How old can the trucks be?

It all depends on the company. Some have age limits, others don't care as long as the truck is clean and passes a DOT inspection, it can pretty much be any age.

 

Something else that will most likely come into play is states like California. There is no restriction on tractors at this point, but if they get their way, reefers will have to be 2002 or newer by 2008, and each year following that will require the reefer to be one year new. So by 2009, the reefer would have to be a 2003 or newer. Reason or "excuse" for this is emissions.

In addition to that, California is looking to close the port areas of Los Angeles and Long Beach off completely from Owner-Operators, due to emissions reasons. This is being debated, and most likely we will see it eventually result in trucks having to be a certain age or newer, which will block access to many owner-operators.

The push for things like this has been getting stronger and stronger for the past few years and it is becoming very close to a reality. The company I used to driver for did nothing but make runs to Californa and back to Texas every week. They have seen the writing on the wall with this stuff, and the insane cost of running in California and have adjusted their freight lanes to where they haven't gone into California now in over a year and are running soley in the Southeast.

 

And people where I live wonder why people are relocating from California to southern NM in droves. $250k here buys you a lot more house than it does in California.

 

Where are you finding these $250k houses in ca. Good luck making that livable.

 

I would say an 83 or 84 year model 359 Peterbilt. These trucks still have that "old school" appeal and look and it is still relatively easy to find parts for these trucks. I myself would love to restore a 359 one of these days.