ANOTHER VOLVO.......yes.....another ugly semi truck crawler hauler thread

Here it is! The long awaited, much anticipated, highly over rated build thread for my new semi!!


I have been considering buying a newer, more powerful truck for a couple years but the old one did get the job done. I was not shopping. Then this one kind of fell in my lap for a price I couldn't turn down. So I bought it and put the 86 up for sale. It lives in Washington now

So without further ado....here it is



It is a 1999 Volvo VNL610. It has a 12.7 Litre 60 series Detroit motor making 430 HP and a 10 speed trans. The rear is air ride as well as the cab and the front seats. The front seats are brand new Elite leathers. It has a 3 stage Jake Brake.

The truck was in Oregon. So the wife and I flew up and drove it home. Trip was fairly uneventful. I was extremely impressed with the power. Set the cruise at 75 and no hill slowed it down. Even tried accelerating on hills a couple times and it just went faster. I'm sure loaded up it will be a different story but compared to what I'm used to it is very very pleasant. Inside the cab is quiet enough to carry on a conversation. I may have to do something about that

But there are a few reasons the truck was as cheap as it was. The clutch was slipping. It ended up being just a rusted automatic adjuster. Got it free and clutch is good as new now. Hope it stays that way awhile. Passenger door wouldn't open, drivers window wouldn't roll down. Front bumper was busted to crap. Just minor details. Oh....and everything in Oregon is rusted and covered in moss. Truck is fairly rusty underneath. More so than I would like but nothing that cant be addressed. They gave the outside a acid wash before I got there and it cleaned up pretty well

So since its been home I got the window working, got the door open but it needs a new latch, removed the 5th wheel plate (its for sale if anyone needs it) and took the side steps off the back. I also found a good bumper at Vreins truck parts and got it installed

The frame and wheelbase is shorter than Id like but it is longer than the old truck by 6" so I'm just gonna run with it. The plan is to remove the stacks and the rear fairings to make more room. I will run a weed burner exhaust and then build a flatbed from scratch for it.

Here is how its sitting now








I am hoping to get some metal for the bed here soon. I will also get some interior pics. Sleeper is huge. It has bunk beds in it. I can stand in the back with plenty of room. Pretty excited about this project

Looks like quite the upgrade. This will be fun to watch.

That truck shouldn't slow down from 75 mph even when you have I loaded with your new bed and rig strapped on the back. An empty semi trailer weighs more than your bed/rig will weigh, and that truck should have no problem pulling an empty 53' up most hills at full speed.

What rpm are you spinning at 75 mph?

Congrats. and nice upgrade. Looking forward to the build.

Hickey said:

That truck shouldn't slow down from 75 mph even when you have I loaded with your new bed and rig strapped on the back. An empty semi trailer weighs more than your bed/rig will weigh, and that truck should have no problem pulling an empty 53' up most hills at full speed.

What rpm are you spinning at 75 mph?

Click to expand...

Just under 1700 rpm at 75

My camper is way heavier than most. As well as the Scout. The rig, bed and, loaded camper is probably gonna be about 22k. I cant wait to see what the truck will do with it

That's a few thousand more than an empty trailer, but not much. You might slow a little on the biggest hills, but you won't need to downshift for any.

Any idea what curb weight is on that dog as it sits? That engine can't be light


(youre kind of a vulvo kinda guy now?)

Being a single screw, I'd guess it's about 14k.

I was gonna guess 14-15k. Maybe ill go weigh it before i get started

Does the air suspension have a dump valve? You should look into one if it doesn't. They aren't expensive.

It does!

I will be building a fender into the bed to take full advantage of it as well

Very cool man!!!
It's too nice for you to own
Don't make it loud and annoying. Haha
I can't wait to check it out.

ChestonScout said:

It does!

I will be building a fender into the bed to take full advantage of it as well

Click to expand...

Excellent. That will be awesome for loading/unloading.

That's a nice upgrade Cheston, congrats! The sleeper looks awesome, who needs a camper when you have that much room right inside the truck!

Thanks guys!


Ya if it had a shower and a pooper the camper would not be needed. It will be awesome for overnighters and such though

As for making it loud and annoying.....i am a little concerned about it. The 2 mufflers on the stacks are massive. Like 4' long. Im not sure what i am going to do yet but finding a spot for a decent muffler underneath could be a challenge. Maybe i will just run pipe to the back of the bed. It will be loud and annoying but far away enough from the cab that i wont care??

Maybe just push em out to the side a bit, once the plastic sides are removed. Should look like stock.

Cool rig though.

The exhaust will have a Y pipe split. I would just run a single weed burner exhaust. I personally would want a muffled exhust.

^^ This. Weed burner just hangs under the frame with no split. I guess the exhaust routing is different since it doesn't need to stay up high.

That was the plan. Remove the Y and run it down. It would be cool to have it come out the side of the passenger bottom fairing, but that leaves no room for a muffler.

The muffler i put on the the old 86 were 6" diameter and about 20" long. I could get one of those in but its just a glass pack. I dont think it will "muffle" much

You likely know, but six states has a pretty good selection of semi-size exhaust fittings