Opinions on a truck I'm looking at

That looks like a money maker and it might be a 14L if it’s really 550 hp. dont think they factory rated the 12.7 that high. Might have been a CA hay truck by the looks of it. Those old Detroit’s were good motors. Probably the best they ever made.

 

I would just sell it and pay cash for something if possible but that’s just me. Penske goes through their lease returns pretty thoroughly so it’s “front line ready” but you’ll pay top dollar for anything they are selling. I know you don’t want to hear it but that Shaker for $30k is what I’d be looking at. Yeah you may have to do some work to get it perfect but not having that emissions junk on it would be saving you a lot of potential trouble. I’ve had Volvos and newer shakers de-rate down to 5 mph on me when the emissions system decided to go on coffee break. And with the relatively light duty you’d be using it for it would not be putting a lot of stress on anything.

 

I’d be a little leery of a cascadia with that kind of mileage on it. A better idea IMO would be to shop for a truck you like and pull your current trailer with it. Then you can always upgrade to a Sun Country later. The good news is that your current truck is pretty new and low mileage and is worth quite a bit. It’s just not quite enough truck for what you are trying to do with it. A nice older 2-axle will get you a lot of extras. Air brakes, a real sleeper, more power and gears, 5th wheel that probably won’t ever wear out, heavy duty rear end, easier to get tire and mechanical service out on the road.

 

@24kHotshot , did you find something? I'm getting the sense that I will be buying a single semi before even starting with my 350. Just wondering what you were looking for, why, and if you found something..

Here is something I'm looking at nearby, a '99 FL70 with 250k miles, looks like an RV hauler. No sleeper, but the rear seat folds..

 

Gotcha thanks. I'll go back to my thread, I think you posted to it. Need to change trailer or truck, and it's looking like both will get swapped soon enough, starting with the truck.. Can't decide if I should 'upgrade' to a 550 or just jump into the single semi right away. Seems like the inevitable conclusion..

 

Thank you, I need the extra push