Here's one of the nicest DM800's you will ever find...........
Drove a DM 800 at Weyerhaeuser for two years in mid 70s, worse truck I ever had the misery to drive. Found the best way to drive it was to try to stand up in the cab on rough road.
Weyerhaeuser Snoqualmie had half a dozen or so.
Original truck came to Weyerhaeuser with a 16yd rock box, but it was to heavy empty on the road. Pulled the rock box off and put a 12yd Columbia box on it with 3' side boards made with 1" plate. Had the 5 spd with the 2 spd Johnson bar. Top end was 32 mph. I did gross out once at 87,950 with rock spilling over the side.
Fenders were always falling off, frames broke all the time, Couldn't keep a rearend in them either. One cab, the door fell off in the rain, long drive back to the shop (40 miles) in winter on a muddy mainline with no door.
Mack salesman came out, said there wasn't a man alive that could break the truck.... He climbed in the truck with another fellow and before leaving the pit had twisted a drive line.
The shop took all the axles and scored them so that when we replaced an axle which was almost a daily occurrence we could put the scored end in the hub, so when it did break everything (broken parts) were easy to access.
My finest day was when I got enough seniority to be able to go back to a '64 KW with biscuits. Rode like a Cadillac compared to the DM 800
I have been around Macks for a long time.I admit that they are not the best riding truck in the world but Macks strong points,the things that Mack is noted for are the very things that you had trouble with.For instance,drivelines (driveshafts) are not where they break on a Mack.It will be something in the rearend usually and if anything breaks in the rearend it is usually the result of abuse provided that the truck is being used as it was designed to be used.I cannot imagine the frame breaking on a Mack DM-800 if the proper frame was installed when it was built.
Something does not sound right here in your post and I take exception to it,in other words BS!!Ron G
I have one RD and two RB Macks. RD is lowboy tractor, the RB's are quad axle dumps. Love the RB's the way they are but wish the RD had camelback rather than hendrickson rear suspension. They get it done for me real fine. Been around a few DM's but never owned any. Can't stand the off set cap and the screwed up mirror system with the passenger side stuck out off of the air cleaner and the driver side so close to the door. Doghouse over the engine with two cylinders in the cab is also a nightmare. Have seen lots of frame breakage problems with them because the way the frame is designed and built. Will stick with what I have
Well Dumpsterdavid, that would be a definite improvement with no doghouse and the other frame. The off set cab still does not appeal to me in my experience.