You can't have it both "light" and "strong" . If you're going to do anything that leaves the pavement or pull heavy loads, you need "strong". If you're going to stay on the pavement running legal loads, you can get away with "light" for a while, but "light" has a shorter life expectancy than "strong" . If you're paid by the ton, and plan on trading the truck off in a few years before "light" wears out and/or breaks, then you can get away with "light" ...otherwise it'll cost you more in maintenance and repairs down the road. And that long wheel base might provide a great ride on the highway, but you'll be prone to dragging hard parts if you leave the pavement, high centering on anything hanging off the frame rails (fuel tanks, etc). 24.5 wheels may look nice, but it pretty much eliminates van work as you'll be over-height...especially if you've got a tall 5th wheel for tanker, dump, or any other "vocational" type trailer. Gear ratios in the rears are another consideration. Highway running demands one range, off-highway running demands another. If you "compromise" and pick a ratio in the middle, you'll use more fuel running down the highway and still be more prone to twisting drive shafts if you go off road...ESPECIALLY with the kind of power and torque you're considering. Transmission is another key component, making sure you have a low enough low and a high enough high gear, with proper steps between the gears suited to the loads you'll be pulling and the terrain you'll be pulling them through.
Get an idea on what you want the truck to do, THEN you think about the specs needed to do that job. Otherwise, you'll end up with a truck that is a jack of all trades and a master of none. Sure, it might do a wide variety of jobs...but it'll cost you more (fuel, maintenance, repairs) to do EVERY job compared to a truck that was properly spec'd for that specific job.
PLEASE give me your two cents....
Discussion in 'Peterbilt Forum' started by SavageSam, Jul 30, 2017.
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Also know that anything over a 290"wb from the pb factory will require a rear frame insert. They dont add much weight but it does add up. I just ordered up my 389 and shipping weight from the factory is 21,000 before fuel and all the gear I will be adding, Im guessing she will be around 23,500 by the time she is road ready.
If I was looking to do OTR/5 axle flatbed work I would spec one at 280 with a 72" bunk, 3.58 rears sense you are wanting 24.5's at least one locking diff and at least a 48" slider on the 5th wheel sense you might get into tankers. Also keep your fuel capacity to 200 gallons max. Remember less tare weight the better. The flatbed devision of my company wants trucks to be lighter then 21,500 when outfitted so they can pack at least 48,000.
But like the others have said you really need to get the type of trucking you want to do figured out first and then figure out how to built the truck.SavageSam Thanks this. -
I've got 11R24.5 tires on my truck, with a blocked 5th wheel for frameless end dumps. Pull the blocking pin out and it articulates for regular trailers...but I'm just shy of 13'9" tall when pulling a van trailer. With lo-pro 22.5's and perhaps a slightly shorter 5th wheel, I could pull vans just fine...but then the 5th wheel would be too low for tankers and I'd be way heavy on my drives before I was fully loaded.
There is no magic spec. If you have a truck that is great at one thing, it'll be miserable at another. Compromising is just that...it won't do ANYTHING well. You aren't going to find any way to spec that truck so that it DOESN'T rule out an entire segment or two of the industry.SavageSam Thanks this. -
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SavageSam Thanks this.
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My 389 is 312" and only inserted from the back of the sleeper back. Full inserts/double frame wouldnt be spec'd for a OTR truck unless its heavy haul. With the 280 you will be looking at right around 19-19.5 dry. I looked at a 4 axle shorthood that was 280 and shipped at 20,300.
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