How Many Miles Is Too Many When Buying A Truck?

Sooner or later we all are gonna be ELD so its not gonna matter anyway. The oilfield regulations are a little bit different than OTR on HOS. Read the regulations under 395.1 in FMCSA.

 

Keep shopping around, you can find a steal for that price. You may have to travel a little bit. That kind of mileage doesn't always mean a beat up truck. As the the posters said, it depends on the owner. I've driven 800,000 mile trucks that drive better than 400,000 mile trucks

 

Yes I like Kw and Petes.. seems to be the majority of what’s driven out there

 

I would actually say the majority is Freightliners. They have the cheaper parts among the major brands, and you don't always have to rely on the dealer. For quick fixes, you can get parts at TA or Petro. Style wise, and to a degree power-wise, a lot buyers look to Petes and KWs.

 

The majority is kw and pete for the dirt roads. FL can't hold up nor is designed for such abuse.

I"m not too fond of kw these days though. While they can take a beating if spec'd properly. The hoods don't hold up worth a crap.

Someone else started a thread about the oil field. Might read up on his story.

While it looks like a good time. If you break down. You'll be on extended vacations of weeks instead of days. There's very limited resources for repairs. And what little there is. Is backlogged.

I tried to get a speedo sensor replaced. It was 2 weeks wait if i supplied the part. 1 month if they had to order it.

 

Depends, is it 800k miles of oilfield work, or 1.3 of OTR work. Don't be afraid of buying a truck with a lot of miles on it, 1 million miles is not a lot of miles for an older pre emissions truck, I've seen a more than a few with over 2 on them.

 

A lot depends on the care the truck was given.
Know trucks with 2 million running strong, others with 500k and ready for the scrap pile.

 

@DevJohnson

What MODEL KW or Pete are you looking at? As others have mentioned, oilfield will beat the CRAP out of your truck.

I made the mistake of buying an '06 KW T2000. I wish I hadn't. That's an aero, plastic truck. In addition to plastic parts cracking the steel parts aren't built with thick enough steel. I just bought a complete set of brackets for my exhaust system and battery box. Why? Because I can bend those 1/8" to 3/8" brackets with my hand.

Look for models that are more solidly build, then look for those same models that were driven OTR. That's the sweet spot. DON'T buy a model that was INTENDED for OTR.

Yes, you see a LOT of cheap Century Classics, Columbia's, T2000's, and the ilk in the oil patch. It's because they are the models that dominated mega carrier fleets. You will also notice that zip ties, bungie cords, and duct tape hold them together.

Plan on running less than 10 mph for hours once you get off road. Don't get sucked into keeping up with company drivers racing along at 30+ mph on dirt. They don't pay for the equipment. A man could make good money salvaging truck parts in the Permian.

 

We’ve got a ‘94 379 Pete with 2 million and change on the clock. Wouldn’t trade it for a lot of trucks with $500k.

 

Personally I've never done oil field work. But I work for a logging company in the Northeast. If I was looking for a truck to run off highway on rough roads, it's be a western star 4900sf. Excellent ground clearance and they ride great on rough terrain. They are built for dirt roads and job site work. We have a variety but the stars seem to hold up the best by far in off-road conditions. Plus the cab room is unbelievable lol