Sterling tractors?

Sterling Truck Corp. Closes After 11 Years

 

Chrysler, it used to be owned by Ford. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_Trucks

If you want to see a cool truck keep your eyes peeled for an Autocar.

 

The basic design of the Sterling tractor dates back to the Louisville model Ford tractor. Ford got out of the class 8 truck business, and Freightliner/Mercedes took over the production line and called it Sterling. They also rebadged Dodge pickups as Sterlings b4 the Chrysler Mercedes split. They dropped the line about the same time as the Chrysler split, so they are an orphan product, but there are still some new or unused ones around. And used ones are probably a cheaper buy too.

 

Check out Vistar here: http://vistar.com/RockyMt/Pages/default.aspx

 

Sterlings are very popular around here, because they are cheap. That being said, I've driven a few Sterlings, and they are cheap for a reason.

 

They were marketed as the "World's Best Truck" back in the 1930's & 40's. Mostly used in off-road applications, and were known for chain drive.

They used to be a good truck, when Daimler revived the nameplate after buying the Ford Heavy Duty truck division, the quality went way down.

 

I drove them for a while as a city driver and thought they were alright. They turn well and have a great ride and view of the road. They sit high so its a pain if you have to get in and out alot. Most had MBE's in them and had good power and mpg but tended to leak fuel out the injector bolts. The rest were 14 liter Detroits that were awsome.
The guys in the shop loved them cause the systems were easy to diagnose and easy to work on. We beat the hell out of them running parts for BMW. They took it well.
Don't know if I would have one for over the road cause parts may be hard to find when your out there. But its nice to have something differant than the same old. I remember when I was a kid there was like 20 differant trucks on the road at any time and that was cool!
Good luck