Freightliner Purchased a new 2013 Freightliner Glider kit from Harrison

[Tim]

Update on the setup.... 120,000 miles on it now. Just yanked 46,000 lb of pet food out of Wisconsin to the house today. 7.9 mpg for the day. Actually, pulled off an 8.1 mpg average for the week. Had a couple of lighter loads in there, but also hauled the pet food and steel coils this week. So that 8.1 average was not done just hauling air.

Steel coils in a van?

 

[Duck]

Steel coils in a van?

I've hauled coils of paper in a van, does that count?

How about tinfoil? I picked up some tall, skinny coils of tinfoil in Virginia once & relayed them to another guy in Kansas City. I think he was taking them to Austin, TX for fans of the Alex Jones Radio Show.

 

[Copperhead]

Steel coils in a van?

Yep, quite often. The last one was 13 coils, 43,000 lb. They lay flat tied to pallets. I get coils a few times a month. I never cease to be amazed at the number of folks that have no idea that lots of steel coils are hauled in dry boxes. spread them out across the van floor, down the middle, etc and placed on numerous dollar coin sized pallet stars that lock the pallets to the wood floor to keep them from moving. Most of the ones I haul go to Lozier in Omaha that makes shelving for stores and warehouses.

 

[Tim]

Yep, quite often. The last one was 13 coils, 43,000 lb. They lay flat tied to pallets. I get coils a few times a month.

Oh! Flatbeder beginner coils!

 

[Teej]

I have just under 20,000 miles on the truck and the average mpg, pump to pump calculated, is about 7.6 mpg. Not too bad for a break in period. On one recently, I pulled 46K of roll stock paper from Arkansas to Omaha and got 7.4 mpg on that fill up, and that was after crawling I-540 and Hwy 71 from Ft. Smith to Joplin in the daytime with all the traffic. That 18 spd with 2.64 rears does pretty darn good on hard pulls, but I think the ported/coated manifold and larger BW turbo on that 500 hp 12.7 Series 60, with Walker megaflows on the stacks makes the biggest difference. It was in the high 90's that day, and when pulling the hills the EGT's stayed below 900F and I kept up to or passed every other truck on those hills. And there were some that told me this setup would be lousy for this. Oh well.

Im specing out a Coronado kit with the 12.7. I see you have the ported/coated manifold and BW turbo.Any changes in the ECM? Who did the installs for you?
We have Pittsburgh Power out my way here in Pa. that does those upgrades and tweeks the ECM.
I know Fritzgerald has the upgrades on their 12.7's,but they wont change the specs to what I want on the drive train.(same as yours..2.64 or 2.79's,painted frame,others) ..build time is now 8 weeks.
Why did you choose the 18 over the 13 spd?
Have you been satisfied with Harrision's since your purchase? They seem easy to work with so far with the specing.

 

[Copperhead]

The manifold and turbo were installed on the engine by the dealer before they dropped the engine in the glider. I had Trent "Diesel Doctor" get most of the EPA '98 settings out of the ECM. I chose the 18 over the 13 for low end flexibility when pulling heavy out of some interesting areas. It has indeed been useful at times with that 2.64 rear. I don't use it frequently, but considering I got the factory rebuilt 18 for almost the same price as a factory rebuilt 13, it seemed like a good idea. I have been extremely happy with the job Harrison did on my ride and highly recommend them. Was in there a couple of weeks ago, talking with Phil Woody, the guy that oversees all their glider stuff. They have expanded their shops, hired more crews, and are on target to produce over 1000 gliders in 2014. They are swamped with business. And they are very friendly folks that want to make sure you are happy. This in no way is to criticize Fitz, it is just stating that Harrison is a good option when looking at gliders. Harrison does have one issue that is changing. While I was able to really go goofy on tweaking things out on the specs, they are not allowing that anymore. Simply because they are going gang busters on building gliders and it is rapidly becoming and assembly line thing and not so much a one for one build kind of thing anymore. Fitz might have the edge on them in that regard.

 

[Teej]

Thanks for your response.
Did you purchase the manifold/turbo separately yourself and have them install or did they also do the purchase themselves ?
If I cant get them to do that,that is one big advantage Fritz has with their motor upgrades.
Also on the the 18 spd tranny..is that a single over? What model?
In direct,what speed do you like to run at? With this set up and mpg your getting,Im guessing your running sub 65 mph..
Sorry for all the questions,but I need to have all my changes together and into the factory by tuesday's cut off .
Really appreciate the feedback.

 

[Copperhead]

That would be correct. I usually run in the ball park of 62-65 mph (1425-1475 rpm). I only pick up the pace once in a while to get on around someone so I am not sitting out in the left lane all afternoon, or some other traffic situation. When things get back to normal, go back to my normal cruise speeds. It does like pulling hills at 1500 rpm quite nicely and keeps the EGT's below 900F. I also put Walker mega flow mufflers on the dual stacks behind my sleeper.

My 18 is a double over, so I run primarily in 16th (direct). I got the 1850 lb torque version and spec'd 1850 lb torque drive lines. The truck has seen 17th a few times, but never the top hole. I got the manifold and turbo myself, and the dealer stuck them on before dropping the engine in. I got the Bully Dog ported/polished/coated manifold, ballpark $1300 at the time, and ordered a Borg Warner 171702 turbo online for just under $600 delivered.

 

[Teej]

Knowing what you know now running the truck,would you stick with the 2.64's or rethink the 2.79's ?
Im in NW Pa,so the hills aren't an issue,but will be running SE Pa. and W.V. on a fair share of two lanes pulling NLG/Propane bottles.

 

[Southern Fried]

Update on the setup.... 120,000 miles on it now. Just yanked 46,000 lb of pet food out of Wisconsin to the house today. 7.9 mpg for the day. Actually, pulled off an 8.1 mpg average for the week. Had a couple of lighter loads in there, but also hauled the pet food and steel coils this week. So that 8.1 average was not done just hauling air.

Holy Crap..... and I thought a big bag of Purina each week was rough. what the heck kinda critters you raisin' anyhow????

 

[Copperhead]

Knowing what you know now running the truck,would you stick with the 2.64's or rethink the 2.79's ?
Im in NW Pa,so the hills aren't an issue,but will be running SE Pa. and W.V. on a fair share of two lanes pulling NLG/Propane bottles.

2.79's are not a bad choice. I would have no problem with the idea of having 2,79's in mine.

 

[Duck]

Here is the new glider

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Pix got lost in the Google Puritans Purge of 2013. (It was easier to mass-delete all images than to go through them all.)

 

[Copperhead]

Thought I would give an update. 321,000 miles on the glider. Average mpg in the high 7's. Original wide based rubber still on the truck... 14-15/32 tread still left with no uneven wear. Steers got changed at 220,00 miles and still had 8-10/32 tread. Got $150 each for the casings and a discount on the new tires. Basically 2 for the price of 1. Just replaced batteries for the winter. Did shocks at last tire rotation. Engine runs great and only uses about 1/2 gallon of oil in 20-22,000 miles. No significant repairs. Just basic maintenance like running the overheads and such.

Yep. It's a keeper.

 

[Duck]

Did shocks at last tire rotation.

I know this is kinda off topic but what did it cost to replace the shocks?

I'm surprised, ... the shocks on a big truck don't look any bigger than the ones on my F-150. I don't know how that's supposed to work.

 

[Copperhead]

Off hand, I think they were around $69 a shock. Monroe gas shocks.

 

[Mike]

Off hand, I think they were around $69 a shock. Monroe gas shocks.

I had Monroe's put on front of my Cascadia a few months back, cost was $160 installed for the pair.

 

[Coronado Kid]

Not Being nosey but whats your payment every month

 

[mndriver]

Not Being nosey but whats your payment every month

Harrison Gliders will be in the $1.25-1.30 range depending on how you spec it now.

Payment will be depending on how you finance it out and what you can get for interest and down payment.

With 10% down, 7% interest and financed for 6 years, you'd be at $1960ish for a payment.

http://www.calculator.net/auto-loan...=0&csaletax=0&ctitlereg=0&printit=0&x=69&y=10

 

[adolfo]

Hello Cooper-head!
How your new 2013 works?
I am wondering if the new truck after 2009 are infected of sensors?
The reason of this question is because I listen a comment that a person whom got a 2010 almost is in bankrupt because the Tractor is giving continues problems by sensors.
The Tractor is Freight-liner 2013 no sure which model....

 

[Copperhead]

Only "sensor" that has gone goofy was an ABS sensor in the front drive axle at the end of last winter. Other than that, no other issues. Just normal maintenance. At 413,000 miles, original drive tires that won't get changed out till next fall. No more sensors on the motor than they came with in 2000 when this motor was originally built.