Old truck, paid for, or new truck and payments

Say a max of 45,000lb GCVW and driven right, I see no reason any of those 3 engines could not manage 8-9mpg IFTA averages..? I go one for you, no reason a DT466 couldn't do the same.! Bet a Series 50 would be in the ballpark too, but they are hard to come bye. He only mentioned FreightShaker, so that's why I didn't name the DT466 at first..

I consistently did over 8mpg with my old 11.1L Detroit at 54,999lb.
Best of 9.09mpg over a IFTA quarter..
Worse of 6.82mpg during last winter with lots of idle time, & driving 75mph with a 4.10 rear.. She was revving!! Lol

 

On that particular run, I blew an intercooler boot almost clear in half. I hit the eighth at 79mph, and finished the quarter at 71mph, and I was on the brakes before I even crossed the line. Still beat that other truck by over two seconds. For perspective, I would do about 105mph in the quarter back then. I was running a "Super 40" turbo at the time. We'd just take the impeller and snail from an HX-40 and put it on the 35 after a little bit of machine work. Gives you the air of a 40, with the spool speed and shaft strength of a 35. Great starter turbo on the way to bigger power.

You can see by the smoke I had an up-pipe. I put that on for the strip, because the exhaust would smoke out the timing lasers and screw up my times. No kidding, I actually had a zero second 60' time once, and I ran 10's on that pass! Messed up the time for the guy next to me too, so I had to rig that pipe up.

I've also got a soft spot for those old GM diesels. We put many many many 6.2's and 6.5's in F150's and Broncos. Some with T18 and T19 four speeds, and a few with Chevy's NV4500 five speed. Turn up the fuel and throw a turbo on them, and they were seriously fun rigs. Still nothing I'd put a bunch of weight behind, but a lot of fun empty.

 

I’d go with the old dependable affordable Truck. As long as its not a rust bucket, and the electrical hasn’t been hacked up. Make sure you can cover any repairs. I’d much rather have control of everything. Instead of having a newer Truck and relying on so called warranties, You can always upgrade later, once you know exactly how much you can count on in revenue to support a newer Truck. On the other hand, if the old Truck does well, even with major repairs, rebuilds, the longer to keep it, the lower your overall Operating cost will be. That’s the bottom line. Generally speaking the older it is, the easier to diagnose. More knowledgeable Mechanics available. More YouTube support. Anything newer is always a mystery to Repair. The tried and true has been all figured out. Common problems etc. Parts cost and availability are important. Nowadays the older stuff is easier to find than the more common new parts, due to shortages. My Semi Trucks been paid off for 10 yrs. It’s 22 yrs old. The total average maintenance is very low, despite an Overhaul, a Transmission, 2 clutches, radiator, along with normal maintenance and repairs. And it always makes the trip. Never been on the hook.

 

A lot of people don’t want to go to California. We would go when our son and his family were stationed there but would not want to drive there for my work. San Diego is nice to visit.

 

You mentioned 500hp pickups above..
My opinion is yes they do have a ton of power nowadays. But how long is a 403ci, 406ci, 408ci motor going to last asking for that much juice, grossing 30k-40k lbs.? Not to mention inhaling part of it's exhaust.? IDK, not for me but some guys make a living with em. I got by with a smoged down 6.7L Cummins too for 4.5yrs..

Pre egr, dpf, def trucks don't need a ridiculous high hp rating IMO. I run a 350hp M11 right now at 80k lb. She'll do 87mph where she hits the 2100 limiter.. lol

I'm with @Lite bug Cali can kiss my behind. No plan to ever roll through there. With that said, with the right money on a load I'll sneak in & out. Still haven't seen that magical $ yet..

If you really want to run California with a "pre emission" truck, you have to stay small. That's how I interpret the law anyhow.. 14,000 GVWR or less power unit. I don't see compliance laws for class 3's & lower..?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...MQFnoECAUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0cFkBo_IrcErK5SuI_JwqG