“I’ve been doing this over 40 years,” he grumbled. I figured he’d be skeptical of the mDrive but he surprised me with how quickly he warmed up to it. Lowe has five million miles under his belt, achieved over a 41-year career that was spent mostly doing linehaul. “I’m normally in fifth gear here,” he said. Lowe marveled as the mDrive automated manual transmission held seventh gear with 32,000 kgs of gravel in the 38-ft. Pulling the long grade leaving Bolton, Ont. Still, comparisons to the incumbent vehicle are inevitable). (Comparing trucks of different makes is a dubious endeavour at the best of times, even more so when the benchmark is a glider kit, which is by definition, an assemblage of parts and not a complete vehicle. It was useful to ride shotgun with Lowe, because he could compare the driving experience directly to his incumbent truck, a 2011 Freightliner glider kit featuring a pre-emissions DD13 engine and 13-speed manual transmission. I shared driving duties with Murray Lowe, who the fleet has chosen to test the new truck, knowing they would get an honest assessment from the opinionated and knowledgeable pro driver. Typically, these trucks shuttle tonnes of aggregate between various construction sites and cement plants from James Dick’s many gravel pits in the area. It hauls heavy payloads of about 34,000-40,000 kgs around a hilly part of southern Ontario just north of Toronto. James Dick Construction is an ideal fleet to put the truck through its paces. While many of today’s engines are designed to withhold torque to preserve fuel economy under certain conditions, this engine is all torque, all the time. It was designed for truckers who want loads of pulling power available on demand, to handle hefty payloads and steep grades. In short, it’s a Mack that pulls like a Mack – all the time. The new made-for-Canada rating, introduced in August, produces 505 hp and 1,860 lb.-ft. It was put together by Vision Truck Group as a Mack Trucks Canada demonstration unit and then loaned out to James Dick Construction. The truck was a Mack Pinnacle tractor with its newest engine rating, the 13-litre Mack MP8 505C+. In other words, it was a perfect day to test drive a Mack truck. Gusting winds caused vehicles and old buildings to shudder, as well as the people within them. Snowdrifts piled up on the road in places while the wind swept other sections of highway clear, leaving behind only a thin layer of black ice. Snow blew horizontally, painting the horizon a milky white. The thermometer read -9 C balmy when compared to the -19 C wind chill. It was as nasty a November day as you’ll encounter in Southern Ontario.
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