Anyone running one of the newer Chey/GMC 4500/5500 Hd trucks?

Well looked at the 5pack today and it was pretty rough. Granted it's a 2000 so it's not a new truck but its been sitting since at least December of last year based on the plates. I was only able to look at it because the owner was working but I think it's a bit rougher than I want to mess with for an OTR truck. If I was just doing local auction stuff then maybe it'd be ok but looking at it I'd have to spend a bit of money getting it fleshed out to be a good OTR truck.,

One thing though is someone at some point added the sleeper box to it. It wasn't a factory job it was an add on which means I could do the same to one of the other 5Pack's I've seen and some of those are in much better shape judging by the pictures.

There is a guy in Miami that has 3 2006's for sale for $15k each but none had sleepers however you could tell they were in better shape looking at the pictures so maybe I'll go look at the other truck/trailer and look at those as well.

The ones in Miami have better set up with my ability to adjust the upper deck cars than the other one, they are much cleaner looking trucks but no sleepers which is problematic. They are also 10-speeds where the other was a 9.. but these have Mercedes engines and I'm not sure how good those are.

 

Dude... I'm not a person who needs to pay some company 8-12k to put a gooseneck or 5th wheel hitch on my truck and some fenders.

I'm a pretty capable person, not one of these guys that has to buy everything already built. My current truck I bought with blown head gaskets as an example.

Well, as they say, no risks no rewards but with that said, there is a lot of added stress running an older truck like mine. I mean I do it, but I'm always wondering should I run this load to here, or is it too much on the truck or if the trans will suddenly go out ect.ect.

Well, I'm mixed on him because he spends way too much money. That truck costs him a fortune because he runs coast to coast and it's just not the right way to do it with those per mile leases.

It only kept me going because I could haul cars, I'd say it better let me figure out which market I'd do better in because I could do a little of each but not be an expert at either. I now need to focus on what makes the most.

I'm up in the air on buying used again because I know all the money I had to spend on my current truck to get it dependable and I still fix little things. I've had a pesky coolant leak for a month now.. Been changing parts every time I come home but finally found it.

Starting over with another used truck and having to go through the process of bug fixing is not fun and it's also pretty stressful to be 1,5k miles from home worried if somethings gonna break. There is a reason most larger successful companies operate new trucks and the wrong older truck can put you out of business fast.

Yes I understand new trucks break as well, but it's less likely when rolling the dice..

As far as those 5 pack trucks, the only reason I'm even considering them an option is that they are barely more than what I'd be paying for a good trailer and with cars more than anything the number you can haul greatly compounds your earning potential. Me running 2x $400-600 cars into the Carolinas or down the i10 suddenly becomes $2-2,5k runs instead of $800-1,2k runs.

 

I dunno man, I've watched for these things for a while for sale and have seen some pretty good load setups on them. More than I'd have ever expected. This guy as an example knows how to load his.

With that said I dunno how much I'd trust hanging a truck/suv out on those flip outs like that. I've never liked those things. My guess is all his pics are at the same location he's not hauling them far like that. That's some significant weight to be hanging out on those little pull-outs.





I did go look at the original one I posted with the sleeper and it looked a bit too beat for me. Not something i'd feel comfortable running OTR without sinking a lot of money into it. The other ones I spoke to the guy on the phone and they are all 700k-1 million miles. No info on rebuilds or anything so I'm guessing those are probably beat too.

I'm sure I will likely go for a truck/trailer combo again but I felt it was worth checking those 5packs out for the money they were asking.

 

Yeah but you aren't taking that where there isn't a lot of room to drive.