Shopping for pre-ELD truck: getting inspection

I started hauling new cars 9 years ago with 26 years of van, flat and very little tank hauling under my belt. I can say I will never haul anything else except new cars for a living. I may do a little sightseeing eventually with a step deck but, I will never rely on anything but new cars to earn a living. I like the consistency it provides, the revenue it provides and gets me home nearly every day. It definitely isn’t for everyone and I am glad for that.

 

The port loads are some of the easiest money I have made other than the steering wheel being on the wrong side of the car. Straight load in to Brunswick and home load out. Deadhead maybe a mile for the load out.

 

For what is worth I own two Internationals both pre emissions and pre eld truck and I would be hard pressed to buy a newer truck with emission due to high cost of repairs related to the dpf/def system. I do love the look of the classic hood trucks but I would be learly of buying one from a dealer without expecting to overhaul the expensive CAT engine within the first year or two of ownership. Most of those trucks are bought and painted and listed forsale. Experienced buyers of those trucks understand the cost of ownership and anticipate the cost of operation.

Owning old trucks means weekends are spent mostly tinkering, and turning wrenches on trucks as they are old and things will need to be replaced simply due to age and normal wear and tear.

Ask yourself do you have the tools and space to work on the truck because it will require TLC simply due to age and these small items will not be worth a shops time to fix, they wont be interested in the small time consuming jobs.

3 months into my company job I purchased a 96' International 9400 for less than $7k and had it towed home. I spent the later part of the year buying parts and installing them on the weekends during my 34hr home time. After replacing mostly everything that I could think of from alternator, starter, batteries, wires, hoses, airlines, brake lines, and even the rear end/power-divider my total parts expense was around 13k before I ever pulled my first load.

So to tally up everything I was around 20k all in when I leased to a small carrier and began working after leaving my company job. Minus very small hiccups along the way the truck has been solid and has not left me stranded beyond things that I could fix roadside hence the box of spare parts and tools under my bunk.

If you were to go this route I would do as others above have stated and look for a truck that is owned by a O/O that is getting out of the business or retiring. Something that has all of the records and receipts and someone that knows the truck from front to back and can show you everything that was replaced along with what will need to by replaced. Hire a independent mechanic and pay them to do a full inspection of said truck before you purchase. If you are able to do a dyno and oil sample even better.

 

I’d get one that’s pre electronic with ZERO. Computers .
none. With a mechanical injection pump.
A 350 big cam Cummins or a 3406 Cat with no computer.

you’re going to have to spend some money up front.
But then you will have much less problems later and the problems you do have will be Basic mechanical problems, not endless electronic and wiring problems that no mechanic can duplicate or repair.

And it’s going to be difficult to finance a purchase of an older rig. if you already have access to the money from a home equity loan or something, then that’s a way to do it.

I was an o/o in the late 90s and early 2000s
I owned both pre electronic rigs and some with computers.
The mechanical engine trucks were far far
Far more reliable than the ones with a dozen sensors and computers that were always failing and leaving me stranded on the road.
Yes the electronic newcomers will use slightly less fuel. Normally , beck then, the electronic trucks got 1 or 1.5 Mpg better .
I did a lot of local stuff and the mechanical engines got 4.5 and the computer engines got 5.5 or 6 mpg.

Back then I used cabovers because they were practically free, and a international 9700 COE with a set back steer axle and air ride drive axles , rode very nice, and was easy to maneuver , and was nearly free since no one wanted them.

I also bought some Ford LTL 9000s.
Again, because they were almost free.
They had the same engine , transmission and axles as a Pete or KW. Cat or Cummins , Eaton , Rockwell etc .
Except with a body by Ford , and there’s no status gained by owning a Ford like there is owning a Pete , so I could get them for less than half price of a similar condition Pete or KW.

a 3406 mechanical injected cat, thats in good condition will be reliable , same with a big cam mechanical injection Cummins.
A 13 speed in good condition will have zero problems usually.

 

Funny how things change, we just got done rerailing my uncles LTL and I’d take that over any of the 6 KWs in the yard.

last tank in his 89 Pete I stole when I was doing an inframe I did 6.1 mpg with a 400 BC day cab pulling my reefer