Trying to get these ducks in a row

Everyone's opinion will vary on what to buy. Personally I'll stick with pre emissions cat or Cummins, emphasis on the cat. But again that's personal preference. Once you get into newer trucks you have a whole book full of emissions equipment that cause alot of headaches.

As a first time o/o I'd strongly suggest staying away from a big payment. You have alot to figure out expense wise and having that hover over your head isn't something you'd really want, warranty or not. The failure rate of first time o/o's in the first couple years is very high and a brand new truck loses its value like driving that brand new Chevy off the lot.

Again just my preference.

 

Try to plan for worst case scenarios, but don’t jump to them, till your sure. Too many times things get misdiagnosed, money spent. Only to find it’s something simple. Freightliner has the largest parts network, parts are overall cheaper, Depending on the Dealer. Sometimes KW, Peterbilt, or International Dealers or Fleetpride, have better prices on generic items. Depends on the Dealer, and often monthly specials. Then there’s Junk Yards, EBay, Amazon, Find it Parts. Prices are all over the place. It pays to Shop around, if you can. I recently bought an aftermarket lightweight flywheel off Amazon for $238. Dealers price for Original Detroit part was $2300. It’s the same flywheel others sell for $500-$800. Despite what some believe, a lot of aftermarket parts are as good, sometimes better, sometimes the same Manufacturer. There’s also counterfeit OEM parts. Have to be careful, deal with reputable Sellers. TA and Petro are mainly good for Fleets, and warranty work. Parts prices are typically 50-100% higher than a Dealer. Often they need to wait till morning to get the Parts themselves. Can’t be a passive victim. It will surely happen if not careful. I’ve been told my head was cracked, turned out to be a $25 water valve. Turbo was blown, turned out to be a plugged fuel filter. Clutch was shot, just needed adjustment, it was worn but still worked. Each time could have easily cost thousands, and shut me down. Each time the simple part would have also been replaced, as something else they found. I think it happens quite a bit. Owner never even knows, just pays the bill. I once was told my head was cracked, didn’t believe it, had them change thermostats, and it was cracked!! I was wrong. Lol. Sometimes the worst is true. The Detroit 12.7 is very simple and parts are cheap. Known for fuel economy. Lots of aftermarket support, due to the demand, having built more than any engine in history. OEM parts aren’t too expensive either, compared to others, and also readily available. N14, though not as common. I’m told they’re just as good. Lasting as long, or longer, often with better fuel economy. They all have their good and bad points. Detroit’s have served Me pretty well. Though I had one blow a head gasket, crack the head at 500k. Later dropped a cylinder liner at 825k. Current 12.7 did the same thing at 825k. But ran 1.3 mil on a DD Parts inframe, w/ head and injectors. Now it’s on it’s 3rd life. You just never know. The older engines will take a lot of abuse and neglect, compared to the newer ones. For the most part just keep on ticking, with a little maintenance. If you spend 15k on an inframe, you’ll get every dime spent out of it. Compared to a $13k emission repair. Seems to be the going rate. I assume they just throw everything at it, guessing half the time. Still not fully understood. Often the case with engines, till enough get it figured out later through trial and error. Lots of support for the older Detroit’s. For now anyway. Some of the parts for the FLDs, are getting harder to find. Often being upgraded to adapt a newer design. Recently bought a window regulator, it came with a pigtail adapter. Had to splice it in. Must be for a Cascadia. More often, I have to order parts. No longer in stock. But as my friend with the Peterbilt says. Junkyard’s full of Freightliners. Lol. Very true.

 

That’s all good and well but you are putting too much time into overthinking the issues that could be and not looking at how to mitigate breakdowns itself.

trucks are not unique to each other, this isn’t where we have twenty brands with their own special parts. the drive train is the key, with only a limited amount of engine/trans/rear end options, it is easy to pull into a kw dealer with a western star and have it serviced for an issue - I had this done a few times.

you can take a proactive approach to maintaining the truck, paying for it on the front end and make more on the back end.

or you can do the reactive approach to fixing the truck, paying for it on the front end and make less money on the back end because of downtime.

 

With that background you should do well. Hardest part is finding one that’s in good shape. The FLDs have a lot of room under the hood. So do the Western Stars. Older ones are rare, but 97 and up newer style are still around. 97, original integral cab had 2 shocks midway, 98 had shocks moved further back. 99, I believe had the last and final design. Maybe 4 shocks? Or 2 at the very back. Otherwise they’re about the same. Nice Trucks, lower resale than KWs and Pete’s. They have some problems with leaks and sleeper laminated one piece panels. Better chance of finding one in good shape if at all. Parts are expensive and sometimes hard to find. But they’re easy to work on. Built pretty solid.

 

I drive an FLD. You can get any part you need from it at Freightliner. Pre-emissions engine preference from best to worst. Detroit, CAT then Cummins. Nothing beats the Detroit on fuel mileage. Properly maintained and tuned nothing will outpull one. That's coming from somebody that owned a properly dialed in pre-emission CAT. I like the CAT, very reliable, but they suck too much fuel. You couldn't give me an N14. Great engine a long time ago but finding replacement injectors is impossible. I know a couple of guys who have/had this very headache with N14. There are no factory new ones anymore and the remans are junk. One considers injector replacement routine maintenance and the other got rid of his for a Detroit.

 

Just from reading on the Western Star forum here. Seems to be a problem. FLDs aren’t known for being real tight either. Door hardware is problematic needing attention, quite a bit. Recently rebuilt mine. New latches strike posts, regulators seals, One hinge. Drivers outside door handle, though it was only 3 yrs old. Window vents tend to rust. Replaced them with rust free junkyard vents. It was a long process., doing it in spurts. Scavenging Parts, Driving without a door panel for a while. Lol. Small things I put up with. Dashboard frame is cracked, another future project. But doesn’t keep it from making the trip. Always makes the trip. Never been on the hook. Always able to keep it going, till I get parts. It’s been a rolling work in progress. All in all a simple Truck, I don’t even know what year they started making FLDs. 1987 maybe? Classics in 1994, I think. My Dad got one the first year, I drove it, and wanted one right away. Bought one 6 yrs later. They’re basically all the same. 03, or 04? they changed the cab air ride, and front springs/ hood and bumper brackets to a better, but bit more complicated design. I think 07 or 08 was the last year. Replaced by the Coronado. A Coronado Glider w/ 1999 12.7 is about the only thing I’d ever consider buying. A friend just bought a 2014, Coronado Glider w/ 1999 12.7 500k miles for $90k. Don’t think I’d pay that much. I remember them selling for half that amount, just a few yrs ago. But it’s a very nice Truck, and he got $70k for his 98 Classic w/ a brand new $28k 12.7. W/ a lot of other new parts, total $43k spent. Prices are just too high right now. With cash in hand though never know what you might find. In a couple yrs. I think we’ll see 2 yr. old Trucks, Repos selling for $70-$80k maybe way less before it’s over. Main thing is to get something dependable. Everyone’s opinion of dependable is different. I’ve learned an old Truck is just as dependable as a 4 yr old Truck. Things wear out either way. After 7 yrs. doesn’t matter, no different than 20 yrs. Frame, electrical being most important. Everything else is easily replaced, and will need replacing. Break it down on a simple Truck. Not that complicated. Not everything is needed at the same time. Either way, a used Truck over 700k miles will need constant maintenance items. I’ve had this Truck for 12 yrs now. It’s a 2000 model. I bought it with 875k and a fresh rebuilt engine. It was 8 yrs old at the time. Paid $21k. Though I had to put a reman transmission in it at 1 mil. It’s by far beat the overall operating costs than my previous 2 yr. old $69k 99 Classic, and my first 4 yr. old $40k 92 WS. The main reason is because I’ve kept it so long. After the 99s $1700 pymt. I wanted no part of that again. It was nice for a few yrs., then maintenance costs on top of the pymt. ( and $5.00 a gallon diesel), all but put me under. This ones been paid off for almost 10 yrs. Just spent $18k on a bunch of stuff, including an inframe. Needs another $3k at most, and it’s about completely rebuilt. Some things like air bags, motor mounts, have been replaced twice over the years. At 2.2 mil. Front ends still original, so is fifth wheel. Both soon to be replaced. You can get every bit out of them, as long as your willing to break out the wrenches and fix it yourself, and not lose out because of downtime. Just can’t get caught at the mercy of others if possible.

 

This guys got the right attitude and idea, I'm still going to.say cat though, just from my experience.