if he is set on a auto, most freightliners have the "smart shift" the WORST. but then again.. i never drove another except a 6 speed alison which was amazing actually. not my cup of tea but as far as auto goes.. amazing. drove like car but it was in a city columbia. the smartshift is next to impossible to back in with.

hobo, a lot of people say they hate the 387. i'm considering building a glider out of one but never drove or sat in one. as far as the 770 goes, in my opinion its major flaw is its weight. if it wasnt such a pig i'd get one in a heart beat. being you drive one i have a question, how uncomfterable is the "bed" on the bottom? when you fold the table down?

back to the orginal post, if you could manage with the manual for a first truck i highly recomend a columbia. i love mine.

 

I bought my 387 before I had even driven a truck. I have been driving it for 4 years and it blew a head gasket so I went and bought a Freightliner Columbia.

The comparison to me is the Pete is a Caddie and the Columbia is a 1970 Ford Pickup.

I will be putting a different engine in my Pete soon and sitting back and enjoying the ride again.

 

firebird said:

Okay... I didn't know there was a different 'auto' than the smartshift type that the Columbia I drove (once) had. It seems he has no choice but to go with the auto, so... my comments might be out of place about taking the cheaper Freightliner. As I recall, I had to "flap the paddle" on that Columbia to shift... and it was REAL SLOW to respond! If there are other "autos" out there that shift like my car, well... that might not be so bad.

So... did you drive this "auto" in the city OF Columbia... or WAS it a Columbia? I'm a bit confused.

That's what my brother said! Especially trying to get a good "seal" against a dock! [most of his trucks were autos, including that Pete.]

I KNOW you must be kidding.... talk about overweight pigs! My brother dubbed the 387 as "Snoopy" and the 378 (is that right?) as.... Bullwinkle!

WHAT bed? lol! Okay... the question is do you drive SOLO or team? IF you drive solo, I would leave the table set up, and sleep on the top bunk! OR... I would bring the very thin mattress from the top bunk down and place it on top of the "cushions" that serve as a mattress on the bottom bunk. By themselves.... they are not very comfortable to sleep on (UNLESS... as I did once before... you put a layer of memory foam UNDER them!) You would not believe the difference!

On the other hand.... I can sleep on just about anything! So... I don't have a problem sleeping on the "cushions" that constitute a mattress in my Volvo... EVEN while bouncing down broken highways!

I think the O.P. said an AUTO was mandatory due to his knees. If there are better shifting autos than the Columbia, I retract my concern for the cost, and my recommendation. However.... I was VERY pleased with the manual Columbia I drove for nearly 3 yrs. I've seen 4yr old Columbias at about $20k or so. THAT is what I plan to start out with when I make the jump. IF I see that I'm making good money as an O/O.... I will plan for a W900 with a "studio" sleeper or, at least a Volvo 770 for my second truck. But, my main concern is to keep my truck payments as low as possible until I see how things go.

 

lol i think i'm the only one that likes the columbia.

 

Thanks for the advice Golfhobo...

Retired Chef...Born & raised in NYC ( Far from a wuss...and dont need any friends " Thanks Rev") Going back to work... not forced... but done with the retirement thing...Bored silly !

No-Payments...Trucking Income as it comes, just like any biz start up venture...Acquired CDL on my own (No-School) Passed the test...paid an O/O to train me and use his truck for 4 weeks as opposed to shoveling $5-6K to a school.O/O Also serves as a super mentor....which I always have a 1000 questions for. (Schools are a whole other experience & story for me)Getting the CDL thru a school private or Co. sponsered school was such a sham. 30cents/mile for 2 years after training...and pay them back $5K....No thanks !
I am Leasing on with Truck & trailer haulin RV's for 12 mo's ...which is also the Minimum exp. needed to lease on as O/O at a freight company. Once I passed the CDL and NO_EXPERIENCE...NO YOB MAN !
Going to start in Jan...Probably get my own authority in May/June...Just opens more doors.
I dont really want to start at what Im going into...but Cant find anything else. So I'll make the best of it...as always.

Thanks Again Hobo...Btw when I do hit the road my Pings will be in the cab and I will be close to a golf course down south when it comes time to do a reset. I can usually make a few bucks on the course..?

 

Truck wise...I

 

hobo i dont know how to multi quote your post so i'll number them in what was said.

1. i should have explained better. the "city" columbia was a heavy spec electric company truck. it had 46k rears, and a 6 speed auto. it was a day cab. (no CLUE why i labled it like that... lol)

2. when i had to back in the auto i used for the day.. thank goodness the docks were on a hill. just rolled it in and hit the dock.

3. i'm confused with the snoopy and bullwinkle?

4. i can see myself being found in the truck with a broken neck falling from the top bunk. dont worry i'm sure my neck will snap on the way down... lol

5. after i said that i realised what i said. the other auto i'm thinking about had the clutch and i'm guessing its defeting the purpous of the auto..

hobo i'm gonna pm you

 

I have spent the last 3-4 months reading 4-6 blogger sites all related to what I want to do...Trucking Biz.

Truck wise...The way I figured it...a new truck is $125-150K New...Taking that vehicle 2 years later and putting a value of $100k to it assuming it will go a million miles. Your really buying whats left of the life of that said vehicle...Correct...? So when I started this research I asked at least 25-30 truck drivers all the same question..." Money being no object...what truck wwould you buy..?" Pete,KW & Volvo were the top 3. So thats what I started looking at. With what I'm starting out hauling...a Class 8 is way overkill however I dont want to have to trade up in 6-9 months because my truck is not suited for Step_deck/Flat Bed heavy hauling.and that whole RV type of hauling all run with pick ups under CDL. I have no Idea why..? I'm 6-4 265lbs...I barely fit in the front seat of a pick up never mind the back seat sleeping which was'nt gonna happen. My knees swell up pretty bad after shifting a 13spd all day while training. Its not the end of the world...but it does hinder my draw shots ( Golfhobo).
Thats why I started with the 3 choices that I listed in the previous post. So that about covers my backround and upcoming future.

Open to all and any comments...Please ! And they are very much appreciated !

 

I bought my truck with no driving experience (backed into my first dock on my first load) Leased on to a Mom and Pop company (6 trucks) for 1 1/2 years. I got tired of running my tail off for someone else, illegal most of the time.

Got my own authority and after a year fell into a nice little dedicated run. 2,100 miles one week and 1,400 miles the next week and make alot more $$$ than running my tail off for someone else.

 

As we say in NY..."Badda Bing" Thats what I'm trying to find...but no luck...plus I'm way up in Northern Wisc.( Wifes from here)...so its slim pickens