Pete vs KW!

I guess this will always be the great trucker debate. Like Chevy vs. Fords... then you have the dodge guys chiming in. I drive a dodge btw so no wadded panties...

Pete's have that great classic american trucker style. KW's still hold it too. Both are made by Paccar which I'm sure everyone knows by now. So if you think they haven't married their parts manufacturers by now you're crazy. No the parts aren't exactly the same, but I'm pretty sure you can trace them back to the same sources.

Everything comes down to personal preference. You can get the same motors, trannys, gearing, wheelbases, power options, blah blah blah. If you like the interior, the 8 bag on the rear of a KW.. and how it rides go for it. If you like the insides of the pete and low air leaf.. go for it. One day you're going to have to work on both and both are going to come apart eventually. Same as a shaker, volvo, mack, international, isuzu, dodge neon.. whatever you drive its going to need a wrench eventually. Yeah they don't get the best mpg. But you can squeeze decent out of them. Plus this will either be your home.. or home away from home. So go with what makes you happiest. More often than not, most people will take better care of something they are proud of.

Resale on a 379 is great. W9's fall right behind. I've driven the wheels off of 379's literally (there's pictures here somewhere) and I still love em. Drove a W9 for awhile and it was ok too.

This really isn't a answer to any ones question I guess. Just what I took out of driving these trucks over the years. On that note, my next may be another W9. Going to look at one in a hour or so.

 

You don't say if you are buying or going to be a company driver.

If you are going to be a company driver and have a notion you that you will have a choice in what truck you are going to drive I think your expectations are lofty at best.

If you are buying there is more to it than what it looks like. Insurance, fuel, repairs, what kind of money you will spend and what you get. Chrome don't get ya home.

 

But think about how good it'll look behind the hook!

 

I own a 2001 Classic XL, since new. Truck has 900000 miles, and i had 1 breakdown in 7 1/2 years (rear diff gave up in Texas).
Throw-away, maybe....but its paid for, and still running strong

 

Own by Paccar true.....but far from ever being the same.

Problem with this question is everyone has their opinion.

I'd never own another Petercrap in my life.

It's a KW W900

 

neither, my 04 shaker takes the cake.

 

Check the resale prices, Paccar products are way better than the others. Also you see a lot more older Petes and KW's out there on the road still doin' their job compared to other brands. As far as the comments about the new ones being made of plastic, I have 2 Peterbilt 379's and there is not a whole lot of plastic on either of them except for maybe the dashboard and some of the interior panels. The whole hood and cab are made of metal, not plastic. I owned 2 different KW's before and thought they were good but I have to say I like the Peterbilts better. We do almost all our own mechanic work and they are easy to work on and I have had pretty good luck as far as being very dependable

 

I have an 08 KW W900 and an 04 Classic, I'll tell you that the Classic has been a much better truck than the KW. Better fuel mileage, much less problems, in fact it has never broken down, and it's paid for. As for the KW, I'd like to set it on fire.

As far as I'm concerned all trucks are just an engine and a chassis, and they are just a tool to make money. I don't buy the argument that one brand lasts longer or is better than the other, or that Petes and KW's are better than any other brand. As long as you take care of them, any truck can be a good dependable truck. The best truck is one that makes you money and costs you the least.

And you are a rookie and you are only interested in driving Petes or KW's? All I can say is good luck, you seem to have high expectations for a rookie. What you should be thinking about is finding a job where you can make decent money, not what truck you can look cool in. Most of us when we were rookies drove whatever p.o.s. truck we were given and were grateful just to have a job.

 

What engines are you running in your FL and KW? I imagine a DD 14.0L in your XL and a CAT C15 ACERT in your W9...I would much rather have an '04 S60 than an '08 C15.

My family's company runs an '01 KW T2000 Detroit S60 550, an '08 Pete 387 Cummins ISX 515, and an '09 KW T2000 Cummins ISX 550...the '01 non-EGR Detroit blows the other two out of the water...but fortunately the mountains hide the fuel ecomony factor enough that it doesn't matter.

 

C15 CAT in both. The new C15's are junk, can't get good fuel economy out of them.