I am looking to buy my first truck and would like some opinions from those of you who have experience in these trucks. I am also considering a Columbia/Century, but would prefer to stay away from these because of resale and, from what I have read on these boards, build quality. I drive local/regional out of Dallas, all 53' vans. Load weights range from 10-44k. I am keeping a budget of 50k and would like miles under 500k and preferrably not a stripped down truck, but something that rides well. Thanks in advance for your input....

Either truck would serve you well. The 387 has more room in the front and the sleeper area is more open. Fuel mileage should be fairly comparably equipped.

$50,000.....what year does that put you into? 2005? I really don't know much about anything that new. I can help with 1995 - 2001 Kenworths. Been on, under and in every inch of them in seems.

50k I'm hoping will get me 2004-2005. With Pete or KW I have noticed will have about 500k on the miles, the frieghtliners will have 350-500k on miles, but I would like to get atleast a 2004 to keep the miles down. Everything older seems to have more miles on them. Can anybody tell me what the typical rebuild time is on Cummins and Cat motors? It seems the Detroits are about 750k. I know about the maint playing a big part and all, so that comment can be skipped. I just have not seen anybody say what a typical rebuild milage is on the Cat and Cummins. I will get all the checks and inspections done before purchase. Based on the avg miles I am seeing on the trucks I have looked at, I am planning on an inframe at some point. I would like to have a couple of years with the truck to bank some savings for that job, of course the longer I can put it off the better but nothing is guaranteed when it comes to trucking.

I would expect to have an in-frame somewhere around or after 750,000 miles. You can go more than 1MM miles before having an in-frame. It is all in the maintenance. I would not get too hung up on miles. You can often find a truck with higher miles which has been well maintained and had an overhaul or major engine work. I would not want to spend $50,000 on a truck that I would expect to overhaul in a year or two.

I think you should do an oil analysis on whatever truck u buy because my friend just want thru a very bad situation this past summer with his truck. his engine failed at 690,000 miles and the warranty company paided 20,000 dollars to replace the engine. he was luck because they put in a new remanufactured engine because they could not find a good used engine..The hold process took almost 8 weeks while the dealer and warranty company want back and forth his finances suffered he almost lost the truck because he was not working while the truck was getting fixed. A good used truck is hard to find u just have to take your time and look for one with service records..

Good luck!

We've got 700,000 on a C15 cat.
625,000 on a rebuilt a N14 Cummins.
Had 1,000,000 on a series 60 Detroit.

How does one decide when an inframe-job is due ? What does it actually entail in terms of the work required to be done, and cost ? How is it different from a rebuilt engine ? Which one is preferable, a rebuilt or an inframe ? Thanks.

$50K should get you in the 2003 to 2004 range depending on the overall quality of the truck. Mileage should be in the 500,000s. As G-Man said the Pete will have more interior room and fuel mileage should be about the same between them. A UOA might be tough if the oil has been changed recently. For us we do a PM and change the oil on all incoming trucks. Try and find out who the previous owner was. If it was a fleet it was probably well maintained. If it was a private owner it could be hit or miss. I would also give serious consideration to purchasing an extended warranty.

Whatever you buy, enjoy it!

An in-frame is a rebuild. You may be thinking of a re-manufactured engine. The remain engine is usually done at the factory. You pull your old engine out and put the new one in. Those are rather expensive. A remained CAT runs about $25,000, as I recall. Most engines can be rebuilt from about $10-18,000. With the last work I just had done on one truck my rebuild is about $25,000.

An in-frame replaces the pistons, liners, injectors, sleeves, o-rings, turbo, oil pump, water pump, bearings, cam shaft, etc., You basically replace all the moving parts and bearings. It may not be necessary to replace the injectors and turbo, but I would not want to rebuild an engine without doing so. Some re-builders may not want to warranty an engine without replacing all the components. Some may also want to replace the radiator. Of course, all belts and hoses should also be replaced. There are different levels of re-builds. Personally, I think it is a good idea to just replace everything while you have things torn down.

There are signs that an engine is having problems. If you drive a truck on a regular basis, you should be able to tell a difference in how the tuck performs. Loss of power, smoking, missing, etc., are common signs. If you regularly do an oil analysis, you can also spot problems with excessive wear before they become critical.