34,000lb rears

[Paystar]

Loggers here loved that RT spring over walking beams. So much so that truck dealers were still ordering trucks for the lots with it up into the year mid 2000's before guys finally started trusting air ride off road.
I don't miss the days of laying in the snow in the winter changing spring packs or hangers, LOL

But you truck is a pretty common spec for those Internationals Hay Dude and is pretty bulletproof. A lot lighter than anything I've had, but I have been around a lot of them like yours through the years.

 

[Hay Dude]

Loggers here loved that RT spring over walking beams. So much so that truck dealers were still ordering trucks for the lots with it up into the year mid 2000's before guys finally started trusting air ride off road.
I don't miss the days of laying in the snow in the winter changing spring packs or hangers, LOL

But you truck is a pretty common spec for those Internationals Hay Dude and is pretty bulletproof. A lot lighter than anything I've had, but I have been around a lot of them like yours through the years.

There’s one kind of rear suspension that was really good for traction. Can’t remember the correct name….was it Chalmers or Tuff Trac? Thought it was Chalmers.

Anyway, it’s cheap to buy and probably reasonable to maintain, but still a lot of money for me by the time a 20’ bed is added.
Cant really find a much better truck for even twice the money and I can only fit 10 tons of hay on the bed. With a 13-14 ton capacity, not a problem.
Really a heavy single axle would work, but trying to find a long S/A with a heavy rear, auto and 4WD for cheap is tough. Military trucks are too much of a project for me.
It would be in my driveway if it had the 40ks. I guess it is possible to find a pair of 40k cut-offs if it became an issue….
Again, probably over-thinking

 

[RickB]

There’s one kind of rear suspension that was really good for traction. Can’t remember the correct name….was it Chalmers or Tuff Trac? Thought it was Chalmers.

Anyway, it’s cheap to buy and probably reasonable to maintain, but still a lot of money for me by the time a 20’ bed is added.
Cant really find a much better truck for even twice the money and I can only fit 10 tons of hay on the bed. With a 13-14 ton capacity, not a problem.
Really a heavy single axle would work, but trying to find a long S/A with a heavy rear, auto and 4WD for cheap is tough. Military trucks are too much of a project for me.
It would be in my driveway if it had the 40ks. I guess it is possible to find a pair of 40k cut-offs if it became an issue….
Again, probably over-thinking

That's the difference between wanting to buy a truck and wanting to talk about buying a truck.

 

[Hay Dude]

That's the difference between wanting to buy a truck and wanting to talk about buying a truck.

Do you have a problem with me asking information and advice before purchasing something truck related in a trailers and transportation forum?
Happens about 25 times a day here. I would think this is ONE of the reasons this website exists!

People like Paystar giving advice is the best of TBN.
People like you trolling for negative reaction is the worst of TBN.

Thanks for trashing another thread.

 

[Paystar]

Like you said Hay Dude, I think you are overthinking it. As long as the truck hasn't been abused, you won't break those rears doing what you are doing. I wouldn't spend money replacing them.

As for you're other question, Chalmers was the walking beams on a big center mounted round rubber block. Very good suspension. Next best ride compared to air, but super durable and stable. Used on everything from trucks to crane carriers and even my pony dump trailers.
Tuff Trac (Freightliner/Western Star), Volvo T-Ride, Mack M-Ride are all basically, for the simplest description, an upside down leaf spring pack with no beams. Like Chalmers they also have a very good ride and tons of articulation.

The other thing you could do if that RT walking beam ends up being too horrible a ride for you (which I don't think it will be) is Link and Hendrickson used to offer a retrofit kit to convert them to air ride where you replaced the leaf spring pack with air bags. This pic is the factory setup you can spec on new trucks, but the kit did the same thing.

 

[Hay Dude]

Wouldn’t that be sweet.
Im more concerned about the 34k axles on soft ground. If it was loaded up pretty good and the front tandems were “plowing” the ground.
It’s a possible scenario as it is for the current hay truck/trailer.

 

[Paystar]

You did say it has an Allison auto? You get it stuck in soft ground, just lock the power divider in (not moving to be safe) The auto will have less chance of shock loading or driver error. That is what breaks things. Not saying you have driver error....just that it does happen.

There is also two trains of thought here too.....some say don't lock up until you get stuck because you won't get in as far before you get stuck.
Me, when I know I'm going in a bad spot, I'm locked up before I go. In 36 years of forestry and dump trucking I've never broke an axle or power divider or driveshaft.

 

[Hay Dude]

It has power divider lock and Detroit locker axles
Also has air shifted low range since it is a 6x6 with transfer case.

I hear you on power divider lock. I drove Tri for years and locked it before I got into bad spot

 

[Paystar]

When I was young there was a big construction company here that had a fleet of S-Line's with DT466power, 13 speeds and they had Detroit locker rears. They were probably even the 34's you have because they were just the small S1700 series. They had big rock boxes on them and were pretty much overloaded when they were empty.
I had to take one, one time, loaded with pit run gravel and towing a tag float with a Cat 426 backhoe on it! Up a logging road to do some culvert repairs. It wouldn't even steer, LOL But I'll tell you, those trucks did many years of hard work in the steel mill and building logging roads.

 

[Hay Dude]

Very cool. I drove an S series tandem hydroseeder back in the 80’s. No idea what rears though.
I’d think the abrupt “locking action” of the Detroit’s is hard on a smaller axle.

 

[BravoXray]

There’s one kind of rear suspension that was really good for traction. Can’t remember the correct name….was it Chalmers or Tuff Trac? Thought it was Chalmers.

A local fleet runs a bunch of KWs pulling tanks and dump trailers. They have been running Chalmers suspensions on their trucks for as long as I can remember. Easy to ID with that big rubber ball between the tandems. I knew one of the mechanics that worked there for a while and he said they were pretty rugged and trouble free, rode like crap though.

 

[Paystar]

Really? I've ran them on dump trucks with 72 inch spread and 46,000 pound rating and they were almost as good as the air ride. Worst ride I find is the Hendrickson RS rubber block with the three round pucks.
I prefer air ride on the trucks, but I liked having the Chalmers on the pup trailer because you could pick the rear tandems up off the ground with the lift axle and pivot on that lift axle to jack knife around stuff.

 

[Renze]

The other thing you could do if that RT walking beam ends up being too horrible a ride for you (which I don't think it will be) is Link and Hendrickson used to offer a retrofit kit to convert them to air ride where you replaced the leaf spring pack with air bags. This pic is the factory setup you can spec on new trucks, but the kit did the same thing.

Whats the idea behind this ? Ive seen it only in America, to me it seems a lot of extra weight to have a walking beam with a leaf spring above it...

Here in Europe you only see the inverted pack of leaf springs bridging both axles, with control rods controlling traction and brake forces. Or actually, leaf sprung tandems are very entry level for dumptrucks, on long haul trucks you only see air suspension, and dumptrucks are usually hydraulic suspension.

 

[4570Man]

You did say it has an Allison auto? You get it stuck in soft ground, just lock the power divider in (not moving to be safe) The auto will have less chance of shock loading or driver error. That is what breaks things. Not saying you have driver error....just that it does happen.

There is also two trains of thought here too.....some say don't lock up until you get stuck because you won't get in as far before you get stuck.
Me, when I know I'm going in a bad spot, I'm locked up before I go. In 36 years of forestry and dump trucking I've never broke an axle or power divider or driveshaft.

Once you slip a tire things tend to go from bad to much worse in a hurry. Not hitting a bad spot already locked or in 4x4 is foolish IMO.

 

[Hay Dude]

I snapped this pic mostly to remember what tires were on it. To the right you can see part of the suspension

Below is the tag from when it was a military vehicle. The IH and door jamb specs are higher. I think the military derate s trucks as I commonly see on their others.

One more pic of overall truck