Why not doing your own repairs will make you go bankrupt.

Things really aren’t more expensive today. Dad’s new cabover was $63k at the end of 1980.



I feel bad for people that had repair shops and towing companies back in the old days. They must have sat around and starved and went broke since nothing broke down and when it did it was a 2 minute fix in your driveway.

 

There will ALWAYS be this type of driver to feed them, ill bet even back then this type of driver was pretty darn common, just harder to catch without all the nanny cams and live feeds. https://youtube.com/shorts/zpS03akDIE4?feature=share

The diffrence between then and now is the drivers who give a #### could actully maintain the vehicles or at least get it to limp. Thats a lot less easy to do now. Not imposible but much harder.

 

It was more of a necessity then than now. Back then if you broke down you had to fix it, or walk to the nearest phone or hope someone would pick you up. Now today even if you are in the middle of the desert. You have a phone.

 

Since we are discussing old vs new. Lets talk tires. Old bias ply tires with a flap and a tube mounted on a split rim. I love old equipment but................... I guess we did break them down on the side of the road and patch them if you you caught the flat tire before the tube got sucked in.

 

When it comes to a B model CAT especially the pump it will let you it’s sick long before it leaves you stranded.

I’ve run one a long time, left me stranded once in Georgia after I just put a new head on it. The bridge guide pin was off set cause the machine shop missed it drilling the old one out.

Once for a hole in number 1 piston again my fault for being to greedy with fuel and timing.

For the average person today the older stuff probably won’t work they need I want to say more attention on minor stuff here and their to be reliable. You can’t just hold one on the rug day after day.

The B came from 285HP to 460HP from factory so lumping them all in one group is kinda like comparing a DD13 to a DD16 today.

You also had people mixing and matching parts thinking they are all the same. Which I have done a little of that when it benefits me.

Many of the older engines didn’t make 500K before a major, but hey I hear that outta new ones too. Driven by who owns em I think matters in both cases.


I’m curious to see how many trucks from 2010 and up will still be on the road working everyday in 30 years

 

I think a lot of people are intimidated by all the new tech in a modern truck. They are more comfortable with their old truck. And That’s just fine. I just wish they would say that instead of insinuating that a modern vehicle is junk. That’s just plain false.

 

I love meeting old trucks on the road and admiring them from the seat of my fairly new truck lol. I’m glad there are those that have it in them to keep up an old truck, but it’s just not for me. My 17 model Cascadia is as close to trouble free as any truck could possibly be. I had a 07 model and I have never once missed those days.

 

This made me laugh since it is always pushed that everything was better. Of course most level headed people understand most is the same these days as was in those days. I would guess the shops back then though did know more and was less likely to rip a person off. Mainly because people had priorities right and respected one another.

Kind of reminds me of the far left and far right!

 

Not sure how the old trucks were specced back in the day, was that $63k bare bones spec, or did it have options? What is it, the 389X, that they are trying to get $300k for now?

 

Pretty loaded up. And the 389X is only one example, plenty of other new trucks can be had closer to the $230k mark.