Glider kit vs New truck

I agree. People worry way too much about elections and who gets elected. It is a concern but should not stop you from moving forward.

CARB is not a "what-if" but something that is a given. And to not ask how this could impact your business is what is goofy.

 

Silly thing is they have figured out what the issues are with '07-'08 and can get it fixed.

 

I haven't traded or sold a trailer since TRU registration. Trade/sale prices are too low. Buy quite a few new ones each year and run the non CA east and increase the spotted pool with them. I'm close to dry van ratio's with reefer's now. For the price it's cut down trucks time quite a bit.

 

They don't have the problems they had when new,just hard to justify trade prices. Had a couple bite it and trade for new,mileage made up the loss.

 

Yup took the multi national jerks caterpillar 4 years, it runs now. But it's worthless for resale! I wouldn't call it silly , more like criminal .

 

The problem with this logic, same as with the tree huggers passing all these regs, is that you're assuming CA is a market I'm interested in. It's not. When I renewed my IRP I dropped everything West of I-35. It was a broader business decision where CARB restrictions supported it but weren't the exclusive reason. Not ruling it completely out - if someone waves enough money in front of me, I might be encouraged to add some newer, compliant hardware and add some more states.

Originally I had an insurance restriction on radius that's not a concern now. However, in revising my business plan, it just doesn't make sense for me to expand my operation further West. I'm sure if I was based further West it would matter more to me. I agree that rates are already responsive to CARB. You practically can't buy a load going West out of TX or OK now. It's worse than winter in FL. And just not my problem at the moment.

Back on topic, if I was thinking about a new truck I'd definitely be getting quotes on a glider. It would be a low risk option with my current operating area.

 

Personally, I think it revolves around whether or not you have an existing engine/trans that you can put to use.

I quoted a turn key 389 glider just a month or so ago (6NZ, 18 speed), and it actually came back $13,000 HIGHER than the same spec chassis with an ISX from the factory. Bear in mind I was starting with nothing, and the price included paying for a Platinum rebuilt 6NZ at $30,000, a transmission at $8,500, and $8,500 to have it put together. Freightliner may be different, but Peterbilt is definitely capitalizing on the glider crowd at this point in time. The chassis alone was quoted at $97,000, and lead time was at 6 months. New truck orders still take precedent over glider orders in Denton according to my salesman.

On the other hand, one of my neighbors had a 2005 379 catch on fire that he had just rebuilt the BSX in it and converted to 6NZ specs. He bought it back from the insurance company and ordered a glider for his engine/trans that he already had. That move was definitely a no-brainer.

I can see how some of the guys that got burned on '07 emissions motors wouldn't want anything to do with the latest engines, and don't blame them a bit, but there's also guys out there (like myself) that have had nothing but good luck with them. I've put almost 400,000 miles on an '09 ISX, and have only had to put a Turbo on at 325,000 (which Cummins voluntarily paid 75% for...and I have no idea why). I'm not the slightest bit scared of the new engines...not to mention my '09 389 gets only .1 MPG less than my '01 379 with a 6NZ. Both trucks are specd with the same trans/rear end ratio and pull the same freight over the same routes.

I thought hard about a glider, did alot of research and comparison, and came to the conclusion that there was just too much that was unknown on the regulatory and resale aspects, and that the benefits of 10 year old engines are, IMHO, being over inflated by the glider crowd. Not to mention, 10 years from now, the 3406E/C15/N14/S60 will then be 20 years old, and parts availability may possibly become a problem, possibly not. If I could have had a glider built for less than the price of new, I would have considered it heavily, but in my case, that wasn't going to be possible.

One possible alternative that hasn't been mentioned here is to buy a new truck, strip the emissions equipment, keep all the parts, and have the ECM re-flashed by PDI. In the event you find yourself needing to be in compliance with emissions laws, or decide to sell the truck, put all the parts back on and flash the ECM back to stock.

 

Using you as example my friend. ****Extreme Example Warning**** If CA started giving you $4/mile rates compared to $2 our of TX, CA may be a market you would consider. But right now what are the latest reports, $2.20 to Chicago and $2.50 to IN/OH area? Not worth trading up for a legal reefer.

Overall the point being is we do not know what the impact of CARB is going to be. At one point I said it would have little impact on rates with what they did with reefers. I was wrong. WAY WRONG. I am on the fence on what I think is going to happen. At this point I am just glad my market is East of 45 for vans and most of my flats are legal.

I am very optimistic about this industry just glad I'm not buying a truck - new, used or glider - right now. We had a housing bubble. Is there such thing as a truck bubble?

 

OH, you had to bring that up. Now all the "Warranty" people will be coming. Also have not seen anyone talking about doing this the way you can with an EGR motor.

Do they not have too much integrated to make this really work well? Plus the difference with the EGR was it hurt economy. Reports of latest crop of motors is these trucks are killing it with zero mods on MPG (when not in shop).

 

A friend built a Pete glider in 2011 (ordered in 2010) and it was around $74k for the rolling glider. The same truck ordered today is around 32k more. His dealer said Pete went from building 50 a month in 2010 to 250 a month today. They've raised their prices because of the demand. So a complete Pete glider with a 6NZ was going to be around $145k. That is about the same as one off the lot with a Cummins. However to completely delete EVERYTHING off a 2013 ISX including urea and the turbo and have 700hp to the ground is about $16,000! So it's still cheaper to build a glider then it is to "fix" another truck. I guess deleted and tuned the new common rail ISX's are pretty mean!