Any companys with real trucks

That's not true in every case. I can think of two companies right now that run hoods and are looking for drivers. They pay by the hour and have benefits. They take the cream of the crop as far as applicants go and they don't have to hire the first guy with a CDL that shows up.
They're also known for firing people who don't do a good job, show up with an attitude, and think the world will stop if they're not the center of attention.

 

Funny thing is, that last line would disqualify a LOT of the folks that are looking to drive a classic... and this is coming from someone that personally LOVES the W900.

 

There’s plenty of company’s running hoods in the end dump and flatbed side that are looking for drivers. Maybe ya got to be special to get in with a company that has hoods and does nothing but bump docks.

 

Let me offer y'all a little more input on where a hood excels.

In my last round as an O/O I was pulling a 48' curtain van. Where I live we are surrounded by roads with 65' length limits. To get down to 65' OA I ran a 216" wheelbase Cascadia with a 48" sleeper. There was a lot I loved about that truck (Enough that when a Punjabi moron ran into me and totalled it I went to the extreme of buying a used Schneider truck to replace it with the same specs). The big problem was that when I had the 5th wheel far enough ahead to make 65' I was heavy on the steer axle. That problem could have been solved with tires, but I still would have had the problem that those 65' roads are roller coaster 2 lanes and aero trucks handle like #### anyway on a tight 2 lane, heavy on the front makes it suck even more. With a 230" wheelbase hood you will be lighter on the steer with the 5th wheel ahead far enough to make length and the ride and handling will be much improved.

When my current boss was ordering me a new truck last year,I lobbied hard for a hood (A 567 with a flat-top) because when we have to run to Utah, a set forward axle with some wheelbase is a lot more stable at 80MPH than the short little 579 I had. The longer the hood, the longer the wheelbase, the smoother the ride, the more stable at speed. It matters if you plan to run hard.

As far as small fleets go - I am friends with the owner of a local trucking company who swears he will never own another aero truck (although he's happy with his 386). Here are his reasons;

1. Hoods attract a better quality of driver. (Hey, they got me to work there 3 times so far).

2. Hoods are easier to work on. He pays his mechanic by the hour, spending hours pulling crap off of the engine to find out that whatever component you want to access is still buried behind & under the firewall sucks.

3. It's his admittedly subjective, but studied opinion that aero trucks, because the engine is so tightly packaged, generate higher temperatures in the engine compartment. He's convinced that the packaging combined with the higher operating tempuratures of today's smog motors bake anything under the hood that's made of rubber or plastic, leading to shorter component life, more breakdowns/maintenance/expense. And when the wiring harness (or whatever) gets toasted, you spend hours getting to it to change it.

4. When he's finally done with a hood it's worth way more than any aero truck to sell or trade in.

Just because someone's needs or values are different that yours doesn't make them wrong. I'd rather rob liquor stores to survive than drive a Volvo.

 

Speaking of real trucks, how about that Freightliner Century? Drove a 99 and a 06, two best trucks in my short 15 year career.

 

I'm obviously wrong(sarcasm)....

Why aren't all these decades of experience drivers just going to these hood fleet companies? It must take at least a year of differential equations to figure out...

 

I don't think he means.a 1989 379 with a big CAT. He's probably thinking a nice 2015-2017 KW T660 or Peterbilt 386 with a 13 speed. Or even the same models as a Glider kit with a nicely tuned Series 60 or ISX. I can't blame him. Drove a loaned T680 fleet tuned auto shift for a month which meant it felt like you were in 10th gear by 10 mph. When l got back into the KW manual 13 it was like a Ferrari compared to a Camry. Felt so much better to be back in control. Hopefully he finds what he is looking for. There was a fleet running them, Baylor or something out of Tennessee l talked to a driver a couple years ago. Charles Bailey Trucking I believe. Looks like they have newer 579s but l still see the Coronado's. They won't beep and boop and blind you (bright light on mirror) like new Cascadias if you go over the lane line or someone is next to you. Worth it IMO

About | CB Trucking

 

A long hood truck is not for everyone, and neither is a late model aerodynamic truck for everyone. We all have different needs in the workplace.

Be interesting to have the guys with the aerodynamic trucks with full lower fairings to follow me up some riddled narrow holler to retrieve a piece of equipment. You can stop on the way back and we’ll pick up your fairings that got ripped off as you rolled through that deep hole in the road, or across that creek.

Trucks are not a 1 size fits all. My bucket of bolts is good for my kind of work though….

 

I learned in 2009 how to drive on a 99, 379 Peterbilt. That thing was a rocket ship with the 3406E cat at 475HP. The next truck, I drove, was a freightliner Columbia with a 10 speed automatic and that thing did the same job as the 379 and nearly got worse mpg because of egr. I would take FLD or a 379 in a heartbeat if given an opportunity.