Swift's Cascadia or VN670?

i would suggest getting your cdl first. then go out with a swift mentor and pass that. once you go solo, they'll give you a truck. hopefully it runs good and evrything works. that way you dont spend time at terminal waiting for shop repairs. in the time you spend learning the business side of driving, i'm sure swift will issue you differant trucks since they switch out truck every 500,000 miles. that way you can deecid which truck "you" like.me personally, i like kenworth,cascadia,international,and volvo the least. never drove a peterbult,so cant give my opinion. good luck . btw... i have no problem dumping my airbags on this prostar

 

I've had the best luck with Volvo's. They seem to be the most reliable.
They also have better sun visors, which is nice when the sun is going up or down. Better mirrors as well.
But they lack the room of a Cascadia or ProStar.

I've never been in the bigger one, though.

If the ProStar was more reliable it would be my first choice, followed by the Cascadia.
Both because of the extra bunk and storage space. And the storage space issue is only because the new Volvo's don't come equipped with the nice overhead cabinets anymore.

I got the best fuel mileage with the Cascadia with the DD15, followed by the ProStar with a Cummins.
The Volvo's don't seem to measure up in that area, even with the same Cummins engine. And I think they are lighter than the ProStar.

The ProStar seems harder to back a trailer with than the others, the Cascadia the easiest.

12V sockets are another consideration.
The bunk half of the Volvo seems to be a bit weak on power from time to time, especially when using the main overhead lights.
I think the Cascadia was the best for 12V socket performance.

I've had 4 Volvo's, 1 ProStar and 1 Cascadia.
I had the Cascadia for about a month before it was transferred to a team. It lacked the storage of the ProStar or earlier Volvo's I had, but was a sweet ride.
The ProStar had everything I wanted, except reliability. I had it for 6 months, of which it was in the shop a total of 6 weeks for various problems.

Of the Volvo's...
I had older ones until my current ride, I got it new. They had their many problems.
I'm now driving a 2013, and it has been the best of all.
This truck is so reliable that I don't even mind when I have to bring it in to a shop. It has been so very rare.

I can put up with the shorter bunk and less storage space - as long as I can drive without worry of a breakdown.

There are so many considerations to deal with when choosing a truck to live in and work with.

 

Something not mentioned is the lack of room in a VN670 Volvo for a tall person. I'm only 5'10" and I could touch both sides of the sleeper with my head and toes when stretched out in the bunk of a Volvo VN670. I've talked with a couple of taller (over 6'0") drivers who told me they had to sleep cross-wise in a Volvo.

My Cascadia is ROOMY!

 

I am kinda partial to my Studio.

 

Since joining Swift a year and a half ago I've been in 10 trucks (yes, you read that right). Most have been Cascadias, which are roomy inside but only have a TINY side box for tools and truck supplies; a couple of KW T900's with the Studio Sleeper (which I hated because there's NO head room in the "work" area and it's a major PITA to get in and out of the sleeper area to the "work" area); and a couple of KW T680's.

Of all the trucks I've driven with Swift and before Swift I like the T680 hand's down. It's roomy like the Cascadia, with plenty of head room and a slightly wider bottom bunk. It has two side boxes that access clear through under the bunk for storing broom handles and plenty of tools, fluids, extra chains, air hoses, etc. etc. It is very stable driving in slick conditions and the turning radius is almost as good as the Cascadia. I also really like the way the gauges are laid out, with nothing that gets hidden behind a cup in the cup holder (read: Cascadia hides the jake brake settings behind your coffee cup) or where you could accidentally pop the air brakes by taking your cup out of the cup holder (read: T900 almost popped the air brakes on the freeway).

If I were to purchase a new(er) truck I'd go for a T680, maybe with an extended cab.

 

I'm at Swift academy right now, and our instructor told us that you can pick whatever truck you want as long as its white with a big S on the side. If you're lucky, you might get to choose the make. Depends on what's available.

 

Just wondering does swift have any automatics?

 

They used to have a few. I don't know if they still do. Getting one would be luck of the draw (or bad luck depending on your point of view).