Where would modern civilization be without refuse trucks? Like all vehicles, they’re always evolving, and mostly for the better. Today I’m going to show you a newer and unique refuse collection truck: a 2011 Crane Carrier Company LET2, fitted with an Amrep Frontloading Packer Body. I’m assuming you’ve already figured out it’s the one on the right.
Crane is a small specialty builder of vocational trucks for use in construction, oil exploration, airport operations and refuse collection. The LE in the model name stands for “low entry”; the cab step height is only 18 inches off the ground, which is approximately half the step height of our Pete 320s. When combined with a Work Brake “macro” button that sets the brake while shifting into neutral, and the large doors that allow seamless exit and reentry for the driver the cab, this vehicle is a huge productivity enhancer on a residential route–and the added street cred that comes from its Lambo-suicide doors is simply a bonus.
The way the mirrors are mounted to clear the reverse-hinged doors tends to make them vibrate a lot. This is something endemic to this design, as our two new reverse-hinged Pete 320s shake their mirrors even more. In tight spots you have to rely upon the side- and rear-view cameras.
Our truck is also equipped with optional dual controls, so on-route it can be driven from either side of the cab. No, this Atari-style joystick is not for playing Pong and Space Invaders. Actually, it operates the side loader adapter, whose controls are found in the right-hand drive station.
When used as a side loader, the right-hand controls give the operator better sight lines, as well as fewer steps to deal with when it’s necessary to hop out and re-position errant cans for the gripper arm.
The other notable feature of the LET2 is that its radiator is mounted behind the cab, unlike every other low, cab-forward refuse truck. Severe stop-and-go driving tends to clog up the low-mount radiator on a conventional truck with dust and debris. With the high-mounted radiator on the Crane, even on a hot day with the A/C working, the fan clutch is only on for 30% or less of the time (vs. almost 100% of the time with our other trucks). The Crane is so much quieter, when we first started operating it on residential routes we had an uptick of people chasing us down in their PJs–they’d actually grown accustomed to the Peterbilt “Alarm Clock” fan announcing our presence in the area.
Credit Crane Carrier Corp
As engines run hotter with higher levels of EGR to meet tighter emissions standards, the limited radiator area on competitors’ trucks becomes a limiting factor, as it prevents full use of the engine in a mountain environment. When pulling larger hills, you always have to keep one eye on the temp gauges in a newer Pete 320.
The Crane is powered by a Cummins ISC 8.3-liter engine with output in the ballpark of 1,050 lb-ft and 310 hp. Compared withthe slightly larger M 11s & ISLs (1,200 lbs-ft) in most of our equipment, the smaller Cummins’s power peak comes at higher RPM. While the ISC Series has been successful in urban transit applications, when it’s mated to a Allison five-speed and a heavily used PTO in a vocational role it’s fighting above its weight class. It’s the heavy truck equivalent of a small displacement four-cylinder car–the overtaxed small motor ends up using more fuel that the larger-displacement engine. It burns an additional 5-10 gallons daily than a comparable Pete 320 four-axle loader with ISL Power.
This is a heavy truck, crossing the scales at 44,000 lbs empty, and over 60,000 lbs packed out with a full load of residential trash. The Amrep XH450 FL Body is made from 3/16″ abrasion-resistant Hardox™ steel. It unloads via rear ejection: With the rear door open, the packer blade hyper-extends back the length of the body.
As an operator I loathe this, since with every dump cycle I inevitably have to walk back to the transfer station with a rake and clear off the last bits of material clinging to the blade. I much prefer the hoist ejection of the older Maxon body equipment. Service access to clean the void behind the blade is also worse, due to the smaller door and more difficult ingress. The guide rails for the packer blade also make it more difficult to clean behind the blade.
Overall, the Crane is a good truck; for a busy residential route, it’s my first choice. While it has some quirks, and a few figurative and literal rough edges, it’s unmatched as a specialized tool for residential refuse routes.
This all-around automotive entrepreneur I used to know (he had a wrecking yard, a large repair shop, and nearly always also had intact cars for sale) had the contract for a while to do the repair work on a fleet of garbage trucks. He hated the stinky garbage trucks but the flow of money compensated.
When I was doing fleet maintenance the company had their own garbage truck and I so hated having to work on them due to the stink. The company was a dairy so a lot of the load was the cartons that had held old product. Because they didn’t generate that much waste it would sit partially filled for a week or more before heading to the transfer station. It’s parking place was at the far corner of the lot.
Cool as bro Ive driven rubbish trucks not as flash as that one but I can dig it. One minor nit and its not just you Ian its the merican habit of measuring large quantities in small increments so many lbs sorry bro we measure in KGs or Tonnes, That truck to me is a 6wheeler with a lazy axle not a true 8 legger max GVM 25Tonnes or 25,000KGs @ 2.2 lbs to a KG, I watch Ice Road Truckers and am always annoyed at the big deal they make of ordinary to us loads on their wagons we can gross 50 Tonnes for normal highway use and from watching the series you guys DONT have steep hills in Alaska so why do they have soo much trouble driving those K wakas, and if yer sliding down hill coz the jakes have a lock up turn the jakes off and downshift these guys wouldnt make it across our highway 5 in the rain
I don’t watch that show but Alaska and northern Canada have some pretty steep grades, tight turns and of course the winter conditions. I’ve never been in NZ but I think most western North American truckers can handle any road conditions. And I’m amazed what the refuse truck drivers manage with parked cars, tight city streets and remote bin pickup. I couldn’t imagine doing that in San Francisco!
I avoid using tons in my articles to avoid the whole long ton, short ton ambiguity. In US transportation the pound is still the normal unit of measurement.
The US is something of an oddity when it comes to truck size and weights, trailers are allowed to be 53ft (16.15M) with no limit on tractors length. However traveling long haul you are limited to 80k lbs (36287kg) on 5 Axles. Some states allow more weight and or LCVs but it varies by region.
Don’t believe what you see on “reality” TV. Recently they made a IRT style show about the towing and recovery operators in the area called “Hell on the Highway”. I stopped watching it in the middle of the 2nd episode due to all the half-truths, BS and a few blatant lies.
Yeah you’d think they could do those shows better than that the elementary mistakes I see but hey I do that shit not everyone does, Yeah lbs and tons evaporated here just after I left school great, I drove a TK Bedford selling and delivering butter 1lb of butter is 500grams learnt the lot by having to do it but a metric Tonne and the oldfashioned ton are pretty close at 22 meters long and 50 tonnes all up a modern Btrain is an awesome weapon to drive
The producers of those shows are looking to create “good” entertainment and aren’t about to let facts and reality mess up their “reality” show.
If you have enough axles you can run One O five five or 105,500 lbs in many areas before you need an overweight permit. You can also run triples in some states, on some roads, like Paul’s home state of Oregon though the total length is limited.
I should explain Eric our HWY 5 is steep and twisty its a beautiful road IF you can drive..BUT I drove a Navistar like Hugh the Polar Bear drove in one series and up the climb called Titiokura @ 45 tonnes was done in low box doing 17kmh/10mph on dry Tarseal and the little putty tat in my truck could pull the moon at 1200rpm if it could get the traction, You guys dont have roads like that and inexperienced truckers get caught on our hills without ice.
Bryce, I’m not saying you don’t have some crazy roads down there, I’m saying the “reality” shows are scripted so they are “suspenseful and somewhat scary”. IE they tell the drivers to act like they are having problems ect because the producers think it makes good entertainment and know that the majority of public has no clue.
Neat article about a vehicle that some of us would never get to see the inside of. Bit of a Herby Curbside classic.
Thanks for the article Ian. That last pic is a keeper !
Please add my thanks too, much enjoyed.
A very interesting piece. I have noticed in my own neighborhood just how much less manpower is used today in trash collection. Where years ago there would be one guy driving and two more hanging off the back jumping down and tossing cans in, now a single operator can do the whole thing.
When I was a kid, I remember for awhile they used a big open-top dump truck. A couple of guys would ride up in the back. 2 guys on the ground would hoist cans up to them and they would dump them. Riding around in the back of the truck had to be one really miserable job.
I did the handraulic method a few times I was once young and fit throwing bins, as a relief driver Ive done suburban rubbish runs but only on little gear all the stuff the size of Ians toy are ODs not company trucks that is a cool truck. The only thing Ive operated that would compare is a highway waterblasting truck cleaning tar bleeding filthy job but the Truck was quite a weapon all custom fabricated for the job and still experimental they had built 3 and a fourth was under construction each an improvement on the last. If I ever catch this beast in action I will shoot it though our Scandinavian readership know what I am talking about, The only other country these machines are built and possibly available 2nd hand is somewhere up there.
Great picture showing the radiator location, as well as the exhaust – the chamber on the right is the catalytic converter and DPF (diesel particulate filter) with the muffler being on the left. It also appears that the black reservoir mounted on the frame rail with the blue cap is for the DEF (diesel exhaust fluid, or urea, used in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) process).
Fun trivia – how many different commercial names does urea have?
They’ve gone a long way from the trucks of my childhood. Our growing little town had a GMC medium with a small Heil packer box on the back; with increased population in the mid-1960s they purchased three REO large-capacity packers. The town’s first diesel units…we lived up the road from the city garage, and I remember those things SCREAMING as they’d climb the hill to the main highway.
Lasted about ten years and by then the city was contracting out trash pickup. But the city had a couple of the last of the REOs…so close to the end, one came through as a Diamond Reo.
Those were when conventional truck chassis were used. These new specialty trucks…I’m sure they’re as heavy-duty as anything, but they LOOK a bit flimsy.
Fascinating article on something I knew nothing about. Thanks Ian 🙂