I was asked that question today, just thinking out loud but I think its about time right?

Rather than answering your question and placing blame for our past collective stupidity I would prefer to just  discuss the Allison and its attributes.

Allison transmissions are at the very least a better mechanical system for shifting a large truck than anything else.

They are smart; the interaction between the tranny and the engine is top notch. It knows when to shift, it is not distracted by the 911turbo with foxy Loxie at the wheel. It gets at least as high a grade in the fuel savings department as a good driver, and better than most. It treats all the components that come after it with kid gloves. Limited shock to drive lines and joints, limited shock to PTO boxes and flanges, limitedshock to differentials and axles. The Allison, to the best of my knowledge, has never had its muddy boots slip off of a clutch pedal and snap an axle.

No one has asked for my approval, but if they did I would require Allison automatics in all boom pumps 50m and smaller.

So it would be fair to say that I am a proponent.   ;~)

Are these guys becoming a sponsor?

Todd, I have had a couple of them in bigger pumps great to drive, dam awful expensive to fix/replace and at least in the Bay Area hard to schedule with repair shops for anything. Parts were usually available but trying to get them to fix when convenient for yourself was a nightmare

  Seed

No, they just make good transmissions.

That being said; I would have all machines scrapped after 10 years.

I have no history of "old" Allisons.

Nope i wish, I hear they are the best and the way to go so it would be nice if they supported this site.

Todd,

When it comes to money; you are a concrete crack-ho ;~)

Hey Todd,

Is there anyone's money you would not take as a sponsor of this site LOL!

I was wondering why more of our Boom Pumps were not running Allison transmissions

LOL hey this is what I do. You know yesterday I added over 120 pages to this web site. We work hard at what we do. I need sponsors to feed my family. By next week I will have almost 500 new pages to this web site. Right now I am working on putting up every press release known to our industry, than I have job stories, articles and then I plan on putting up all the patens. LOL I think I have a years worth of work here. The sponsors pay for it all.

I know your just teasing me but believe me I am working hard for the money.

We have a 39M schwing with one, love it, not one problem since 03. Only thing is off road it tends to spin the tires sometimes.

I am just teasing LOL! Thanks for all your hard work!

Six or seven years ago a few major ready-mix suppliers here in Seattle went to Allison automatics... with our notorious traffic here the mixer drivers love them! However we have several large hills here in and they can pose quite a problem when the drivers try to back down steep winding driveways with out spilling. This puts extra pressure on the dispatchers to remember which trucks can and can't go to certain jobs. Also the newer drivers are assigned the older trucks with manual trannys putting another potential wrench into the works...

We have a few big booms with Allisons and all and all they are trouble free, but then again, they pose a problem now and then. One area north of downtown is Queen Anne Hill. Back in the day the old Seattle streetcars hooked up to a counter balance at the bottom to assist them up, and one at the top to hold them back. (kind of sounds like Hyde Street in the city, huh OE-3) When dispatched to that area, all operators must be careful when choosing their routes into and out of that neighborhood.

I love driving the Allison Transmission, they have an inherent fault to them when hooked up to a concrete pump, and fire trucks too..

But I gotta feed my wife and family so if you want to know the answer and how to save thousands in repairs e-mail me and I'll tell you why for a nominal fee.

I've been on the merry go round with Allison. Charged thousands for a problem they can not answer or don't want to answer. It aint fixed by new software either.

I always thought it would be better to put a Eaton Fuller in them. Way better than that Mack tranny in my opinion. I drove ready mix for 10 years and we had them in all of our trucks and never ever had a problem. We have been through 2 Mack trannys in 5 years.

My Condors have Eaton's wonderful compared to a Mack. Shift like BUTTER..!!

Todd,

BCP has em in our older 52s and 58s.. and I have one in my personal truck !

3

Have any of you operated the Allison in the mountains? How well does it work with the Jake?

DT, You are sure right about the ease of shifting! Big difference.

Yes Bob, they work very well while driving and the jakes work well too.

I have an Allison in my pickup as well, very fine transmission.

I dont believe they are a good choice in a concrete pump this same problem affects fire trucks as well.

But the complications are not as severe since it's tax payers money paying for the repairs, thats the only reason any attempt was made to correct the problen since Allisons municipal sales are their bread and butter. The software fix is a joke.

There is a problem.

You can confide your secret, what sort of problem do you allude to Dick? Lots of auto equipped pumps out there function correctly when spec'd correctly to begin with to my way of understanding.