Companies With all Peterbilt Fleets

Smith Transportation black 379's. Although US Express just bought half the company. Maybe a good time to buy from them. 379 pete's are the best riding trucks on the road hands down. As far as the rest of it,well I dont spend much time in the bunk to worry about the space thing.

 

Not in my experience.

This 379 wasn't even in the same league as the KW.

 

Love that ol' KW. A 8 bag on the rear of a KW can give a pete's low air leaf a run for its money on the ride. They're both comfortable. Was hard to get used to the lean of a kw after running a petermobile though.

 

If you're looking to buy a truck, finding out what fleets have Pete's isn't going to help you much. You don't call up a company and say "I want to buy one of your trucks." It doesn't work that way.

As someone alluded to earlier, most fleets lease their trucks from their dealer and turn them in at a predetermined time. Your best bet is to check out truckpaper or Arrow truck sales. Also Freightliner SelecTrucks (they sell all makes of used trucks). I know on truckpaper they have zillions of trucks all across the country of every make and model. It'll take a while to find one exactly in your price range, with the options you want, in an area you want to buy it in. If your thinking of doing all this in a couple years, won't hurt you to start trolling these sites now and methodically looking for that "one true love."

I know how it is to want a truck for restoration or driving that it seems others hate. Sure there are Pete haters out there, but I'm an old-school cabover guy. Many more people hate those things, but I'm fixin' to start driving a '97 Freightliner COE Tuesday on my first trip in it and couldn't be happier. Cabovers are my favorite, and this one is in great shape (350,000 original miles).

You might also google Large Car Magazine. Lots of neat pictures and info's on all types of "hoods" and cabovers. The old school large cars.

Good luck. If I were going to restore though, I'd be looking for a 70's model, but hey, its up to you.

 

Anything will ride like crap pulling a tank. I do agree that Pete's are over rated. The perfect truck hasn't been built yet.

 

Even empty it sucked.

 

Oh Crap! This is MY kind of topic! Shucks I'll even try to quote some of these as 'I'm agoina have me sum fun!' ROFL!

Believe it or not I had applied to CTI in Springfield, MO years ago and they are a full Peterbuilt company,but standing around up front one day, the guys were complaining about pay and I told them to go up the road to another company and one asked what they drove to get paid 39cpm and when I said FL he goes "If it ain't a Pete I aint driving it!" and him all of 25 years old! CTI was only payng 30 a mile then!

STOP IT! YER KILLING ME!

Of course it hasnt. What engineer will listen to the guys driving them?

Me I do like a Pete. I've driven enough in my 30+ years on the road that that is my favorite truck to drive!
I've done KW9's and 600's and while roomy and just as smooth a ride I need to haul heavy loads without having to have an overweight permit just to be MT! I also being of the short armed body build I hated having to get out of the seat just to flip a switch on the dash!
Volvos? Did they ever get the steering mounted where it was actually sitting in front of you and not off to the side? Not to mention you couldn't even put your load locks in the side box! (I'll be getting to FL in a minute!)I had to buy a new set of fitted sheets to fit the smaller that normal mattress!
International. To tell the truth was a GREAT hooded truck! It just rode a little heavy and yes like the KW a tad bit heavy but more on the steers.
Freightliner. POS! And everyone wants one!
Cabovers? when I got in my first "hood" in 79 I never looked back! Heck I can't even remember how to climb up the side of one and I'm getting where I wouldn't want to anyway!
But going to a fleet to try to buy is kinda silly as you want to restore not rebuild from a parade of "It ain't my truck so I don't care" drivers do you? Look for an O/O thats selling or look in the mags and ask drivers if they've seen any older trucks parked by a barn!
and thats MY 2 cents worth!

 

Is this another newbie who only wants to drive a Pete? If you are not my apppologies, I just assumed that you were.

You should be happy to just have a decent paying job especially right now the way jobs are so scarce. People today want to start out at the top, when I started working I started at the very bottom hand bombing trailers, then shunting trailers, then driving an old p.o.s Astro cabover that didn't even have power steering or A/C. When I wanted to drive a fancy truck I had to buy it. I paid my dues in this industry as did many others on here, maybe you should do the same before thinking about starting at the top of the line.

 

Take it from someone that drove everything from a 4070 IH COE with a Rubberblock suspension in it to a Brand new 379. Guess which one rode the worse the COE second worse was my PETE. Best ride I got wass that 98 Century midroof followed by her sister the Condo. Weakest truck was the Freaking PETE truck that spent the most time in the shop PETE either that truck was built on a Friday or Monday because in the first 100K miles I lost both front hubs 2 times the Drivers exhaust FELL THE F OFF the side of the truck at speed. The roof faring tried to take it and the sleeper with it with my teamate in it. The hood fell on a shop when the pins mounting it broke not to mention Electrical and water leaks out the WAZOO.

That isn't the worst thing it did suckers at Pete left the Fifth Wheel loose and it snapped off I thought crap like that was supposed to be caught in PRE DELIVERY CHECKS.

 

Been doin it for awhile, so I guess I could say been there done that, but still learnin something new everyday!!!!!