crane operator
Senior Member
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With the 28,000, the 3208 will be fine. If you could manage the 42,600 with your current gas engine, the 3208 will be much better (but it will still be a load).
It's still not going to drive like a car.
I guess it comes down to how fast do you want to go, and how much fuel do you want to burn to get there.
a 3208 will be better than your current gas rig. A 8.3 cummins is a little more torque than the 3208. A m11 is even better. A N14 at 350hp will drive like a car with 28,000 lbs. My 500 hp detroit with just the lowboy (empty/no load) will sit you back in the seat when you get on it at 34,000lbs ( I always think "rocket ship" when I kind of get on it empty).
You're still going to have to down shift on hills, and drive it similarly to what you do now, it will just be a little faster. I would guess hills that you pull at 15 mph now, you could pull at 25 with the 3208, but your not going to pull it at 45-50.
My shop hill is about a 19 percent grade. Its around 3/4 of a mile long the one direction, and I would walk it in 3rd gear (9513 trans/ 6.14 rears) with my 3208, with the 50,000lb crane. I ran it with the 3208 for 6 years, and that's what both cranes had in them from the factory, and the one crane has been in this area its whole life (its a 1977).
I think my terrain would be similar to yours, we have a lot of short steep hills, you probably have some longer hills than I do, but nothing like they see out west (8 percent grade for 11 miles etc.). The 3208 you are still going to have a line of cars behind you on a big hill, but if you want to roll with traffic, you will have to go bigger in hp in really steep hills. In my area- the dump truck guys who want to roll- all run big block 3406, 855/n14 cummins, detroit 12.7, and they run with traffic on the hills at 50,000lbs.
I think I would take a 3208 before a 3126. Easier to work on, and less expensive when you do. No fancy equipment to run overhead, no need to have a computer for diagnostic. 12v fuel solenoid and a start signal wire is it. I had a 3208 get one of my operator's home, with 2 pistons in pieces (dropped a valve- pieces from it went to the next cyl- but it was still running- sounded terrible, but it got home).
We have mostly narrow 2 lane (some more like 1 1/2 lane) blacktop in my working area. No shoulders. If a electronic motor has issues, you are stopped right there. I don't have a parking lot, or shoulder, or place to pull off. Generally a mechanical motor, will develop a miss, or no power etc, but its going to get you home. No sensor throwing a code and stopping you while the motor itself is fine.
For ease of diagnostic, and getting back running, I'll take a mechanical motor over a electronic motor every time. But my situation isn't the same as everyone else's. I don't run a terrible lot of miles, I'm not more than a hour or so from my shop, and I work on most stuff myself. I'm not worried about milage/ fuel usage very much, and I bid no work and charge by the hour.
With the 28,000, the 3208 will be fine. If you could manage the 42,600 with your current gas engine, the 3208 will be much better (but it will still be a load).
It's still not going to drive like a car.
I guess it comes down to how fast do you want to go, and how much fuel do you want to burn to get there.
a 3208 will be better than your current gas rig. A 8.3 cummins is a little more torque than the 3208. A m11 is even better. A N14 at 350hp will drive like a car with 28,000 lbs. My 500 hp detroit with just the lowboy (empty/no load) will sit you back in the seat when you get on it at 34,000lbs ( I always think "rocket ship" when I kind of get on it empty).
You're still going to have to down shift on hills, and drive it similarly to what you do now, it will just be a little faster. I would guess hills that you pull at 15 mph now, you could pull at 25 with the 3208, but your not going to pull it at 45-50.
My shop hill is about a 19 percent grade. Its around 3/4 of a mile long the one direction, and I would walk it in 3rd gear (9513 trans/ 6.14 rears) with my 3208, with the 50,000lb crane. I ran it with the 3208 for 6 years, and that's what both cranes had in them from the factory, and the one crane has been in this area its whole life (its a 1977).
I think my terrain would be similar to yours, we have a lot of short steep hills, you probably have some longer hills than I do, but nothing like they see out west (8 percent grade for 11 miles etc.). The 3208 you are still going to have a line of cars behind you on a big hill, but if you want to roll with traffic, you will have to go bigger in hp in really steep hills. In my area- the dump truck guys who want to roll- all run big block 3406, 855/n14 cummins, detroit 12.7, and they run with traffic on the hills at 50,000lbs.
I think I would take a 3208 before a 3126. Easier to work on, and less expensive when you do. No fancy equipment to run overhead, no need to have a computer for diagnostic. 12v fuel solenoid and a start signal wire is it. I had a 3208 get one of my operator's home, with 2 pistons in pieces (dropped a valve- pieces from it went to the next cyl- but it was still running- sounded terrible, but it got home).
We have mostly narrow 2 lane (some more like 1 1/2 lane) blacktop in my working area. No shoulders. If a electronic motor has issues, you are stopped right there. I don't have a parking lot, or shoulder, or place to pull off. Generally a mechanical motor, will develop a miss, or no power etc, but its going to get you home. No sensor throwing a code and stopping you while the motor itself is fine.
For ease of diagnostic, and getting back running, I'll take a mechanical motor over a electronic motor every time. But my situation isn't the same as everyone else's. I don't run a terrible lot of miles, I'm not more than a hour or so from my shop, and I work on most stuff myself. I'm not worried about milage/ fuel usage very much, and I bid no work and charge by the hour.
