What to want?

[jimbosterling]

Im new at this and have come to the conclusion that there is no good trucking job , so what about trucks. I dont care about looks. I am more concerned with performance and reliabilty. Oh yeah, and room. Im 6'3" 290.

[heavyhaulerss]

I dont care about looks.... ahhh A smart one out of the gate...lol. trucks are a personnal preference. I bought my 1st truck over 10 years ago. it is a 95' intl cabover. an ole walmart truck. I paid $15,000 cash for it in 99' at that time the kw's pete's were going for $32- $35,000 & had higher mileage. mine was in the low 400's. now over a mil miles & no work done to engine, trans or rears. I am soooo glad I bought what I did. not to look good, but to make money. my truck still has original clutch in it. dont ask me how after 1.2 mil miles. but it does. now as far as me recommending a good truck.. sorry I cannot help you & be honest. cause i dont know. I do beleive that the best fuel efficient engine is a detrtoit. only by my own experience in my cabover 11.1 det 6.5 mpg ave get 7 mpg when i keep at 60 mph. min i get is 6 mpg. every one of my trucking friends made fun of me & told me i should of bought a chromed out hood when i got my truck in 99' every one of them lost their trucks. & i could go on for pages here telling you what i did with the money i made, that didnt go to a truck payment... good luck my friend.

[jimbosterling]

Thanks Heavy! Do the Cabbies have lower HP for a reason. Im asking because I have seen a bunch, but with like 300-375. I didnt know if they need less or what. I dont even know what is required for say, a 53' reefer? Im all about making money and feeding my family safely and as inexpesive as possible. Most profit with highest safety margin!

[heavyhaulerss]

mine is a 365 hp. there were some cabovers from walmart that had the 12.7 det. but they were not avaiable in my area at the time I bought mine. I am not sure of the criteria used when fleets buy trucks. if it's the total cost, fuel mileage, resale, dependability, easy to get parts, e.t.c. you can get a cabover in higher hp I know. I have heard the newest cats are having problems. I have been told that a 10 spd trans is better than a-13-15 or 18 spd. the reason- the more gears the more things to wear, or break & the more expensive to fix. i have a super 10 trans. 1.2 mil miles & never been touched. still has original clutch int it. yes from the factory from 95' so it's a 10 spd for me whatever truck i would by. there is good & bad in all. a lot like cars, you swear by a chevy, cause you had the best of luck, but your friend swears by ford cause he has had the best of luck with ford. I do know that the det's that had the 500 hp had the turbos blowing like crazy. it was the turbo mfr. that was the problem. stuff like that is good to know. right now fuel mileage is crucial. the difference between a good mpg truck & a bad one could make a truck payment. I really wish I could be of more help. G- MAN can help with some advice he is smarter than I. he may respond here.

[Papa Rick]

From my experience with engines, I have run Det, Cum, and now CAT, none of them even come close to a Det as far as fuel mielage goes. Cat had better pullin power for sure, but you pay for it at the pump. I got 6.5 to 7.2 mpg on the Det, 5.9 to 6.3 on the Cum, and 5.2 to 5.7 on the Cat.

Everyone is different in what they want. I have always wanted a CAT Motor, just never did work out, but now pulling heavy loads 80,000 to 110,000 haulling logs for a living, and LOVE the CAT motor.

Though I would love it more if it got better fuel mileage. But then again I know people that say they only get 4.5 mpg with a Det engine hauling logs, so I really can't complain.

More than you would think will come from the driver on how well the mpg goes.