Small Biz Owners: Buying New Semi Trucks

Any of you small guys on here own newer semis from the last 3 years?

What motor/trans do you have and have you had issues with it? Emissions more than anything.

Currently looking at Kenworth T880 With 500hp cummins and 18sp automatic eaton with disc brakes all the way around.

Not big on automatics but all the guys that come in for interviews now can't drive 13 or 18 sticks.

Also curious on how the disc brakes hold up over extended timeframes.

Let me know what you have and how it's held up.

thanks

 

Not a business owner but been a mechanic in this big truck world for 7yrs now... The fleet I work for is made up of new macks, lots of issues with SCR, however slowly but surely I'm starting to narrow that down to being caused more by other people touching shit they shouldn't have. I can't comment on cummins but the company that does our towing swears they don't tow a cummins very often.

I used to work for international and that Eaton automatic is terrible, it's a very jerky transmission, very hard to get rolling smoothly either forward or backwards, every customer that had one wished they didn't have it.

Disc brakes are the shit, they stop fantastic and at 100,000 miles don't even look like they have been used yet. Be aware that the rotor is built into the hub so when time comes to do brakes it gets pretty expensive.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

If you wouldn't get the eaton trans, then it would be an allison I assume?

 

Yup, Allison is a much better option. What does your company haul?

 

Not first hand knowledge but my best friend last year bought a used 2015 Pete 389 with the Paccar mx13 engine. I asked him why that engine over a Cummins or Detroit and he said that the mx13 is a workhorse in Europe, its built by DAF.

Also mentioned one of the big american powerplant manufacturers have had nothing but problems since switching production to China. Forgot who that is...

Dont know how much weight it holds, but hes happy, he likes it a lot compared to a Volvo D13 he drove for 2 years before that.

Furthermore we were discussing getting me to drive a truck and he said i'd love to drive a Freighliner Cascadia. He knows my penchant for fuel mileage and said id suit me the best. Its the industry leader in fuel mileage and its a reliable work horse.

 

The Allison trans is a big upcharge over the Eaton. The Eaton will get much better fuel mileage than a Allison. The only application where I'd rather have the Allison is in a dump truck doing paving or maybe in a roll off.

Disc brakes are pretty awesome. They work great and last a really long time. They cost more to buy and to replace but I think it's worth it.

For most applications I'd get an MX13 over the ISX. They cost less and usually get better fuel mileage.

What's the application? What do you haul and how many miles do you put on your trucks before you get rid of them? Where do you run?

I work for a Kenworth store, been dealing with them for the past 12 years.

 

Unless you are doing heavy haul an 18sp is a waste of money. If your drivers can't drive a 13 or 18 teach them. I learned how to drive an 18 manual in an afternoon. I actually needed it, i did heavy haul up to #102,000 (sometimes #122,000) and needed the half gears. A few years ago i worked for a company that upgraded most of their fleet with glider kits. They saved some money and it was nice not having to deal with SCR and DEF. We were in Texas so that might not be an option if you run a lot of north east or Cali. here is a pic of the glider i got, it was a Fitzgerald kit with a 500hp detriot and a rebuilt Eaton 10spd.

 

Vac Tankers and Box Vans loaded with drums of oil.

Most of these guys that come in for interviews can't drive a stick worth a shit and we're growing pretty quickly right now.

Me and my small core guys are good on 13speeds but we are getting a new truck and I figure its good to have 1 auto in the fleet.

We get a lot of city traffic so it will be nice.

Most of our runs are within 150 miles of Detroit.

 

We keep our trucks for a long time. Usually 20 yrs. Mostly local stuff to Detroit. Haul heavy tankers and 53'ers of drums of oil/paint etc. We deal in liquid chemical wastes from all the factories around here.

Our whole fleet is Kenworth T800s with 13speed eatons and 400 horse cats. We have 1 with a cummins N14 in it. Great motors all of them.

I see some of the Caterpillar semis running around the area now. Sharp looking trucks, but I think we want to stick with Kenworths so the fleet isn't all mismatched.

 

Sharp rig.

I've heard from a couple guys that Glider kits are done after this year.
I don't want to deal with the DEF and storing it, etc. but there are a few truck stops in the area you can fill up your DEF tank right at the pump. Plus these new T880s are a really nice improvement over what we have.

 

I used to manage the west coast warehouse of a nation wide moving company. Took me about 8 minutes in the back lot by myself to learn how to drive an 18sp good enough to go down the road. Its absurdly easy, for the basics at least. Actually being good at it, that takes some skill. Anyone applying to be a truck driver that can't drive stick is NOT A TRUCK DRIVER and you don't want them. F'in kids these days.....

 

What ever you are looking at, if it had a Cummins in it. Get me the engine serial number and let me see if the fuel pump recall/update has ever been done. Big problems with the fuel pump plungers breaking and trashing engines by send porcelain through the oil system.


I work at a Freightliner dealer so I can run what ever you need on the engines as we are also a Cat,Cummins, DD, dealer. Let me know if I can help.

 

I used to drive a stick, enjoyed driving a stick, would still be driving a stick if I hadn't hurt my left knee, and I'M STILL A TRUCK DRIVER.

Now, one thing to consider with buying new trucks is the mandatory electronic data logs law. I heard a rumor that the older trucks that will be grandfathered and not have to go with EDL's will see an increase in their value.

 

One more thing, being a truck driver is not about your ability to drive a stick. Being a truck driver is about your ability to be away from your family for extended periods of time.

The rest is easy. You just drive.

 

Yea, I don't see that hopping. Edl will still be mandatory. Everyone thought to have edl you needed a truck new enough to have j1939 data link for the edl to work. But it has nothing to do with that. It's more just a computer you punch a number into and go. If you drive over your limit it records that and company gets a report and then when dot checks your busted. Lol
Damn dot.

 

And alley dock.

 

F'n Dollar General driving.

 

^^ That almost looks like a place I used to deliver to near O'Hare. And Dollar General sucked to deliver to.

 

Picture is in Philly somewhere. Newer DG's were OK, but the older stores were the ones that sucked.

 

Yeah let him know so we can build you one.