Plenty of the junk over here, never understood the obsession with road ranger,… oh that’s right it’s a “man’s” truck
No, I think you will find it just happened to be a terrific gearbox to work with.
Why in 2020, would a driver, want to work with a road ranger, double de clutch … etc? … times have moved on… plenty of old truckers have bad knees … modern trucks are by far superior to a freightliner, Mack western star etc… smoother rider etc … sure, they may of been good in the 60/70/80’s etc … but no sane person wants to drive them.
Plenty of the junk over here, never understood the obsession with road ranger,… oh that’s right it’s a “man’s” truck
No, I think you will find it just happened to be a terrific gearbox to work with.
Why in 2020, would a driver, want to work with a road ranger, double de clutch … etc? … times have moved on… plenty of old truckers have bad knees … modern trucks are by far superior to a freightliner, Mack western star etc… smoother rider etc … sure, they may of been good in the 60/70/80’s etc … but no sane person wants to drive them.
Some of the forward control ones have set forward axles with very short springs, which must make them hideously uncomfortable I would think.
As far as the Multi speed Fuller box goes, a good driver never had to use the clutch other than to start off from a standstill, and the 13 speed I thought was brilliant to use. The shift speed wasn’t just as quick as a Twin Splitter but you could play a canny tune on it just the same.
the truck in the picture is australian not american and im pretty sure they can come with an auto box, dont know about importing one and getting it legal but as you say, with a lottery win i guess it could be done, there used to be a guy running out of dartford dock 15 or so years ago with a vovlo vnl and i think that wafrom australia
How many of you knockers have actually driven a Kenworth? I’m no KW fanboy, but I’d prefer that to a Volvo or Scania. In reality, if there’s no real estate in front of the windscreen, you can stick it where the sun don’t shine.
I’ll stick with an FH Volvo thanks .
Why would you want to go backwards from an Ishift to a Eaton twin splitter ?
Granted it might be fun to look at , take out for a day now and again but to drive it day in day out ? you’d be needing your head looked at .
My wifes cousin is married to a Canadian who has a body building business - they mostly build bin lorries/ compactors /tippers etc . He was completly in awe of what we are driving over here and maintains it outclasses anything they have over there
All Road Rangers can be supplied as an automatic changing manual, for those less capable.
On roads such as the Plenty or Tanami, the European trucks can’t cope. When the bitumen runs out and weights tip 120 tonnes, Kenworth and Western Star rule the road.
Yup I’ll stick with my Volvo VN I-Shift , over 3 yrs now and never got me stuck either in winter or the boonies , as opposed to my last KW which got binned early due to crap build quality and constant emission related issues , plus it only had one diff lock which was also crap in the snow . The Volvo has it’s faults for sure but it’s also a nice truck to work and live in , akin to driving an armchair
Plenty of the junk over here, never understood the obsession with road ranger,… oh that’s right it’s a “man’s” truck
No, I think you will find it just happened to be a terrific gearbox to work with.
Why in 2020, would a driver, want to work with a road ranger, double de clutch … etc? … times have moved on… plenty of old truckers have bad knees … modern trucks are by far superior to a freightliner, Mack western star etc… smoother rider etc … sure, they may of been good in the 60/70/80’s etc … but no sane person wants to drive them.
Some of the forward control ones have set forward axles with very short springs, which must make them hideously uncomfortable I would think.
As far as the Multi speed Fuller box goes, a good driver never had to use the clutch other than to start off from a standstill, and the 13 speed I thought was brilliant to use. The shift speed wasn’t just as quick as a Twin Splitter but you could play a canny tune on it just the same.
I don’t disagree, if the revs are good , a gear change is smooth the same for pulling off, no reason to kangaroo a pull away on a RR, but the point stands, with modern trucks being mainly automatic, so much easier and more comfortable… take a volvo xl, much prefer that to a kenworth cab when it’s like sitting in a car… you see so many on the Hume highway they are really awful. That being sad, I don’t mind arranging for them to be shipped to the UK for you guys lol.
Star down under.:
All Road Rangers can be supplied as an automatic changing manual, for those less capable.
On roads such as the Plenty or Tanami, the European trucks can’t cope. When the bitumen runs out and weights tip 120 tonnes, Kenworth and Western Star rule the road.
When I first moved to nsw in 2012, I drove (RR) sterling, kenworth, western star … bonnet and flat … they can be smooth to ride. Even the freight liners … but sorry take a Volvo over any of the American style junk anyway, most people on the roads act like D heads when behind the wheel of them trucks … isuzu are even better and Fuso
Got to agree with most on here, why would you want to go from a modern truck back to what is essentially (if what I hear is true from those who drive them) 80s technology level.
Yeh they look cool, macho and all the rest of it, and the sleeper from a seasoned tramper’s point of view would be perfect…second to none, I could certainly live in one if I was that way inclined as I once was.
On the other hand if the ridiculous cab length limit regs were changed in the UK and mainland Europe, I would maybe prefer something like one of those stretched Scanias than a US truck.
I ain’t a fan of all the unnecessary electronic gimmicky crap on modern trucks either, but neither would I like to go back to old style solid spring trucks with manual constant mesh boxes either…although even though I say so myself I was bloody good at getting a tune out of a 13 speed Fuller. (but not too keen at all on an Eaton twin splitter, despite being able to handle it ok)
So in a nut shell you are either driving something akin to a well equipped and cool looking Seddon Atkinson, or a modern Volvo or similar, with all the comfort and ease that comes with them…So to sum up, given a choice…
Do you drive a truck that looks really mega cool for your image , that you have to actually DRIVE using a series of skills.
OR…
One maybe not as cool looking, but so convenient and easy in comparison that you can teach a chimp to drive ?
I’ll go for the latter, as I just want an easy life now, and no longer have anything to prove tbh.
The only down side as I have said before (too many times on here…sorry ) is that trucks dumbed down to as they are now…ie as I said, to the level of them being ■■■■ easy to drive and handle (like a big car) do not require a lot of real skill unlike these American counterparts (and 80s trucks)…, so consequently we get the d/heads and the inept passing tests to drive them now, with the dire consequences that situation brings for the rest of us.
So I reck that just about sums things up on this subject.
You’re welcome.
Evolved:
Let’s say I’ve got loads of money, millions (i don’t, I’ve prob got about 40quid if that)
Would it be even feesable to import such a beast, which could have a euro6 Volvo engine (750 ofcourse) so it could meet EU or UK regulations… I’d probably have to get some of bits added for regulations and tests
I’m not sure how they’d ship it… in bits? As one?
Why dont DAF do this! Instead we’re stuck with a poxy XF
I mean come on, look at her!!
Don’t tell me you wouldnt want a go ■■
Have you ever driven one??
Apart from the large “sleeper-pod” they’re a heap of scrap and TOTALLY unsuited to UK roads!!!
I’ve driven a few Kenworths, Western Stars & Freightliners. Not a k200 though
Great fun to drive. Maybe not suitable for UK roads as the turning circle isn’t great…
They’re incredibly comfy and easy to drive once you get used to it.
Plenty of the junk over here, never understood the obsession with road ranger,… oh that’s right it’s a “man’s” truck
No, I think you will find it just happened to be a terrific gearbox to work with.
Why in 2020, would a driver, want to work with a road ranger, double de clutch … etc? … times have moved on… plenty of old truckers have bad knees … modern trucks are by far superior to a freightliner, Mack western star etc… smoother rider etc … sure, they may of been good in the 60/70/80’s etc … but no sane person wants to drive them.
Only need clutch when pulling away and if it’s air assisted they’re light as a feather.
I think you’ll find the 2020s versions of these trucks have moved on… Maybe not quite Volvo or Scan is… but certainly not 80s.
Star down under.:
All Road Rangers can be supplied as an automatic changing manual, for those less capable.
On roads such as the Plenty or Tanami, the European trucks can’t cope. When the bitumen runs out and weights tip 120 tonnes, Kenworth and Western Star rule the road.
When I first moved to nsw in 2012, I drove (RR) sterling, kenworth, western star … bonnet and flat … they can be smooth to ride. Even the freight liners … but sorry take a Volvo over any of the American style junk anyway, most people on the roads act like D heads when behind the wheel of them trucks … isuzu are even better and Fuso
flat to the mat:
With my Volvo in the workshop this week , I was given a Kenworth , albeit a T680 . They’re hateful things , shakes and rattles , no storage ,coupled to an Eaton Ultra 13sp the ■■■■ thing couldn’t pull a greasy stick out of a dogs arse , just a hideous driving experience .
I can tell right away your not a ‘big rigger’ Mr mat, bet you didn’t let all the air out of your seat and didn’t have the ever so cool looking three feet extension on the gear stick Which is kinda funny as now your sitting on the floor you have to reach up to the ceiling to change gear but nobody said looking cool was easy. I tried that in my Freightshaker and it was a bloody rough ride so I don’t know why they do it.
I agree with your comment, most Yank trucks are lumps.
Plenty of the junk over here, never understood the obsession with road ranger,… oh that’s right it’s a “man’s” truck
No, I think you will find it just happened to be a terrific gearbox to work with.
Why in 2020, would a driver, want to work with a road ranger, double de clutch … etc? … times have moved on… plenty of old truckers have bad knees … modern trucks are by far superior to a freightliner, Mack western star etc… smoother rider etc … sure, they may of been good in the 60/70/80’s etc … but no sane person wants to drive them.
Only need clutch when pulling away and if it’s air assisted they’re light as a feather.
Nah, most modern KE worth’s over here are still road ranger, to be fair, when I first moved to Australia I had to drive kenworth for a company , they had auto and RR, they drive well it’s just outdated the RR, the roads are no bigger than the UK… pretty much the same … you say only need a clutch when pulling away, still to much hassle auto is the right way forward, work as well and better for the driver than a RR
I think you’ll find the 2020s versions of these trucks have moved on… Maybe not quite Volvo or Scan is… but certainly not 80s.
Kenworth is standard with the automated manual and the Daf PoS motor. Full manual and ■■■■■■■ are tick the box extras. Ticking the ■■■■■■■ box costs $40,000.
(but not too keen at all on an Eaton twin splitter, despite being able to handle it ok)
?
) is that trucks dumbed down to as they are now…ie as I said, to the level of them being ■■■■ easy to drive and handle (like a big car) do not require a lot of real skill unlike these American counterparts (and 80s trucks)…, so consequently we get the d/heads and the inept passing tests to drive them now, with the dire consequences that situation brings for the rest of us. 
