Comparing Semi Trucks & Engine Brands | Freightliner, Kenworth, Volvo, Western Star, MACK

Comparing Semi Trucks & Engine Brands | Freightliner, Kenworth, Volvo, Western Star, MACK

Ever wondered how the top semi trucks in North America compare to one another, then keep watching!

In this video, Dave explains his opinion on what he thinks about the different truck and engine brands, even diving into which is his own personal favorite!

What do you think of this comparison? Is there anything we missed that you would like to add about a truck?!

Let us know in the comments, and drop which truck is your dream truck!

Subscribe to our channel for entertaining and informational content on trucking, and hit the 🔔 icon to get notified when we release a new video!
_________

#semitruckcomparison #besttruckbrands #trucking

For all sponsorship inquiries:

For all media inquiries:

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:21 Best trucks for heavy industries
00:44 Heavy and oversized truck loads, Western Star
01:29 Van, flatbed, stepdeck best trucks
02:14 Volvo pros and cons
02:33 Freightliner pros and cons
03:15 Take into account your personal comfort when deciding which truck to purchase
03:35 MACK truck newest model, cons
04:01 Comparing the pros and cons of truck engines
05:15 The specific motor or truck model is more important than the brand name!
06:11 Opinions on truck and engine preferences
06:43 Reasons truckers purchase certain types of trucks
07:24 Biased truckers based on personal experience rather than research

[Suspiciousrock]

not even a trucker but love these videos something about big trucks with diesel engines makes me giddy inside

[whooplife]

The fourth reason for loyalty is, thats what they had and it was good to them. Reliability leads to loyalty every time

[rolandmorrison]

Reliability is much more important than engine horsepower, cabin comfort, and overall style. We can't make money if our truck is always in the shop or we keep having to switch trucks. I'll take the ugly boring reliable truck over the cool truck that's going to ultimately impress nobody.

[ververis]

I’m from Australia and we have the toughest conditions and truck demand in the world and our choice here is Kenworth with Cummins there is nothing else that comes close with possibly Western star with Cummins distant second.

[Urziel]

I had the distinct displeasure of driving an International with a Navistar engine back in 2012. I spent so much time in the shop, and my company (Werner) had so many problems we cancelled the order part way through delivery and got rid of any Navistar equipped trucks. The few that stayed in the fleet were equipped with the Cummins ISX. The daycabs that I drove were all replaced with full size Cascadias. Since then I've kept the IH brand at arm's length.

[Xkekeskfndsmw]

References Mack’s and Western Star’s as the top two tough oilfield type of trucks. The pictures that follow in the video are two heavy spec Kenworth’s…. It gave me a chuckle!

[andydavis]

As a European driver I prefer the Swedish trucks. The D16 in the Cabover Volvo has been constantly developed over the last 25 plus years. It’s gone from 470bhp to 750bhp. It has i shift dual clutch transmission which is the best auto shift box in the world. It gives about 3550nm of torque. Sadly you don’t get that in the states.
A brand you need is Scania. Their in house V8 engines are by far the best in the business. Better than Cummins, Caterpillar and Paccar. The most powerful off the shelf truck you can buy is the 770s with its 16.4 litre V8 pushing out 770bhp and 3650nm torque.
European truck manufacturers build the whole truck from the ground up including transmission, engine and drivetrain. It’s completely different to the US way of doing things. The only exception is Dutch company DAF who are owned by paccar and use the MX11 and MX13 engines. These have proven to be fairly unreliable motors over time but the DAF range here has recently undergone a complete new redesign to keep inline with new EU regulations so hopefully these will fair a little better.

Obviously European trucks have smaller cabs than US ones but that’s largely due to width and length restrictions imposed by the EU, coupled with the fact that the roads are narrower over here and some of the streets for city deliveries are laughable but their well enough appointed and perfectly comfortable for a week on the road or longer if necessary. We generally run a lot heavier than the US. Whereas most of your standard highway trucks gross out at 80, 000lbs about 36 tons over five axles, Ours gross out at 97, 000lbs or 44 tons over six axles. We tend to use tri axle trailers over tandems for better stability and weight distribution.

[HansraRulez]

I drove Freightliner, Volvo and Kenworth aero trucks. Kenworth has best Cab quality among all, Volvo has the smoothest auto transmission.

[joyedwards]

Dave, I REALLY like your video! My 80 some odd year old father was a heavy equipment mechanic, back in the day, so I sent him this video link. I know he will enjoy it. TY!

[bugnut]

Interesting points! I am not a driver, but I am taking lessons. Before ever driving a truck I was in love with Peterbilts only. My trainer truck is a Freightliner, I forgot what model, but it's one that I would never turn my head to look back as it passed me on the freeway. After spending some time driving it I really started to like it, and now I look at them on the freeway and even daydream about buying one (and of course the Pete). Interesting human psychology in this video!

[diesel]

Dealer support is number one!!!then It’s all based on what your hauling and what country you live in..
Auto is the only way to go.. especially when you employ drivers.
Save fuel, save your driveline!!!

A 18sp is now a special order here in Australia when purchasing a new truck.

[DaveG]

I love a Volvo but my experience is with cab overs. I shift is the best transmission on the market, never had any emissions issues and the 13 litres are bullet proof. The FH16 750 horsepower is a fantastic truck. They do seem to have more electrical issues than the Scania trucks I have experience of though.

[johnmaxwell]

Appreciate your candid honesty. And absolutely agree with you in those things that influence people's decision making processes.

[MrMopar]

You are so right. For me it was freightliner, Kenworth and Volvo. In the end I was doing a lot of truck hopping because I worked as a temporary fill in driver through a temp agency. But I ended up driving a lot of Volvo’s, manuals and automatics with the I-Shift transmission. I like staying with one brand because all of the driver controls are basically in the same place from truck to truck. When I get into another brand of truck all the driver controls, switches, gauges etc are all different and it slows down my driver reaction time and raises my stress level. Basically I’m a Volvo guy because that’s what I drove the most with the Volvo Vectro motor in them. I like them and really never had any issues with them except one that had a Cummins engine in it. All the problems stemmed from Ryder truck leasing not doing proper maintenance before releasing the truck out on the road after it was turned in by the previous lessee.

[wheelman]

Thanks for your opinion. I drive in Europe and our tractors are mainly 4×2 units with 6x2 gaining popularity. Our top brands are Volvo, Scania, Renault, Mercedes, Daf, Man and Iveco. Ford is here now too . Manual transmissions appear in older trucks. Auto is the norm. I prefer Daf brand. 🙂

[renelioeanjie]

Dude the best intro.
"OK I am going to be castrated for this"

[Roughtek]

Running a 2019 4900SB in Colorado oilfield as a Frac Sand hauler, best truck I've ever driven!! Would love to buy and OTR a 4900EX. And wasn't big on Detroit, but our trucks gross 97k or more, and we beat the hell out of the DD15 and DD16 that we have in our fleet and they are holding good, only at 200k miles

[craigquann]

My first highway truck was a 97 western with a 525 cat and 18 speed. It was a rocket, especially since I was hauling a moving van.

[missesmew]

Your exactly right. I grew up in the Mack, B-61, five and four. No other truck is as classic IMO! I’ve driven freightliners, stars, Mack, international, kenworths and currently a peterbilt.
It’s mainly personal preference. My dad had five trucks hauling wood in the 90’s. Binders cause they were cheap. They had B series cats. Everyone loves them, but I being the son always had the newest one. So my impression of the cat wasn’t that good. My foot would get sore from pushing on fuel pedal cause they sure weren’t legendary outta the box. But after some miles, a quick appointment with a mechanic and voila, trailer length of black smoke and there’s the power. lol
About this time, along comes my favourite. The Cummins N-14, which right outta the gate gave me 500hp with the snappiness that I love with the 18 -speed. And then of course, if one guy’s got 500, you know f**king well the other guy needs 550, 600 and so on. Until the day comes (and eventually does) where the truck goes back in for overhaul. The cowboy element, everyone wants to be “the bandit”. lol
So true about it all depending on the job and personal experience.
Right now I’m inclined towards Peterbilt. Mainly
for their suspension, their traction in mud, snow and ice not to mention the exquisite ride is the best. I didn’t mind the kenworth eight bag either but man that air track is good.
Regionally, kenworths and peterbilts are the rage here. Westernstars are tough but heavy. They were great when I first started driving in the bush cause being young and dumb, they were abused and could take it.
Good for scared drivers that pound over everything outta fear of getting stuck and the embarrassment, lol.
A guy once told me many years ago no matter how fancy or powerful, at the end of the day they all get paid the same. Comes down to your own preference.

[MrPizzaman]

I work with warranty on Cummins and it's true every engine has had it's bad years. Over time, the manufacturer works out the bugs. Believe it or not, the latest Cummins engines are better for warranty than the best ever mechanical engines before tier 4 or even the 90's.