Day cab OTR

Lighter tare could be another advantage. Especially if the loads are paid by weight.

 

Well that makes sense I guess if you're getting paid by the ton or something but I thought his question was just more generic if he could run whatever kind of regional/ otr freight with the day cab.

I mean we all run Vans and flats and skateboards and whatever else with sleeper trucks.

My Freightliner with a nice sleeper I have no problem scaling 46 to 47,000.

The most I ever pull is 45 but most are less.

That is with a van trailer.

 

I never found a daycab to be less expensive than sleepers, but that may be true in your area or what you're looking at.

The last suggestion I'll give you right now is that day cabs are generally used for local work.

So you may see them with less miles but they probably have a lot more idle time.

It's also a lot harder on the truck, in my opinion, because the truck is constantly starting and stopping. So that's harder on the clutch and the transmission and the Driveline and the steering components, and a lot of times you find the day cabs the doors wear out faster and things like that because they're getting in and out of the truck constantly.

Sleeper trucks may have more miles on them but those miles are generally highway miles that they're just rolling down the highway and it tends to be easier on things.

Myself personally I wouldn't buy something because it's a little cheaper but it makes your job a lot more difficult.

I would just want to buy it once and have the dexterity to do whatever you need to do.

Not to mention that in my opinion I think it would be much more difficult to sell a day cab than it would be to sell a sleeper if you decided you wanted to change down the road.

 

I ran day-cab Bay Area to Los Angeles 2 times a week for a couple of years. Motel at Wheeler Ridge going south and Santa Nella heading north. For a run like that, it was enjoyable for me.

 

The permits and licenses are not based on whether you have a sleeper or not. You probably will eventually want a sleeper if you don’t have a specific reason for needing a daycab. If I didn’t haul cars I would definitely have a sleeper for OTR even if I didn’t use it regularly. Other than taking a nap, sleeping in a daycab as a business plan is a terrible idea in my opinion. Staying in a hotel can be a pain if you don’t know your hotels and that takes time or other drivers to call who do know them.

 

One thing to note with used daycabs. They tend to be used harder than sleepers. For the same miles everything from the engine to transmission down to brakes has more wear and tear. There is a huge difference in 2,000 miles crossing on I80 and 2,000 driving around Boston all week.