Who are the best truck manufacturers?

As strange as it may seem I was not attacking Freightliner either. What I was doing was trying to get across the point that when you compare equipment from one era to another you must account for everything. Money must be adjusted for inflation and the costs of goods and services must be taken into account. I can if I desired take equipment from the 60s and show most all the negatives from them. I can also do this for today's trucks. The CAFE Standards set up in 1975 has mandated changes to vehicles to bring about these MPG goals. This has caused these trucks to not be made as solid as they once were. Then come the rise in fuel prices. The old days are gone. However just because these new trucks get more MPG then the old trucks did does not mean they are better.

 

The answer is so easy!
TONKA!

 

In 17 years of driving, I've driven a Ford L8000, a 95 CH Mack, a 2007 IH 9200, Freightliner Classic, two Pete 379's, 3 KW w900's and two Western Star 4900's.

Hands down the Western Star is my favorite. The room in the cab, the ride, the visibility, and the overall toughness of the truck. Nothing else comes close. I'm not saying the others are bad (well except the Ford L8000, that thing was Satan in truck form), but the Star seems to be working the best for what I'm doing.

If I were running OTR, I'd highly consider a W900 aerocab flattop. I drove one for a couple short trips and loved it. That or a 4900ex Western Star. Nothing else.

Peterbilt 379's- would never own one, and I hate driving them. Not that they are junk, or bad trucks, but I just don't like them. Every one I've driven gave me back aches for a week. I don't like the cab layout, there's no room. They're kind of like Ford Mustangs. Everyone seems to have one, and seems to think it's the best thing ever. But there's only so much you can do to make one look different from the rest. There's so many 379's out on the road, and no matter what one does to them, they all look alike.

The Freightliners classic was the last of the tough trucks Freightliner built. The company I work for still has a few, all have over a million miles, and they are still tight, rattle free trucks. Just solid old iron.

But as others have said, really the cab and frame is all that's different between truck manufacturers. It's all a matter of what quirks one can tolerate that makes a truck 'the best'

 

Peterbilt.
Gotta have a hood.
Nuff said.

 

For value and reliability you can't beat a 1963 Studebaker 8E tractor with a 4/53 Detroit, 5 speed and a 2 speed rear. Clearly a leader in the baby 8 class.

 

Does a 3406 b is the same as caterpillar? What year r these?

 

NEW truck is the best that you can get. Choose the brand that you can easy repair anywere

 

Here is the best truck ever produced. It was self driving back in 86

 

All I know is I am sitting in a freight liner right now.

 

WTF the Crapcadia has the smallest mirrors in the industry. Not only are they the worst they are the smallest. Go out and measure them they are about 20% smaller then the Paccar.

Secondly, the Detroit has always been a slow rev and slow takeoff. So much so when they came out with the DD16 the claimed they solved the problem with the series 60 slow take off and rev. Then when the DD15 came out they said the same thing.

Again WTF, trucks have gotten nothing but heavier not lighter. The plastic trucks have been heavier then the classic Petes, KW, and Freightliners. If you would have driven them, or been around when the plastic came out you would know that.

And of course I disagree with this. Most of this ridiculously high milage people quote are just people not realizing the MPG readout on the dash is overly optimistic. A good lie used to market trucks.

Sure fuel economy has increased from the old two-stroke days but not as much as you lead people to believe, and it certainly isn't because their is more plastic on our trucks.