engine as they have done all the groundwork already.As for the capacity, 12 litres is ample for the type of operation that would likely use a gas powered truck, grocers making store deliveries, drayage around the ports etc. Although Bison Transport do have a few gas powered Pete day cabs trunking turnpike sets up and down between Calgary and Edmonton, these fuel at the Flying J at Calgary, which has a gas refueling station, there’s no counterpart in Edmonton though. Vedder Transport in BC also have a gas powered fleet of Petes that haul refuse from Vancouver area into local landfills, quite a departure from their core business of food grade tankers.
If it definitely has Westport gas on it then I doubt that it’s a Volvo engine, since Volvo have a global deal for their gas technology, and kit supply, with Clean Air Power of Leyland and San Diego. Clean Air have Volvo’s running on every continent, based on both 12 and 13 litre engines depending on the market emission requirements. Or maybe that should be that Volvo have units with Clean Air gas conversions running all over.
I will find out if the mag are going to investigate, if they aren’t, then I will. I only got a quick butchers at it as I was trying to get a photo of it as I passed and not crash into it lol.
Resulting from a conversation with somebody on the inside it appears that my info is recently out of date and this Volvo may indeed have West Port gas. I shall pm nmm.
I have received acd1202’s PM and will follow up on it and let you guys know my findings.
I saw two of these in Arizona on the back of low loaders this week, european configuration but unregistered.
Probably over for some kind of oilfield gubbins to be fitted and then be shipped back to wherever they will be used over there.
They looked complete to me, don’t think there was any room for anything else to go on them.
Yeah, that’s what I meant lol, the stuff on the back being the oilfield gubbins.
Saw another MAN 8 wheeler on a low loader yesterday, this time in California but with a container or bulk body, didn’t have a chance to get a picture.
chazzer:
Saw another MAN 8 wheeler on a low loader yesterday, this time in California but with a container or bulk body, didn’t have a chance to get a picture.
This?
One of our Dutch drivers saw it in El Paso this week.
That’s definitely oil industry related Carlos Fandango equipment on the back, maybe the chassis cabs you saw were part of the same build?