musicman what gears and trans you have? i'm trying to talk my dad in to a 06 9400 with a isx


allen, i totally agree with you.. but i think i got lucky, my columbia is rock solid.. but its a CA truck. the only thing i gotta say is that freightliner is like a cheap car.. and it feels that way. my whole interior is 100% intact but the paint is pealing on the plastic and what not. my dad has a 94 t800 and it feels and drives like its new as well. personally i'd love to get a t800 or a 9400 next.. we'll see.

 

To comment on the paint peeling on the plastic. There is nothing that can be done about that, I have seen that on all types of cars. These cars don't have much over 50,000 miles on them lol

 

its minor and i really dont care about it. its me and my dog in the truck, i didnt buy it new and it was like that when i bought it.. lol if it was new when i bought it then i'd do something. what i cant stand is broken plastic. main thing in trucking is keeping the truck rolling safely. in my book that takes top priority.

 

I've got an Eaton Autoshift 10 (RTO16910C-AS2) and 3.55 gears.

 

Mack!

 

359 Pete. Very nice truck, and very dependable. You wouldn't have to worry about all the computer junk. At the same time, repairs could be highly expensive, due to the age of the truck. Might also have to wait for them to find the older parts. Not the best fuel milage, due to the shape of the not-so aerodynamic body style, but....

you would be sitting in a low-riding, classic truck, looking down the long hood, that would give you a vast imagination of sitting a horse, on top of a bluff, watching the sun rise. You would also have the luxery of the corvette dash..

 

I have owned several brands of trucks. There really isn't much difference in maintenance costs. Most brands have some parts that are proprietary and those are always more expensive. One of the lower maintenance trucks that I have owned has been my International. I think that much of that can be attributed to my changing oil at 15,000 miles since I bought it and when something goes wrong, I try to get it repaired as quickly as possible. I owned a Peterbilt that seemed to have a problem with an engine oil leak, but the rest of the truck was in good shape. I own a KW that has given good service, so far. Before buying any truck I do a thorough check and attempt to get the maintenance records. Some fleets don't do a good job with their maintenance. If you keep your speed down and maintenance up you should have pretty good service from anything that you buy. Don't be fooled by specific brands. A KW or Peterbilt is no more reliable than a Freightliner or International. I am not sure that I would buy a Volvo. They have had some electrical problems in recent years. The hoods are a little easier to work on, but you will usually pay a premium to buy. No truck is cheap to work on. They all cost a lot of money when it comes to buying parts or finding a reliable mechanic. One thing that I would advise you against is buying any truck with a brand specific engine. For instance, I would stay away from Mercedes, Volvo and Mack engines. You will usually need to go back to the dealer for repairs and they will normally charge a premium for working on them. Your options may also be limited when it comes to finding parts. I would stick with Cummins, Detroit or CAT engines. Parts are usually widely available and most garages can work on them.

 

That can also be a good thing. Cuz when you do go to the dealer they can work on the whole truck. Cuz everything is MACK. Most shops i been to work on MACKs. Now i live in PA so there are tons of macks around here. Out west may be a another story.

 

They are all the same. They all break down, old or new. And they all cost alot to repair, old or new. Now with that said I prefer Peterbilts but, that is just my prefernce.

 

I suppose that is a true statement, but you also will have to pay the dealer rates for repairs and their margin for parts. I avoid Cummins as much as possible regarding my engine, avoid the OEM dealer as much as possible for other repairs. I use an independent shop that provides quality work at rates that beat the dealers, and they back any repair. About a year ago, while getting some other stuff done, my shop diagnosed and changed out the carrier bearing. The new one literally came apart roughly 2000 miles later on the road. Shane, the guy that owns and operates Pro Diesel in Des Moines is the shop I use and he reimbursed me for the road service and parts. No questions asked. All he wanted was the failed carrier bearing so that he could get credit for it at his supplier. Very few dealers will back their work that far. They may credit you the parts, but few will actually reimburse for the total road repair charge.

And regarding brands.... most of the components in whatever brand truck are not actual OEM truck brand stuff, except for body and chassis, and of course, some engines. Most everything is made by third party outfits. The OEM dealers get to mark up the parts and resell. You could get the same Eaton, Merritor, Bendix, Haldex, or whatever brand that the part is manufactured by, at numerous parts suppliers at a lower cost. You just don't have the truck OEM brand label on the box. And regarding engines like Cat, Cummins, and Detroit, you can have various locations compete in pricing for components. For instance, I can get a camshaft from a local Peterbilt dealer for a lot less than going direct to Cummins (had to do that recently). Some other parts I can get less at the International dealer. Sometimes can get a good deal on a part from the Freightliner dealer. Most times, I get components or parts from non dealer suppliers. Heck, I have made some pretty good deals on places like Ebay for non critical items like mudflap hangers, lights, etc. A while back I got some stainless steel mudflap hangers thru an Ebay seller, brand new, for less than the standard painted steel ones at the dealer. Identical OEM design manufactured by the supplier that provides them to the truck manufacturer.

I suppose one would live in their comfort zone by going to the dealer all the time. Nothing wrong with that. I am just a bean counting fool. I like the ability to purchase real components (not cheap knock offs) at a broad range of locations so that I can get the best pricing. If I am tied to an OEM engine and such, it severely limits the options. And truth be told, the truck OEM's make very, very little of any components themselves. Almost everything is out sourced. Even Ford does not make the valves for their engines, for instance (have hauled a lot of valves out of Kearney, NE going to the Ford Cleveland engine plant). And not sure about the DD15, but John Deere made all the Series 60 blocks for Detroit Diesel (I hauled a lot of those). Most times, the companies that make components for the various OEM's usually have the same items available under their own name, and usually at lower cost.

The dealerships are not always a bad thing, but most times, you can do better elsewhere. And you can improve your odds by staying away form OEM specific components. I guess that is why I never considered anything other than a Cat, Cummins, or Detroit engine for example. They can be worked on by just about every shop and parts are readily available in most cases.