Condor's A Rare Bird Among Work Trucks
Tom Berg
Senior Equipment Editor
Think of Freightliner and you almost surely visualize an over-the-road tractor, probably with a big "condo" sleeper. But the company also builds a full range of medium- and heavy duty vocational trucks, including a Class 8 low cab-over-engine model called the Condor - close in sound to condo, but in an entirely different category.
The Condor, built in North Carolina and sold with the Freightliner and Sterling nameplates, came out in 1998. It's still a rarity in a field dominated by the Mack MR, Peterbilt 320, Autocar (formerly Volvo) Xpeditor and two models from Crane Carrier Corp. Most of these trucks collect trash, but some are set up to carry concrete pumping equipment to construction sites.
That's the case with the Condor featured here. As you can see from the lettering, it's operated by Protivin Builders, a concrete pumping service in eastern Iowa. Gary Pones, the small fleet's founder, owner and president, says he bought the Condor on the recommendation of the pumper manufacturer.
"We love it," Pones said of the Condor. "It's got lots of room and a good ride."
As is typical with many specialty chassis, this one went first to the equipment maker - in this case Schwing America in St. Paul, Minn. - which installed the 39X body and set up the hydraulic system. The 39X has five hydraulic pumps, Pones explained, and they get pressurized fluid from the main pump that's driven by a front-engine power take-off.
A pumper body is bulky and heavy, which is why a compact, but strong low COE is the chassis of choice. As it sits, this one is maxed out in length and weight. It's 40 feet long - the legal limit for a straight truck in most states - and weighs 60,000 pounds, which is the chassis' gross vehicle weight rating and the legally allowed amount for three axles in Iowa. It's always "loaded" and never comes back empty, as mixer and dump trucks do.
Before Pones took delivery, Freightliner borrowed this rig from Schwing to show it off to potential customers and trade press writers during the World of Concrete show earlier this year in Las Vegas. The Condor proved surprisingly comfortable on a designated street-and-freeway loop near the Freightliner dealership in North Las Vegas.
Comfort starts from the ground. Because the cab is mounted low on the frame, it's an easy three-step climb to the inside floor. The cab's bumper-to-back-of-cab measurement is a compact 68 inches, but there is ample leg and belly room for all but the biggest guys. The cab is also wide at 96.5 inches (excluding steps and mirrors), so there's sufficient hip room and plenty of space for a driver's arms and elbows.
In this type of truck the driver sits next to the engine, which is covered by a high but well-padded doghouse. In other low COEs, the driver tends to hug the doghouse with his right leg, but the Condor's wide cab allows the driver to sit a little farther away.
Instruments are divided among three panels. A pod above the tilt-and-telescoping steering column contains a speedometer flanked by an air-pressure gauge and a tiny tachometer. Other engine-condition gauges are to the right and an arm's reach away on a central panel that also has various rocker switches and a lever-switch to activate the PTO. Light switches are on the left, including some on the multi-function turn signal stalk.
The gearshift lever is in a sort of console that juts out of the dashboard, so you reach forward to manipulate it. It's easier than it looks, and going through the Eaton Fuller 10-speed transmission was almost fun. The shift lever is connected by cables to the gear-change mechanism atop the tranny. The linkage worked smoothly, even though it was new-truck stiff. Most Condors get Allison automatics for their stop-and-start trash collection work, Freightliner says.
The engine in this '05-model truck is an '02 Caterpillar C-12, a diesel left over from the pre-October '02 emissions days. The C-12 is simpler and less costly than the Clean Power models that Cat sold for a while after the deadline and the ACERT products it now makes. Today's successor engine is the C13. Freightliner also offers the C7, C9 and C11, and the Cummins ISL in the Condor.
This Cat C-12's rating is 355 hp with 1,350 lbs.-ft. of torque, a modest output by today's standards but entirely adequate to move the 60,000-pound truck even at freeway speeds. Cruising at 65 mph was easy in overdrive-10th gear. It was also comfortable, with long leaf springs over the rear-set steer axle flexing in a bus-like manner, and the TufTrac leaf-and-rod suspension over the tandem rears likewise compliant, especially under full load.
There's also plenty of horses via the front PTO to operate the hydraulics on the Schwing pumper. Pones said the engine fast-idles at 1,100 to 1,200 rpm most of a work day to run the PTO, dropping fuel economy from a drive-only 6 miles per gallon to about 4 mpg overall.
The body's 39-meter boom stayed stowed during this demo, as did its four stout outriggers. But we had to be careful not to hang up the rear set's pads on high ground. Steve Sturgess, HDT's executive editor, did that while coming down a shallow mound after leaving the pavement, but he was able to yank them free with a dose of power to the wheels, proving that brute force has its proper place.
Even with the big "duplex" tires on the front axle, wheel cut was tight and the truck easy to turn into acute-angle corners. The steering wheel was curiously small in diameter for such a hefty truck, but that adds to belly room. And with power steering there was no effort required - all I usually had to do was downshift to 6th gear and resume acceleration.
Freightliner says that the Condor's huge windshield, squarish rear window, two tall side windows, and rear-quarter panes together make up more than 47 square feet of glass. They all add up to great outward visibility. Of course there's no hood to see over and the low-mounted cab means there are few blind spots. Looking into them was easy with well-placed twin-glass mirrors, which also did a good job of helping me peer to the rear.
Although the Condor is primarily a trash truck, it also makes a great concrete pumper chassis, according to Gary Pones, who's run this truck since April. "Everybody loves driving it," he said. "Now they don't want to drive the other trucks. That's the problem I have now."
Freightliner continued...
