Please have a look, and share your thoughts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lEYaTvvq4g I am quite familiar with a Duplex, Triplex, and several variants of the 5X4. I know years ago, some trucks did run three sticks, although I believe the third stick was usually for a 2-speed axle/axles. I can't figure this one out, and I almost suspect it may be a fake, although the sound does match up pretty well. I also suspect that, in this day and age, DOT would never allow that truck to be licensed due to having to take both hands off the wheel so frequently to shift. I'm not ready to call BS, but I certainly am puzzled. Any thoughts?
Too much work
Yeah, that too for sure.
I think that is a 18 spd with a conversion kit to change from the buttons to leavers. If you watch the one on the left apears to be the splitter or the grey button the center one is the gear shift and the right one is the high/ low range button. No matter what it is it would be fun to play with but would be a pain everyday I would think.
The stick on the far right did strike me as possibly going from the bottom half to the top and back, but if you watch the other two sticks, he almost always shifts them both at the same time, and there does not appear to be any type of conventional shift pattern. All three sticks have extensions threaded on, but I'm wondering if it's possibly made for some type of application beside a truck. I'll stick with a 13 or an 18, if I ever hold another wheel.
It is a 13 speed, right stick is the high low, left stick is the splitter, center stick is the normal shifter. Watch the last half of the video after he jakes down through the gears to a stop. When he takes back off he goes through the 4 gears in the normal H pattern without using the low low in a 13, then he moves the high-low on the right and the goes through the upper half splitting every gear. So a 13 spd, if it was a 18 spd I think he would have split all the lower gears just for show in the video. I don't know why he is moving both levers on a low to high split shift (half a gear) it is usually not needed. But looks like he is double clutching even these split shifts going up. There were a few times when he did not move both levers when in top gear and only moved the splitter. So for show or does he have a particularly notchy tranny that doesn't like to up split without breaking the torque. All my trucks through the years just lift the throttle while moving the splitter and instant shift. And looks like a big waste of time and energy just for show.
Yep, I'm seeing it now. He's pulling the main box out of gear when he splits. That's what threw me off. To sum it up, I quote the above gent: "And looks like a big waste of time and energy just for show."
At least he won't have to worry with the air stuff freezing in the cold country
Same Billy Big Rigger, same truck with somewhat original shifter. Note the red button -13 speed -and how he pulls the stick out of gear to split. Just a wanna be super trucker. My guess is that the guy is a "tweaker" -note how twitchy his hands are on the wheel, among other things. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIw_ZfM26Hw
How much you want to bet he wears a great big honkin' belt buckle?
And a big fancy chain-drive wallet to go with the buckle.
He's definately on something... His motor skills are lacking big time.
Probably has a three-speed hat stashed somewhere too, and calls his truck a K-whopper.
That lever extension business is a little silly, why move your arm a foot and a half to shift gears(instead of four inches)?
hes playing fake big trucker. it looks like a strait 13 and hes going through a lot of extra effort to put on a good show.
Those are really for guys who can't shift, makes it easier just to shove them back into gear. Destroying the gears is easier then actually learning to shift.
Well he seems very proud of his retro set up, however I tell you, if I jumped in a truck and saw that set up, I would jump straight out again and tell em to shove it. Yeah safety would be an issue.
I learned in 1965 on a 1948 Mack with 5x4 with 12’ bunks and 8’ Stakes. The fellow that instructed me, (my uncle) slapped me silly the first time I took my both hands of the wheel to shift both sticks. His comment was and I remember it to this day, “If you can’t shift with one hand smoothly you got no business behind this blankety blank g*d-d**m wheel. Now start to shift the way I told you or I’ll hit you again! I have seen many people shift both sticks at the same time, but I never got the hang of it, perhaps it was because every time I even thought of it, my ears started to ring. I guess I am a throwback, because I find a 5x4 easier than the 18 spd I am using today in my retirement hobby job. I never forget where I am in a 5x4 compared to my 18 spd. As for the third stick in the video, I heard of a 4x4x4 on a log truck once, I think it was out of Goldbar WA. This was back in the late 60s as I recall. The plan was for real deep reduction. I believe the truck had double reduction rear ends also, but all of that may be just a figment of my memory. I want to know where the periscope is so he can look out the window over the dash, that seat is way too low for my tastes and comfort…. BTW, I was 14 when I first held that steering wheel in 1965. At 14 you learn quickly do what you are told when you are told.
The compound low sure is nice in a pinch on a 5X4, and as long as they are maintained, you can't beat the reliability. Even so, given a choice, unless I was in the woods out west, I would probably opt for a 13 or 18. I am ashamed to admit, I go from 1 to 2, and 2 to 3 in the main with both hands. Probably because I never got slapped for it. The one thing that I really don't care for, in addition to people who let most of the air out of their seats (like this genius) and ride with them almost bottomed out for that 'cool look', is to see a truck with a third or more of the windshield blocked by an external chrome visor.
My buddy took that video he got a lot of video's of that truck too. It is for sale now and back to a single stick. http://newbrunswick.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-heavy-equipment-heavy-trucks-1999-KENWORTH-W900L-W0QQAdIdZ441194290QQfeaturedAdZtrue Kyle
Rumor has it he is moving on to his true calling in life: Rocket science.
Let him step into MY truck and see how quickly he can throw three "real" levers around. Not some air switches....
Yair . . . Freightrain LOL. Orright, tell us the story. I drove a three stick Pete oilfield truck with a 6-71 for a while, the third stick was just a hi/low joey box, rarely used it . . . looked good though. Cheers.
Yair . . . I screwed up #23 post came up twice Cheers
A brownie and a brownie? My head hurts. VERY nice truck.
The boss has one of those setups in an old B Model dumptruck, a three speed, a five speed and a two speed with a fourth lever on the right for the dump box.
I learned on a 70 Peterbilt with 8V71 and 5x4. Throughout my life I have driven 4X4, 5X3, 10X3 (10 speed with 3 speed brownie behind it, a gear for every purpose - but a lot of overlap) and a 4x4 airshift spicer. The last was not at all forgiving, and I didn't drive it enough to ever become smooth with it. I don't think they are made anymore, perhaps that's why. My lowboy tractor is a former logging truck. 89 Pete 378, 425 3406B, Jakes, retarder, 18 speed, 2 speed rear ends. Works pretty good for what we do. I NEVER shift the 2 speed rear ends while moving, just use them if I know I will be climbing a mountain road and don't need to go over 45 mph. Seems like things could tear up quickly if both rears did'nt shift at exactly the same time. This is the first 2 speed rear end set up I have been in, so maybe they can be shifted while moving, but I scared (and not wealthy enough) to try. Anyone have experience with two speed rears?
Thanks. Just a lil '59 B61. It started as a Triplex(5x3), but when I stretched the frame I needed a carrier bearing. Instead I stuck a 4spd Spicer in it. Gives me a 5x3x4. Actually the 4spd runs in direct for the most time. The splits are about the same as the Mack compound, so I don't really use it on the road. Gives me nice slow speed for backing and really LONGGGGG legs on the highway(85 mph in double OD). Here is the write up from my project, which includes stretching, adding air ride, bunk, and brownie. http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/16282-adding-air-ridestretching-frame/?hl=+air++ride
Fun looking project! You should also be able to back up at 50 mph! Hang on -
Lots of farm trucks around here used to have 5 speed transmissions with 2 speed rear axles. Not too many in use any more...they've been replaced by ex-highway trucks. Andrew
I learned in a 69 Kenny with a 6x4 and a deep reduction. You had to go into 2nd then over and up for first on the 6 speed. With the deep in, you could feel each tooth on each gear when you pulled on the shifter. All you had to do was tug it into second with the clutch out and it would just start chugging along. In first the throtle wouldn't make you speed up, it just made more noise. That was a real truck, not an air switch, pavement pounder, wanna be. It's funny, I've never seen any one who could really drive a truck, i mean make a truck do anything, that thought of them self as a truck driver.
I've seen a few, but more often than not, you're right.
i have seen a few but they are very few and far between.
Anyone have experience with two speed rears?[/QUOTE] Yes, and all bad , when I tried to use them as instructed. I never tore up a rear end, but that was all luck and the realization that I should just leave it in low range all the time. I just quit when I was ahead. Again, all luck and no skill.
I have never ran a set of deep reduction rears, but was under the impression that they should only be shifted when the truck is sitting still.
The only reason i know of for shifting out of a gear to split is on the early 9513 fuller series you had to break torque with the clutch to split the top gears or they could kick into neutral.. The later boxes you just pre-select and lift off the fuel.. We had both styles and often had to go out and re- train drivers to shift properly the old boxes..
Two speed rears aren't that common around here any more. With the broader operating range of the newer engines and the 18 speed transmission, you just don't need all those extra gears. A two-speed rear end is more money to fix than a single speed and it's easier for some wannabe truck driver to tear up. They're actually tougher, in rough going, if you leave them in high range. High range locks out the reduction gearset in the center of the carrier, it's harder to hurt the parts then.
It was years ago now, but if i remember correctly the deep reduction in that Kenny was in the 6 speed. I know it shifted different in deep. There was no neutral between 1st and 2nd. You just pulled the shifter and you were in a different gear, not that you could tell. It had 48 forward gears and 9 reverse. There was lots of over lap thought.
I drove a 6 speed/4 speed progressive setup for several years, it was one of my favorite trucks to drive. It was a pretty good reach from the 1st- reverse slot over to the 5th-6th slot so the brownie stick was located between the seats, behind the main box. Real easy to drive and easy to work on too, you could change the clutch in less than a day.
I run a lowboy with an 18 sp and 2 sp rears. Once the hired driver broke the front rear end by shifting the rears under load and while the power divider was locked. Don't do that. I have never had a problem shifting them while moving, but prefer to shift them while on relatively flat ground, and not while under a hard pull. Normally I shift them to low before going on steep mountain roads, and go back to high when I get back to good roads. As long as the power divider is not locked, it allows for a momentary differential in speed if one rear end shifts before the other. If it is locked, then you are inviting trouble. When the hired driver did it, he was going down a 22% grade with a D-9N on back. He should have shifted before the hill, or left it alone.
We had a driver once who had the habit of backing under the loader with the axles in high, then shifting the interlock and the axles into low before he took off with a load. I met him about 8 miles from the loader one morning and he said "There's something wrong,I don't have any power and it's dragging some tires". I told him to back up a few feet, when he did the front rear made a popping noise and the truck started to roll freely. Didn't break any parts but it ground off half the tread on the rear drivers.
Two of the heavy hauls that I drive have 2 sp rears, 18 sp's and air ride. The two sp. rears are useless with 18 sp. transmissions and air ride. Every time I leave the pavement, I lock my power divider. Getting out from under a load and trying to get back under it, I lock up everything.
I have and ASPEN non- ground bearing hydraulic detachable, so getting under the load is not a concern. I do like the 2 -speed rears if I am loaded heavy (130,000lbs. or more) and am in soft ground just to get things moving, but I rarely use them for anything else unless I know I am going to be on a Forest Service road where speed is not the issue. It does make the splits a bit closer for grabbing another gear when going uphill.
i piloted a pete with 2 spd rears. Was born a 9 axle puller and moved down into regular 5 axle service. 99% of the time it wasn't needed AT ALL but that 1% of the time it was gods gift to locomotion. I was ether going for the deep gears or possibly doing some real driveline damage. Also had a 3406B air to air with jakes and retarder. i was told it was built with a 6 & 4 but could never prove it, had a 15spd in it when i was rowing gears. Hell of a beast of a truck, never balked at anything dumb we tried to throw at it. It did however ride like it was rolling on concrete wheels but thas another topic,
Well something about this looks fake.The winshield is very dirty and you can never see out of it plus the cab is moving in an odd way.But I have seen Heavy Haul Trucks with three sticks and three trannys.Never heard a turbo whistle that long either.Think what that would do to the ears.
If he likes to shift levers, buy the boy an old Unimog. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/att...ii-sbu-cab-unimog-u-2450-mit-breuning-bitumen Dt
I hadn't thought about that (shifting the 2 speed with the diff lock out) until you mentioned it, makes sense. So, do you shift them like you would the splitter on an 18 - 13 speed? ie. do you move the switch on the dash with power on and then just let off?
Oxbow Yes, that is exactly how I do it.
Thank you sir, I'll try it. There have been a couple times that I forgot I was in the low side after getting on the freeway. Kinda embarrasing to have to pull over and stop just to get the rears in the high side.
Had a guy show up a couple years back to move a haul truck for me. After loading, I noticed his stupid ape-hanger shifter. He swore up and down it made it easier to "feel the gears" Not sure at the time why I took the pics, but now I'm glad I did!
I've seen a few of those around here lately. Both were pulling high side end dumps hauling scrap. The tractors were ....(i'm trying to be polite) beaters with mis-matched sleepers, may-pop tires, bent fenders and Mexacali B.C written on the door. Oh....their break lights had to be mounted on a manual switch because sometimes their break lights worked, sometimes they didnt. Now....I'm not trying to sound racist and I don't have anything against these taco vendor truck drivers. I'm 1/2 Spanish and 1/2 Ecuadorian myself but dammit boy's, these drivers and their trucks disgust me. You live with apes man, it's hard to be clean... and I had better stop while I can....:cussing
I hear ya Pete!
I hear you too. On the shifter, I was rolling down I-10 the other day and was passed by one of those trucks. The shifter was at least as tall as the one pictured by JTL, maybe higher, and the seat was set so low the guy could barely see over the dash. My first thought was why would anyone want to move the shifter a couple of feet to get a gear, when it is a nice short throw as it comes originally, and the other thought was how unsafe it is to drive from a position you cannot see the road in front of you. Seems like an accident waiting for a place to happen. That is not to mention the shape of the truck.
Can you all remeber when you were young? You guys sound like your at least 110 years old calling him a tweaker and putting the young man down for wanting to drive a cool custom truck. I've customized several of my trucks and can respect the hard work and effort he puts into keeping his truck cool and clean.
I think he missed on the cool part.
To this day, I don't know how in the hell some people seem to get by not only running junk down the road, but also breaking every law written that applies to commercial vehicles. I've watched the same trucks blow the Banning scales yet no one ever seems to come after them. They run what ever lane they want, they will crawl right up your ass and pass you regardless of if there's two yellows or not. And CHP always seem to turn a blind eye on them. Then there is dumbass me.... I must have "Guilty" tattooed to my forehead. I run as legal as I can, I pee in their cups when asked, I keep my equipment in top shape, I even try to be polite and courteous when ever I go through Banning. No cell phone, I wear my seat belt and always try to stay to the right. But because I have broken the law, exceeded the 55 mph speed limit by 8 mph and been cited for it twice within a 7 month period, I am considered to be a dangerously aggressive driver.:OMG I am within 1/2 point of having my commercial drivers privileges revoked. Maybe I'll go put a steel pipe extension on my gear shifter thingy and I'll be good to go :notworthy
Damn Pete, that's some bad luck there. I don't know anyone who runs less than about 62, except the grocery chain trucks. They like to run about 52. Whenever I see one of them ahead, I start planning a lane change, as they will be close in a hurry. I guess I have had the good fortune to not get caught lately, or I would be in your same boat. Last time I was pulled over was in AZ. I was not paying attention, and rolled past the man at 83 on a downhill run. They let you run 75 with the cars, but enforce it. I lucked out with a warning since he felt sorry for me. It was 117 outside, and my AC was out.
I don't know? The last ticket i had was in 99. Then in Aug of 2011, I blow past Banning and whammo... My fault....guilty as charged. 6 momths later, 8:00 am, week day, 63 mph on radar WB I-10 at Palm Drive. Guilty as charged. 7 months later, 11:30 pm, NB 99 somewhere out of Fresno, 63 mph in a 55. Yeah....guilty as charged. Total fines paid: $630.00 + $330.00 x 2 = $1290.00. Total points: 4.5 and I drive a heavy haul? If I fart in the wrong place I'll get a ticket :beatsme
CHP knows that some of those trucks can't, or won't pay the fine. They have drivers with no licence, or Green Card, can't speak English, the list goes on and one. And in the great Rebublic of California, the driver would find some Johnny Cochran wanna-be lawyer and file a harrasment suit, or call it racial profiling, or some other politicaly correct crap. So they go after the guys with nice equipment, the proper I.D.s on the doors and everything else that makes being a hard working, law abbiding citizen of the U.S.A a crime these days. Rant over! I can't go on because this is a family friendly forum
Getting off of the thread topic a bit but this reminds me of when they first built the new inspection station at Truckee. Lots of under the table crap when on there for a while until the US Marshells set up a bit of a sting operation. That must have been around 1986ish if memory serves. Maybe things are worse now with the CHP, but they used to let you roll along pretty good as long as you didn't camp out in the left lane, got your passing done and got out of the way of the 4 wheelers. I guess it depends on the officer.
OxBow, We currently have tons of hours in the truck were building. But I want to make sure it's cool! If you would please start a thread "what's cool and what's not cool" to help us build a cool truck would be appriciated. So when I post pictures of our "OxBow approved cool truck" you won't publicaly put it down. Thanks M-
Umm, Mike, I'm afraid cool is in the eye of the beholder. You'll never build a truck that will meet everybody's sense of cool.
10-4 Mitch I totally agree with you that cool is in the eye of the man who built his truck. I'm sure this young man has logged many hours trying to make his truck cool. So I give him two thumbs up. Because its a lot of work customizing a truck and keeping it clean.
Well Mike, the aforementioned 3 stick KW is interesting and thought provoking, just not cool in my opinion. I respect the time and effort required to make such modifications, and if the fellow driving it enjoys the finished product, then he is reaping his reward. He is obviously proud of it as he went to the effort of posting the video on youtube, but in doing so he has invited public comment. I did not make any disparaging comments about him, I just shared my opinion regarding the "coolness" of the truck in that video. I have no doubt that he or you would not agree with my idea of cool, but that is just fine as it would be a pretty boring world if we all agreed all the time about everything. I apologize for upsetting you, and I hope that your project brings you all the pride and happiness in the world. Take Care.
Thank You Ox, I truly appreciate your sincere response. Maybe I'm being to sensitive but I found a few guys putting my work down on another site. Although I'm still customizing my trucks I just cut back on posting them.
I didn't care for that contraption either, and believe it is a safety hazard. About the fastest one would travel while shifting both sticks on a typical 5X4 is not much over 20 MPH. That jackass had both hands off the wheel at highway speeds. Not cool. To me, 'cool' is OEM, or, in the case of an old truck, restored to OEM spec. With the possible exception of exhaust.
Mike, I looked at your KW on the thread that you attached - quite a project and nice work! I'm kinda tall myself and would really like to have the extra leg room, but I don't have the talent to pull that off with the cab. I have an 89 Pete 378 that is our lowboy tractor, so a bit of extra room would sure be nice. Anyway, nice looking KW, and it is cool!