T680 First Impressions - and what's up with the w900??

Well bergy I wish you all the luck in the world--and the more you research and study and ask the better off you will be--and of course the more people you ask the more answers you will get and you will have to use your own filtering devices to see which answers are genuine--
So here is an answer to start with IMHO--up your 6month for someone else closer to the 2 year mark--6 just isnt long enough

 

I guess only time will tell about future offerings of hood units like the KW W900 or the Pete 389.

When I said lease, I meant exactly what you are planning on doing...leasing your equipment on at a carrier before taking the big leap with your own authority. Heck, before jumping right in, it makes good sense to run for that operation as a company driver while keeping track of EVERY expense and treating the truck like it was your own. Fill out all the paperwork as if you were responsible for the record keeping...A lot of people will bust on OOIDA (sometimes for very legitimate reasons), but I must say that having them help me set up my authority saved a lot of time and aggravation. The paperwork they provide is a good basis to start from as far as your record keeping is concerned. Also, I use Quikbooks online for the accounting aspect...not that you have to, but from whatever business your in right now, realize it's nice to have access to something cloud based so you can enter receipts while on the road, do invoicing, etc., right from the cab of the truck.

Just some food for thought.

 

I never was a KW fan but if I had to chose one it would either be one of the old t600's or a t660. The w900 really isn't any different than a t600, just a bigger hood and some with the optional studio sleepers but same basic overall concept. The t2000 and newer models excluding the t660 basically look like pure #### and being that I like petes but not enough to own one, I'm disappointed with them as their newer model trucks look just like the new t680s and such and at a glance with little attention they both pretty much look just alike. Marten tried to give me a 387 and when I got it and got in, I was truly disappointed with it inside and out and ended up trading trucks with another guy in orientation for a FL Columbia that he didn't want so we both came out happy. But thats just my opinion on the KW. I had a t660 once. Wasn't bad, problem was the cramped cab space. I'm 6'0" 210 and at times it tended to be a PITA trying to fit between the seats and get my winter gear off after securing and tarping a load and not getting my comforter dirty plus no room to stand up freelyin the front or store anything overhead up front like extra trip sheets and logbooks as the only cabnet and storage was a single set of cabnets and selves behind both seats. I don't like the petes for the same reason. Cramped space.

 

I hope you can extend your patience because this industry will test it to the limits and beyond pretty often.

 

One thing to keep in mind and this is a biggie. When you first saw the truck it looked big on the inside but after a couple months living in it that space will grow smaller each day and it won't seem so big anymore. Eventually after long enough that space will feel like you are cramped in a one cubic foot box and thats with any truck but one of many reasons I like the freightliner is because of the room so that one cubic foot box feeling leads up to about 2-3 bigger even though it still happens so its not as bad.

 

I don't see it happening, but it would suck though if I was made to buy a new truck it would be a w9 or 389 Pete. I don't like aero trucks