Buying a cheap, old cabover.

My father started our Company with a new 1986 9670 eagle extended factory frame with a cummins Big Cam 400 13 speed and 411 rear with a 1986 Ravens Aluminum Flatbed, 45 x 96. To this day he regrets selling it, it would of been a show truck by now doing local runs.

To some people they are old and not worth much but to some they mean more and priceless, i appreciate seeing cab over on the roads, if you like them do it and buy one.

 

ignorant post, i bet you cant tell the difference of a new w900 KW to a late 90's model if your the average joe, especially if you take care of your things.

 

Totally incorrect about Cali. You can retrofit a DPF on an older, pre-egr truck. Google Fleet Serv or Ironman. I have quotes from both. The filter does not connect to the ecm, they run around 18K installed & certified. A retrofit will make you legal til 2024.

 

I've decide I like my job enough to do it............at the last possible moment, when I absolutely have to

 

See this is what happens when one ASSUMES. First have you ever heard of metal fatigue ? Corrosion? Electrolysis ? But guess not. Is your post the reason why most companies want a truck no more than a certain age? but that's what comes from one assuming , and thinking my post was an ignorant post. Is all a true fact . So who is standing on the short bus now? It is a fact that after the first of the year Any truck not fitted with a particulate trap, or a small fleet without a waiver and a truck older than a 2002 will not be allowed in the state of California. One guy was nailed over 100,000 for not being compliant already. Next Washington state will have same laws for the ports as California did. Opps this is spreading . And I bet within a year or two that every east coast port will have the same requirements. Then how will that old truck run with one of those retrofit filters? There goes all of that saving. Then let's talk about CVSA inspections.. Who gets pulled in for more inspections? The 90s truck or the truck built in the last 5 years. Why? Because they know that 90 s truck that you talk about is an easy ticket over a newer truck. But guess we can't talk about that. As for shippers. All they want is that load moved. That's the key word here. They want it to show up at the other end.. Not halfway. It is a true fact that everything has a lifespan.. Including a truck.. That is why you never see any OLD trucks on the road any more. And NO I'm not the average Joe. I'm a truck driver, that works on his truck .

 

I remember seeing an ad for a mid 70's Peterbilt 352 cabover a few years back. It was in excellent condition and was powered by a Detroit 318 mated to a Fuller 13 speed transmission. I can imagine it was pretty loud with that screamin' jimmy at full throttle.

 

Yeah but by the time you've spent that money on a retrofit, you've pretty much blown a down payment on a truck. And the DPF systems are already troublesome on trucks that were DESIGNED for them, I can't imagine how bad it will be adding one to a truck that was never designed for one to begin with.

Honestly, unless you survive on California inbound and outbound freight, I wouldn't bother spending that cash on a retrofit.

 

We need to have a reading class. Did I not say that you needed a particulate trap? So if you put one on your truck you will have a particulate trap on it? And the truck has to be an electronic engine of a certain age. From what I have read and talking to other truck owners., they highly recommend not to put the filter on as the horsepower and fuel economy goes down the toilet. But to get an post 2007 truck. Then wait until you regen.. You had best be on dirt or on concrete. As the regen gets well over 1200 degrees.

 

We all have seen older trucks until a few years back .. Then they just disappeared. The frames were cracking or just worn out.. Or the smoke . They just couldn't pass smog inspection any more. Those 8v71s were loud, and were a two cycle engine with exhaust valves. And burned fuel.. That's the whole word here fuel. You could run those old engines when fuel was a quarter .. But when fuel was over 2 bucks.. Then you could get a 3406e that had more power than a 3408. And better fuel economy. I used to run with a guy that had a 12 v71. And kept up with him with a E7 400 Mack . The newer engines were getting more miles to an overhaul, and now try to rebuild most older engines with new parts. You can only reman things so many times, until they have just been remaned to many times. For those 3406 A,B,and C engines.. Looking for sleeves you won't just go down to the local cat dealer and get all 6 . They will have to hunt for them. That just happened in Las Vegas a few months ago. And yes those older trucks do bring back memories.. Until you had to drive them all the time.