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Bill: I always had a single axle highway tractor on farm, never drove it much myself. GM and had 3 trailers lo boy, dump and hi deck. After my farming career a guy approached me to drive a truck. A worn out S line IH, DT 466, and loader for logs. After 3 months he asked if I was going to stay on after the spring thaw. We discussed future pay and I stayed. 3 weeks later he dropped in my yard one day in pickup, said come for a drive. We went to town, to a truck dealership,pulled up in front of this blue Western Star. He said look it over there is your new truck. 3306, 300 hp Cat, loaded 20,000 front axle and 46,000 rears. I drove that for 5 years. Since then I have driven Freightliners, Navistar, Peterbuilt, and last week I had one of the newer Mack for a run. My favourite is still the Western Star, but this Mack is hard on it's heels. The most power I ever had my hands on was the Peterbuilt 3406 Cat running 500 hp pulling Super B trains. Positivly the safest configuration of truck trailer on the highway, they handle nice, grossing 140,000 lbs they wiil stop in about the same distance as a car or pckup, and yes I did learn to back it off the street and into a garage bay at right angles to street. I was once on a two way traffic road, doing 50 mph, 140,000 lbs, a pickup pulled out in front of me, stopped, driver got out, traffic coming other way. I had to stop or ditch or hit someone. It stopped, I went back later and measured, it took 195 feet for me to stop on down grade. Prior to that I would have said it couldn't be done. That company with 35 trucks, most of them trains, had the very best maintainence program of anyone I ever drove for. Your brake shoes were measured with calipers every two weeks and recorded. GPS was standard equipment, dash mount cell with pa. and you were allowed to call the president of company 2am Sun, if no one else was available. Only one problem, after all that safety program and gadgets, they had no money left to pay drivers a good rate. Enough trucking, lets get back to the M. The first item I would do is some quite serious measuring, you should be able to get to 78" outside. That failing I guess you will need to turn them. If you separate the tire and rim from cast center. Two men can turn the rest, by just sliding off the axle and turning. If your nervous separate the wheel weight. 30 years ago I was able to pick one of these centers, less the wheel weight, off the ground and put it on the axle of my 560. I cant do it anymore and probably shouldn't have then. The center only weighs about 300 lbs. Send me an e mail we can talk more trucks.
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