There are plentiful classic Mack, Kenworth and Peterbilt conventionals to enjoy in the Netherlands. Almost all of them only drive to shows or can be hired for special occasions, like a truck driver’s wedding. But Schmidt Bouwmachines Almelo B.V. dares to be different. Since January 1995 the company owns a 1989 Mack Super-Liner to deliver construction equipment to customers.
The 6×4 tractor has the truck maker’s own 12 liter E7 engine and T-2090 transmission. The turbodiesel’s maximum power output is 305 kW/415 DIN-hp (according to its registration). The tandem is air-suspended.
Schmidt is also a regional Case CE importer and dealership. A brand spanking new Case CX210E tracked excavator occupies the bed of the 2003 Nooteboom Euro-54-03 low loader. The whole combination adds up to 45 tonnes (99,200 lbs). That’s 8 tonnes for the Mack, 15 tonnes for the Nooteboom and around 22 tonnes for the Case.
The following pictures come from Schmidt’s FB-site.
This Case 1121G-XR wheel loader weighs 7 tonnes more than the CX210E excavator, which means the semi has now passed the 50 tonnes mark. The low loader’s legally allowed payload capacity is 35 tonnes (77,000 lbs), so there’s still plenty of ‘safety margin’.
Multiple small excavators are sitting on the lower deck, the biggest Case claimed the upper deck.
While looking through the collection of pictures, it turned out the Mack is not alone. Back in 2000, Schmidt imported this 1986 Peterbilt 359 6×4 tractor from Finland. It then got a very thorough restoration job, which took many years. And the end result is stunning.
A 400 hp Cummins is purring under Pete’s hood, driving the air-suspended tandem through a Fuller transmission.
Wonderful, this photo might as well be taken at a US truck stop. Never mind ‘bouwmachines’, the Nooteboom low loader and the Dutch plates.
Boy does those tractors and trailer bring back memories! I moved equipment as well. I absolutely loved it. I also worked on the MACKS and PETES. The 379 Pete was my favorite with the 3406 and the 3406E’s. As well as the 300 Plus MACK engines. My first MACK ENGINE rebuild was the 675 R model MACK 237 HP. I was so proud of myself, the engine ran trouble free for years. Thank you for sharing.
More heavy classic Americana will follow, mostly Mack (all in one article).
Nice heavy haulers! Thanks. And thanks to Anthony for his information. Overhauls are craftsmanship, whether in-frame or out-of-frame.
I’m used to seeing such “low boy” trailers on straight highways. Does anyone know if any U.S. low boys have rear wheel steering like these?
Nice trucks, but even 40+ years after leaving Peterbilt, where my second to last assignment was heading up the frame engineering group for production (not new model) trucks, all I can think of when I see a long wheelbase conventional tractor is ride problems. Depending on wheelbase, suspension, fifth wheel location and other factors, the long frames would act like an undamaged leaf spring out of phase with the suspension and could cause a bouncy ride, or even frame failure. Lots of work went into adding doublers/stiffeners on such rigs after customer complaints.
I checked the Pete’s registration. The tandem is rated at 17.4 tonnes/38,360 lbs. That’s both its legal and factory rating. Only 1.6 tonnes/3,527 tonnes short of the 19 tons legal rating that applies to all the usual Euro-candidates and the article’s Mack.
Obviously, the front axle (5.5 tonnes rating) doesn’t contribute anything to the weight distribution. Heavy (haulage) 6×4 tractors always come with a 9 or 10 tonnes front axle here, and thus with super single tires.
I found a short video, featuring the Pete and Nooteboom couple. At the end, you can see how the low loader’s steering system works. It prevents the semi-trailer from taking a shortcut. Consequently, the combination as a whole needs less space to make it through the corner.
Beautiful trucks and trailers.
Thank you Tom, I’m retired now. I loved building those engine. This may sound funny, but when I was done and fired up the engine I just overhauled I felt emotional inside. My older Brother John has a 1948 Buick Roadmaster for 63 years as of April, 2023. I was just a little boy when my Brother bought his Roadmaster out of a junkyard in 1960. He paid $40.00 for the Roadmaster and drove it over 100 miles to get it home.In April, 2018 I overhauled the 320 Straight Eight Engine with the DYNAFLOW transmission. I know the car practically all my life, when it fired up after the overhaul tears came to my eyes.
I still, very occasionally, see one of these old Macks out and about in the midwestern US, but not very often. This one looks to have the “golden bulldog” hood ornament. Only recently I learned that this is supposed to signify a truck built with all Mack components. Models that incorporate components of other manufacturers get a chrome bulldog.
Mack is part of Volvo and use Volvo powertrains with Volvos excellent I shift trans
The Mack RW model was designed in the late 70’s early 80’s by Mack Western in Hayward CA. R model cab and W for Western. The air cleaner is not on the side of the R model cab as it was the first R model to have the air cleaner placed under the hood. We raised the R model cab about 3 inches to do this. Yes, a gold bulldog ornament means that this Mack RW 713 was built with a Mack Engine.
Thanks! 713 simply means that it has a heavier chassis than a 613? Are these just numbers or do they actually mean something?
Model numbers do specify how the truck is spec’d. RW 6 hundreds were the standard spec trucks, RW 7 hundreds were the heavier spec’d trucks possibly including double frames and dual steering boxes. The last two numbers in the 6 or 7 hundred specified different powertrain configurations in earlier years and axle configurations in later years.
Thank you!