Help! Best Truck/engine for $30000??????

I've owned trucks for 15 years and my advise is get what you want. Don't buy a truck that has that ONE thing you hate and try to convert out later. It's cheaper to buy a truck speced out the way you want and repair it than it is to buy one you don't want then try to MAKE it what you want. If it has the wrong, gear ratio, trans, sleeper, no APU (If you want one). It's CHEAPER to spend a little extra for what you want now.
BTW this thread has a lot of GOOD advise!!!!!

 

wind noise seems just bizarre on the freights, even today their top notch daycabs on which I just personally drove 1 1400 miles. what might call road static, wind shear sounds, body vibration, all there all over again ... the previous model,(2006)around 55mph the mirrors would start that vibrating tremor, then the doors would kinda slightly warp or pull away from the cab body near the top, and with a cross wind? guess understand the fleece for drafts at that point

 

I ran with no antenna on the drivers side for the longest time. When I went to NJ, I put a pair of Francis Antenna's on. Talk about an annoying howl now.

So it has to do with the antenna.

 

dirthauler they dont make the truck i want so i have to build it....i have a 96 classic i am redoing. got a 12.7 detroit with a 99 ecm upgrade low pro 22.5 and a ten speed. when done it will be putting out about 700 horses with a 6 and 4 two stick NO APU i idle it cost less to me. 24 hours straigh idle only use 20 bucks in fuel. all the maintance and fuel the apu uses and more to break.

To the OP get what you will be happy with. You will most likly not find the truck you want right off the bat. one may have the motor one the tranny one the apu one the rears one the body. get as close to what you want and go from there. enless you can afford to order a brand new truck with what you want on it. as for the question about high milage. do you know whats grear about buying a truck with 700,000 miles. the stupid problems have been fixed. faulty designes in the original part replaced. rebuilds most of the time done. if you can find a truck with those miles and a fresh inframe at a good price your getting a good start.

 

Anytime that I am looking to purchase another truck, I have a list of things that I must have and other things that I would prefer. There are specifications which I am willing to compromise on and other issues which I won't compromise. Unless you spec a truck from the factory, it is doubtful that you will find a truck that has everything that you want. If I can find a truck that has everything that is on my must list and I can get a good deal on the truck, then I will buy it. I prefer a CAT engine, but would consider Cummins or Detroit, providing the truck had everything else that I wanted and could be purchased at a good price. I may prefer a 13 or 18 speed transmission, but would buy a 10 speed as long as the price was right and the truck had everything else that I wanted. Unless you are doing heavy haul, you don't need an 18 tranny. A 10 speed will do well with most otr applications. I may also have my preferences for a brand, but you can pay a premium for Paccar products, for instance. Most trucks have the same engines and transmissions. The main difference between brands is the aesthetics, such as the cabin and appearance. I have a couple of friends who won't buy anything but Peterbilt. They like the classic look of the 379. They are willing to pay a premium for the brand. I am not.

 

I've heard some Century and Columbia drivers say that they removed the factory visor and installed clearance lights from the Cascadia and it eliminated most of the wind noise. I know my 06 had a lot of noise but it was a company truck so I never tried it.

 

He seems to be the "Haney" of Detroits around here. Best thing an operator can do is get their truck properly tuned in. With regards to the overhead, that's a good practice every year or 100K miles, whichever comes first. Some guys say 150K.. Some say more, I think manufacturers recomend longer intervals on that. The thing is the valves tighten up over time and it's hard on the drivetrain causing pre-mature failures. That is a fact. It's not the same as extending oil drains... The key is to always have the same mechanic running your overhead if you're not doing it yourself. Someone that is smart and can be trusted to spot potential other trouble when they've got those valve covers off. It's cheap insurance and cost about 3 hours labor at most shops, big shops with $100 rates usually do it for $300-$350, that's about right.. Independents wil;l normally do it for half that rate.. regardless what interval you decide it's just good "routine maintinence" practice.. And a lot of guys who buy these 500K miles fleet trucks don;t even reralize, fleets never run overheads, they only pull a valve cover off if there's a problem.. If you've got a fleet truck with 500K+ and it's never been done it really ought to be on the top of the to-do list...

 

sorry should say since '08. But they also made "386's" and "387's"