What is the deal with older trucks?

A lot of those older trucks may be going to start up aggregate haulers. And to farmers. Most OTR companies won't deal with you if you have one of them, or so I have been lead to understand.

I've seen an awful lot of guys over the years by an old road tractor, put a dump conversion on it and work it for a few months to a few years. Long enough to realize that they could be making more money as a company driver. And all this was BEFORE our current recession mess.

 

the 359 petes are collectors. the prices on them have gotten stuid the last few years. Same with pete and kw cabovers

 

Are you talking about the classics from the 70's and 80's your seeing on Truckpaper? Like the Peterbilt ext. hood 359's, KW A Models, the big bunk Pete and KW cabovers that have been redone and they are priced at 30 to 80 grand. Those guys are looking for some retirement money.

And yes their are a lot of companies that take older equipment. Schneider, Landstar, Fikes, Mercer, just for starters. The company I am leased to went from seven years down to five and changed it again to any age of truck as long as it passes inspection because they found out a lot of owner operators are running older well maintained equipment.

These company's that hire owner operators and have age restrictions on the equipment are going to have a hard time getting owner operators with newer equipment in the next five years. With all the new things the government is requiring to be done to trucks and new truck prices going up owner operators are going to be rebuilding and taking care of their older equipment. Who wants to go and by a new truck and already know they are going to have EGR problems and then you are going to carry urea with you which adds to the cost and the new ones don't get any better fuel mileage.

I have a 07' Pete and when this one is paid for I don't want no more stinkin payments and I am sure their are a lot of owner operators that feel the same way, espicially if you have been trying to make it the last two years. Instead of making a payment that money will go into the rebuild, overhaul, restore and make over account.

I think I am going to buy an old truck with a manual engine so I can work on it and throw my cell phone away and go old school trucking.

 

Well I would find a company first that will take an older truck and that does flat bed in the area that you want to run in, then find a truck and go from there.

 

now my friend as far as older trucks are concearned thats all i run my newest is a 1990 conv pete BUT im in a little bit difference situation i have my own trailers and authority.

true a lot of companys wont lease an old truck but i dont think that will last much longer with all the nonsense required on the newer trucks most can afford to buy them nymore and i dont even try i like the older trucks better.

how ever bear in mind that a truck older then 1985 are a little bit different the engines started chaging then and become bigger with more powr and torque and somtimes parts can be hard to find but otherwise an older truck is a good bet. and you can but them wright now dirt cheap i've never seen used truck so cheap and thats a good thing , trailers are about the same so you can pick up a used rig , tractor and trailer for around 15000.00 and your authority for around 300.00 then you dont need to worry about a lease with anyone.
to me thats the way to go and i do just fine course you got to ignore all the gloom and doom out there , you still have to work.

good luck my friend. southernpride

 

My thanks to Big John and Southern Pride for correcting my misconception about companies allowing older trucks!

 

Hum, no Big Don they just want your money for no reason! I have a '99 Classic show-truck and there are no big co's that will put on a '02 truck let alone mine and it's got less than 700k mi! Then there is the new Fed Emission crap to contend with in '04... always something right...