Future of Glider Kits

I was reading in a magazine while in Dallas a while back about a shop in SC that is building kits. They said 10 years ago they were doing 10 to 15 a year and now they have on the books to do over 100 this year. They had a deal worked out with a Cat and Cummins shop to overhual a customers engine, and they would redo the tranny and rears if needed. They claim they could keep the cost down to 73% of the cost of a new truck of the same style. Most of there customers were building kits with 2004 and older motors.
They also said, and I didnt know this, that if the overall cost of a glider kit was 75% or higher of the cost of a new truck you had to pay FET on the whole cost of the truck.

 

No FET on a glider. I have a friend of mine in Kansas that has ordered 4 new Freightliner kits with reman Detroit's from the factory. The dealer will install a reman tranny when they arrive this fall. They are getting the same warranty as a new truck and a 3 year 300,000mile warranty from Detroit on the engine. They are saving around $20,000 on the price of a new truck and don't have the headaches and the BS of a new one. You don't have to worry about the EGR, the DPF and dealing with the urea tank. The trucks will be lighter and get better fuel mileage and I bet it will be less down time. They are running new ones know and have had issues with them.

 

I have been looking at the Glider deal for 3 years now. I have to get new trucks by the end of the year. I agree that gliders are the way to go, however 30% of my business is in shaky.

I have yet to figure out a way around that. If any one has any advice,other than don't go to Cali, I'm all ears.

Thank Stan

 

Thats a nice looking truck, but I'll pass. The flat top sleeper won't work for me. Plus I would have to make calls to Kurt and Bully Dog to get the thing to run better than my ACERT. Also I have been seriously considering a glider within the next 2 years (please don't tell my wife). I'm gonna get real serious next summer and have pretty much decided if I can get a Western Star Lowmax thats the way I'm gonna go. The motor is still very undecided depending on what the goverment says in the mean time.

As for the reason on buying a glider. Many reason have been listed and correct, but the FET is only waved if the final price of the glider is like 75-90% (I can't remember the exact percentage) of the purchase price of a similar make, model, and year truck. I know of a guy that just had his Pete glider finished within the past month. Great looking truck and quality workmanship in the final assembly...but he had issues with the Pete factory work and that delayed the truck about 3-4 weeks.

 

Buy 2006 ISX-es, disable EGR and hope they allow retrofit PM filters in 2014 (which they will, I think). Everyone with NOx treatment will be golden (its a condition to be allowed for retrofit)

 

Appreciate the comeback PH, But I really don't need anything as large (read fuel economy) as an ISX, ISM is my perfect motor for what we do.

I also thought that to retrofit was going to be like 14,000 dollars a truck? If that is the case I am better off just spending for new.

Local FL/STR/WS dealer says that he can put me in a nicely outfitted columbia 70 XT (we only run single axle) with ISM out door for about 75,000 or about 30,000 less than a new truck.

I read somewhere that IF you were only three trucks or less you can get an extension till 2015? I run six trucks, maybe I need to split the fleet?

What's the word on the left coast, they already backed this up a year, any chance it goes away?

Thanks Stan

 

My son built his '06 379 glider with a C-15 600 HP and a big 18 speed with the HD driveline for $105,000.....the engine alone was $20K so he could have built it much cheaper.

It was wired for a 70 pin connector but he rewired it for his pre-emission 2000 engine...

 

Peterbilt in Bossier had a glider this morning. Was not there in the afternoon according to my driver.

 

Can any member explain to me the advantage of a 12.7 Detroit versus a 14.0L in a glider?? I browse the classifieds a lot and see more dealers are starting to offer the 14.0L rather than the 12.7 in freightliner glider kits. I am curious as to why??

Thanks,
KH

 

14.0L is the post Oct '02 engine with the egr nonsense. 12.7L is the pre-emissions motor.