Anyone wanting to buy a truck over the next while...
 

I can help out with specs, make rpm/mph charts, etc..

Nowadays the wrong specs can cost you 20k a year, easy.

Something as simple as a direct drive vs overdrive, the direct drive tranny can save you 2k a year!

If I was buying a new truck, it would have 2.64 gears, super singles OR XDA "energy" low pro 22.5's, a 10 speed direct drive ultrashift, or maybe volvos I-shift if I was going with a volvo engine.

I talked to a guy running that combo, 12 speed volvo direct drive tranny, and a 485 D13, he said he was getting 7.5 mpg at 60 mph. Almost unheard of with a new 2008 truck!

Anyone that buys a non-aero truck nowadays is nuts.

Re: Anyone wanting to buy a truck over the next while...
 

I agree, this is a business not a truck show. If you want to see pretty trucks look online or something. But they claim they get 7mpg and conventionals have better resale. Sure...

I drive hoods because a freightliner would die in the enviroments I work, I really dont care if somebody on the internet thinks i`m nuts or not.

The only thing "Freightliner" about the "Freghtliner" is the emblem on the hood. Please elaborate on the environment.

If you can run a good company you can make it with a hood. If haveing a hood is going to make you broke then you got bigger problems then that. :roll:

Its not that it will break you, it's the point of putting more money in your pocket than into the truck.

You are 100% right. If you want to make the most money with a truck a hood is not the way to go. But for some guys a hood is worth the price. I know for me it would be. Its all in what you want. :wink:

Don't see too many Centuries or T2000's or 600's pulling log trucks, doing heavy-haul, or doing anything else off-road. The specs for certain applications are not available in all models. Air resistance increases with speed and is pretty negligible below 50-55. If you poke along anyway, the benefit you'd realize from an aero is minimized. Same goes for the trailer you pull. If you're pulling something with an ugly aerodynamic profile, it's not going to matter much what your front end looks like.

Like most everything else, there's not one all-encompassing answer. It's dependent on your operating profile.